Our church plant, Centro Cristiano Cofradia, includes three main pastors who play an important role in the church's ministry development: Pastor Gregorio Hernandez, Pastor Luis Vazquez, and Pastor Horacio Garzon. For the past few years, Pastor Amado Verdin has been joining us as he leads a congregation in Rosamorada, just a few miles north of Cofradia. He is also undertaking the huge project of a Drug Rehabilitation Center which we are helping him develop. I've asked him to be a part of this bi-annual report.
Here are their reports and perspective on the ministry:
Pastor Gregorio Hernandez is our main lead pastor and oversees all ministries at the church. In order for him to work full-time as a Pastor, which is very important to us, he needs supplemental income from supporters like you. His current need is $250 per month. Please consider how you can help him continue to work full-time. Click on his name to become a monthly donor.
Here is his report:
For 2017 we chose a specific theme that
we would explore over the course of the whole year. That theme is “Let’s live
free in Christ.” This has truly helped us to understand the freedom that Christ
has given us and to hold tight to the identity, security, and value we have in
Him.
Without the help of God and of many
brothers and sisters, nothing would be working the way things have been working
over the past six months. The theme we chose for this year has stimulated our
ministry in very practical ways, especially in Las Pilas and in Arrayanes.
In Las Pilas we have had people visit our
meetings who have never attended before. Because of this growth we wish to
build a central meeting space, and we hope that by the end of the year we will
have acquired the land we need for that project.
In Arrayanes we have begun a Bible study
that meets on Fridays at 5:00 p.m., and people are attending! So we continue to
sow the seeds of discipline to continue meeting every week. We have also begun
visiting homes to share the gospel, and we even hosted an open-air evangelism
in which brothers and sisters from both Cofradía and Arrayanes participated.
In all of this we continue to thank you
for your support, both through prayers and finances, because you have made it
possible for us to remain in the ministry of sowing the Word of God. Many
thanks for being an active part in our ministry. May God bless you with every
spiritual blessing in Christ.
Praise
be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the
heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
—Ephesians 1:3
Sincerely,
Pastors Gregorio & Maty
Hernandez-Espinoza, and family
______________________________________________________________
Pastor Luis Vazquez is our Student Ministries pastor and maintenance director for the church. He also serves as the Cofradia Dwellings Foreman for building less-fortunate people homes. He is very busy and struggles to make ends meat each week. His need for supplemental income is $150 per month. Consider how you can help him by clicking on his name to become a monthly donor.
Here is his report:
Hello, and may God bless you and your families with all
spiritual richness in Christ Jesus. We greet you in this letter, hoping that
you are well in body and spirit in the Lord.
We thank God for you every time we remember your great love for
us, which you have demonstrated by pouring out on my family, our ministry, and
the church the blessing of both your financial and prayer support.
We have just completed the discipleship course New Life with the youth. We met every
Saturday morning for twelve weeks, and on June 18, we had a recognition
ceremony for those youth who completed the class. The group included young
people from the church of Pastor Amado in the town of Rosamorada, since we have
been partnering with him in the area of youth ministry. We will soon begin a
more in-depth discipleship study series with this group of young people, with
the goal that once they complete the entire series of studies, they will then
lead future classes for new discipleship students. In this way they will be
able to grow as student leaders within our own youth ministry.
We are now in the midst of planning this year’s EL RETO event,
which will take place every Saturday from August 26 through September 30. Our
vision for this event is to continue to reach more youth with the gospel. We
also want to prepare the youth currently in our program for leadership; we do
this by choosing new team captains every year, and those captains serve as
leadership apprentices over the course of the event. Once EL RETO has
concluded, I will continue to disciple some of the team captains so that they
will continue to have opportunities to grow and be able to serve as leaders
within the youth group.
My wife and I continue attending the Bible College through our
church. We are now pursuing a Masters/Doctorate concurrent degree, which we
will complete next year. We are learning a great deal about marriage and how to
help children in their walk with the Lord.
Two of my sons, Luis and Angel, are in the youth discipleship
class, and my wife, Mari, and daughter, Carolina, are teaching that class. We
are all growing, praise the Lord!!!
Prayer requests:
●
For this year’s EL RETO: finances, leadership,
planning, team captains, protections, success
●
For the youth:
identity, service, and devotion to God
●
For my family: finances, God’s care and protection,
health, family unity
We thank you again for your generosity and send you
encouragement in the Lord.
Sincerely,
The Vázquez-Sicairos Family
______________________________________________________________
Pastor Horacio Garzon leads the indigenous ministry in Mojocuautla and helps facilitate ministry in Arrayanes.
Here is his report:
As is always true, it is a pleasure to take up my pen to write
this letter and say thank you once again for your financial support. I hope
that you are well and in good health, just as we are, thanks be to God.
Brothers and sisters, I ask you to cover my daughter, Kenia, in
your prayers, first and foremost for the rebellious character she has been
demonstrating. Drawing help from the Word of God, I have recently had to
confront her about this, and I have been praying for her attitude. I also ask
you to keep in prayer the new level of schooling she is about to enter. It will
bring her opportunities to grow in how she manages her time and in her manner
of relating to others. We are also exploring our options for how to pay for her
room and board, meals, and the school materials she will need, for our desire
is that she continue her studies.
I am excited for our next retreat—a pastor’s retreat in Mexico
City in July. I believe it will be a great blessing.
 |
| Martin |
Please receive greetings from Martín, who is living in the
mountain village of Mesa del Nayar serving with the leaders of the school
there. In June, together with Pastor Hector and several members of his church,
we had the privilege of going there to support their ministry.
Brothers and sisters, thank you so much for helping me. May God
continue to bless you, and please receive the warmest greetings from my wife,
Maria, and I.
Thank you,
Horacio Gonzalez-Orozco
______________________________________________________________
Pastor Amado Verdin is from Rosamorada and is the lead pastor of Iglesia Hermosa Casa de Oración. He also is heading up the drug rehab center which he likes to call a Restoration Center. The center is designed to house interns and help them be restored to good health physically, mentally, and spiritually. They will also be trained in a trade in order to help them be reinstalled into society once they're finished with the program. You can read about my explanation of their current financial need here and click on his name to help with his project.
Here is his report:
Our vision is to provide a place where any person with any kind of addiction can be recuperated and find hope for a better life. They will be prepared to face the every-day challenges that getting back into society presents.
Our mission is to restore the addicts lives so they will be able to return to society clean. We will teach them God's principals so they will have hope and to remain stable in their daily lives. We will equip them with a useful trade so they can serve the community and be able to sustain themselves financially.
We currently have a rental house to temporarily establish the restoration center "Lighthouse of Hope" while we obtain land where we can build the center as it is in our vision. The municipal government has donated a new stove and fridge, we have also been given wood to make bunk beds, and we also recently received the study materials we need to help the interns.
Our current needs are 12 individual mattresses, kitchen supplies, fans, bedding, pillows, tables and chairs, chalkboard, white screen for projections, office furniture, and bibles.
Amado
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