Please share about your spiritual journey. I was born and raised in an Adventist home. Since a young age, I was very involved in church, from being a youth director to church elder and church treasurer to being a member of the conference executive committee. My desire to serve in the church was due to my experience in the Adventurers and Pathfinders clubs.
There was a moment that impacted and shaped my life and helped me become who I am now. It was necessary for my spiritual growth. When I was a senior in high school, everyone at my home church was encouraging and praying for me to be a pastor. Rather than listening, I tried everything possible to ignore. I decided to pursue a career as a business administrator with a concentration in accounting and technical management. Everything was going well—I graduated and landed a great-paying job—but my involvement in church was less.
It wasn’t long before I started realizing something was missing. What I thought was going to make me happy wasn’t there. I had everything a person could dream of—a great job, a house, cars, social status—but not the most important, God. For five years, I wrestled with God in prayer asking Him why I was not satisfied, especially when I had sought and prayed for His direction and approval to get into business administration rather than theology. God put in my heart to start being involved in church again.
I became involved as a head elder and director of personal ministry, and had the opportunity to plant a church. The experience of planting a church led me to decide to serve God on a full-time basis. I humbled myself to God, gave everything I had: my job, houses, cars, and anything that was going to be a stumbling stone in my path to serve the Lord. I went to Andrews University Theological Seminary and graduated with a Master of Divinity.
I’ve been privileged to serve the Lord wherever He has opened the doors for me. I praise Him for all the blessings he bestowed upon me—for my beautiful wife, my precious baby girl, and for being part of this great conference. My spiritual journey continues, and I am looking forward to what God will do for and through me in the Hispanic Ministries.
What message would you like to share with members of your ethnic community? I am so thankful to God, to our conference constituents, and especially to the Hispanic Ministries for entrusting in me the opportunity to serve as their director. I accepted this sacred responsibility with humility knowing it is God’s call. Together with my wife, ReHanna, and our baby girl, Elena Lilibeth, we commit ourselves to:
dedicate time in prayer and the reading of God’s word;
devote our lives to serve God and, through His wisdom, be guided in every aspect of this sacred responsibility;
pray for each one of you and your families;
work with each pastor and lay leader, coming together as a team in unity, in prayer, planning, learning from each other and recognizing each God-given talent for the advancement of the Gospel;
plan and coordinate evangelism for soul winning and church growth;
provide training and resources, equipping each one with the necessary tools to better assist in ministry;
visit with the pastors, their families, and assigned churches, rejoicing in their worship service, praising God in their accomplishments, listening to their concerns, and assisting in bringing resolutions;
encourage, support, and empower our youth to shine for Jesus, as they are the leaders of today—and our children who are the leaders of tomorrow;
promote unity, reconnecting the local church with our conference by being the vehicle of communication between the conference officers and the Hispanic churches;
promote stewardship, Adventist education, and all aspects of church work that are important to the operation and development of the ministry task;
serve with humility in Christ-likeness.
I also want to remind you of the purpose and mission God has entrusted to us. We exist to share the good news of salvation and to proclaim Jesus' second coming. I encourage each member, child, youth, adult and elder to experience the mission by sharing Christ’s message of hope and wholeness and preparing people for His soon return. We need to open our arms to meet the physical needs of those around us. We need to raise our voices to present the message of Christ’s return. By following Jesus’ example, I urge everyone to focus their lives and every effort on how we can serve others.
This far-reaching and seemingly impossible mission cannot be achieved without an organized manner with the full collaboration of pastors, conference workers, lay leaders, and dedicated church members. We need to come together in unity, with one accord, and pray for one another. In Christ, we have our unity, identity, and mission. Let’s live with the sense of urgency that will allow the Holy Spirit to empower each of us to share the need to completely surrender to Jesus, being prepared for the second coming through His grace.
Every great accomplishment in human history has involved a collaborative strategy with committed men and women working hand in hand. I invite you to accept Christ’s amazing grace in your life, renew your commitment and your faithfulness to Him, proclaim God’s grace, and ask the Lord to help this ministry to move forward so we can finally go home.
What is your vision for your ministry? Our vision is that in unity every faith member will consistently demonstrate Christ-likeness in all their efforts, interactions, and be ready for the coming of the Lord.
Areas of focus and implementation:
Unity—Unity is based on the strong foundation of God’s word. We need to promote unity among pastors, local church members, and leaders among the Hispanic churches for the furthering of God’s work.
Discipleship—We are committed to the growth of every person into a disciple of Jesus Christ by helping them discover their God-given gifts, providing the necessary training and support, and encouraging them to carry out the mission.
Stewardship—Everything we have is a gift from God and we should use it wisely: our time, temple, talents, treasurer and testimony.
Family—Facilitate family members and marriages to build stronger relationships with each other and with God. We want to promote family worship, which will give every family an opportunity to rebuild the family altar of God daily.
Leadership and Church Growth—We will form leaders to have a strong relationship with God so they can lead His people in His way. The church, as a living organism, is supposed to be alive, to bear fruit and, because of that, it must grow.
By faith we will strive for excellence in everything we attempt in God’s name.
Comments