Zakia in Querétaro, Mexico

Building community, one table at a time.

We're Matt & Lena McCaul, bringing the hope of Jesus to Querétaro, Mexico, one neighborhood at a time. It starts small: dinner with one family, then two, then a whole street learning each other's names.

Matt and Lena McCaul with neighbors in Querétaro
Matt and Lena McCaul

Who we are

We've built community before, first in Monterrey, then in Portland, and now in a neighborhood called Zakia in Querétaro, where almost nobody grew up. Most of our neighbors moved here for work and left their support system behind somewhere else. We're just trying to help people meet each other, and meet Jesus along the way.

Why Here

Booming, and still looking for its people.

Querétaro is one of the fastest-growing cities in Mexico. Growth like that comes with real relational costs, and the data backs it up.

0%
of Querétaro residents were born in another state
INEGI · CONAPO
~0
new residents move to Querétaro every day
INEGI
3rd highest
average household income of Mexico's 32 states
INEGI, ENIGH 2024
0%
of Querétaro's population lives in poverty
Down from 31.3% in 2020
CONEVAL
9.7 vs 6.8
suicides per 100,000 residents, Querétaro vs. the national rate
INEGI EDR, 2024
Reported anxiety and depression symptoms, Querétaro vs. national average
Querétaro National average
Anxiety symptoms
22%
18%
Depression symptoms
18%
14%

Source: ENSANUT 2022, and a 2022 regional mental-health study covering Querétaro. Bars are scaled to a 0 to 25% range.

These numbers come from INEGI, CONEVAL, and ENSANUT, Mexico's own statistics agencies. They're a big part of why we think community matters here as much as it does anywhere we've lived.

This is the backdrop we're working against. It's why something as small as a weekly dinner, offered in Jesus's name, actually matters here.

The Plan

Community grows in layers.

You can't rush real community. Ours grows through shared meals and neighbors who keep showing up, year after year, until people finally learn each other's names, and slowly discover the hope of Jesus at the center of it all.

A neighborhood gathering

Neighborhood Community

Open to everyone on our street. We host shared meals and regular gatherings, plain and simple, so neighbors who've never spoken to each other finally do.

Friends praying together

Jesus Community

Some friends want to go deeper. That looks like praying together, reading scripture, and talking honestly about faith once trust is ready for it.

A friend hosting a gathering

Leadership Community

A few friends step into leading others. They start hosting their own gatherings, and the whole thing keeps growing from there.

Where we are right now

Neighborhood gathering around a table
Every 2 months
Neighborhood Gatherings

We open our house up. Right now it's 3 to 5 families around the table each time.

Kids playing at the park
Monthly
Kids Afternoon at the Park

Snacks and drinks across the street, low-pressure and easy for new families to try.

Friday dinner with neighboring families
Weekly
Friday Dinners

Rotating meals with one or two neighboring families, and others we've met around the city.

Homeschool co-op families
Growing
Homeschool Co-op

Three families and counting. It's turned into a real weekly source of friendship, for our kids and for us.

Moms' art workshop at a cafe
Starting soon
Moms' Art Workshop

A monthly gathering at a local cafe. Lena chooses the venue and the project, and the conversation does the rest.

Read

Proceed Magazine

Proceed is our bi-monthly digital magazine. Real stories from the neighborhood, what we're learning as we go, where things in Querétaro are headed next. Read every issue right here, no separate sign-up required.

Issue One · June & July 2026 Six Months in Querétaro
Click to read
What it looks like to lay a foundation
Field dispatch + prayer guide
Issue Two · August & September 2026 Coming Soon
Not published yet
In the works
We'll post it here the day it's ready
Scroll or drag to read more issues
Where This Is Headed

The Table, the Gathering, the Center.

We're building this slowly and in order, on purpose, always pointing back to Jesus. Here's roughly where we think it's going, including a model we hope gets repeated in neighborhood after neighborhood across Querétaro.

01

The Table

Small gatherings in homes, nothing fancy. Discipleship happens here, organically, built on real relationships long before anything formal starts.

02

The Gathering

Once relationships are strong enough, we move to a weekly gathering for worship and teaching. Neighbors still figuring out what following Jesus even means are welcome too.

03

The Center

A physical space that bridges the church and the wider community, built from day one as a replicable model for neighborhoods all over Querétaro.

Long-Term Goal

A café, a library, and room to gather.

The Center is the long-term goal: a physical space open to the whole neighborhood, church people and everyone else, sustained by the Jesus community at its core. We're building it as a replicable model, one we believe can take root in neighborhood after neighborhood across Querétaro, spreading the hope of Jesus one table at a time.

Café
Library
Classrooms
Workshops
Co-working
Resource Center
Get Involved

How you can help.

This work moves at the speed of real relationships and how much time we actually have in a week. Here's where an extra hand, a monthly gift, or a plane ticket helps carry the hope of Jesus a little further.

Current outreach projects in Querétaro
Ongoing

Current Projects

The homeschool co-op and the neighborhood gatherings could all use more hands right now, whether that means hosting or just showing up and following through.

See what's active
Monthly

Financial Support

Monthly partnership closes the gap between part-time jobs and full-time ministry. It's the difference between us working multiple jobs and actually being free for making the vision happen.

A visitor helping host a gathering in Querétaro
In Person

Join Us in Querétaro

Come see it yourself. A short-term visit means an extra person to help host, connect with families, or just be an additional hand in setting up an community outreach.

Plan a visit
Coming Soon

Children's Camp

We're working toward a week-long camp for neighborhood kids: games, story time, and a first taste of community for families who haven't found their way in yet.

Help us launch it
Coming Soon

Adult Masterclasses

Think practical workshops: language classes, crafts, a skill you are good enough at to teach. It's a natural front door into what The Center will eventually be.

Teach or sponsor one
Products from the store: coffee, journal, sourdough supplies
Coming Soon

Our Store

Coffee, a journal Lena wrote for moms, sourdough workshop supplies. Every purchase will go straight back into the work here in Querétaro.

See what's coming
Coming Soon

Roasted coffee, Lena's "Intentional Motherhood" journal, sourdough workshop supplies. 100% of the profit will go straight to the mission in Querétaro.

Get notified