Missions Mobilizer Group

2010-09-04T02:59:00.000-07:00

Our team member Aletsaida Lovett with a blind child at one of the orphanages we visited in China.

Back from China

2010-09-04T02:20:00.000-07:00

It is a wonderful thing to get back home to our family and friends after twelve days away from them. Our journey begun taking a flight from Orlando to Atlanta, another from Atlanta to Seattle, and a third one from Seattle to Beijing. We visited two orphanages that we have been supporting since 2008 and met church leaders, did prayer walks at important locations, along with many other things that for obvious reasons we cannot publish here. We were a group of 13 people very eager to show the love of Jesus Christ in different ways and the Lord brought to our attention those specific moments to minister the spiritual needs of the Chinese nation.

I remember at the Imperial Summer Palace in Beijing, a women showed up pushing a wheel chair. When I look at the chair what I saw was one of the kids from our church. I have to look twice because of that. She was selling ice cream and it was obvious her survival depended upon the sales she would perform. Thus, she was speaking loudly, offering her ice cream to anyone that walk in near her. One of the team members that was with me asked me if he could give her 100 Yuan. I told him our policy os not to give money to anyone because when you give to one person, all of the sudden you would have 30 people around you asking for money. Nevertheless, we remained praying and talking to each other about a way to help this lady. Then, all of the sudden, both of us got the same message from above. I open my mouth and told to my brother in the Lord "let's ..." And while I was opening my mouth and saying those words, my brother had jumped out of the bench we were seating and ran to the lady, and bought all of the ice creams the lady had with her. Then he took the ice cream box and proceed to give free ice cream to the rest of the bystanders. In less than a minute 40 or 50 people were lining up asking for the free ice cream. And at this very moment, the rest of the group was joining us noticing what was happening and they took this opportunity to talk with the people about the Lord and give them some written information about a Christian website with a lot of information about the Bible.

Dr. Bob Tuttle have told me many times that 90 percent of evangelism is showing up and paying attention. This story is an example of how true it is. God is doing great things about the Chinese nation and we want to partner with them with medical teams traveling from the West with the purpose of help the special need children of China. Stay tuned because we are going to have another journey to the most strategic place on earth; the Peoples Republic of China.

Beyond the Upper Room

2010-07-25T07:21:00.000-07:00

As Rev. Loftin mentioned, the Apostles and the other members of this family of believers waiting for Jesus signal at the Upper Room, were afraid of their future and a mile long list of questions were building in their hearts. But the power of the Holy Ghost changed their lives forever. Today we have the same Holy Spirit ready to continue filling our lives with His anointing in such way, we could be agents of influence and change in our families, local communities, cities, states, nation, and beyond our borders to the ends of the earth. Yes, we, the Western Church can enjoy the same blessings and fruits our sisters and brothers of the Eastern hemisphere are bearing. Yes, we, as part of that church beyond the upper room, we can reach out to this generation of people with many questions and not many answers about our wonderful Savior and the roots of our faith. Yes, we have the obligation of carry on that legacy of a church that has already receive it the power of God to go into the housing projects, the crack houses, the hospitals, nursing homes, and hospices, the jails and rehab programs, proclaiming with authority the salvation from God to His children.

It is my prayer we can proclaim the message of Love and Salvation that only Christ can only offer from Detroit to Miami, and from the District of Columbia to Los Angeles. The time of being trapped in the Upper Room is over. We must go to the drug addict in Rochester, the single mother in Orlando, the unemployed in Denver, the poor of the poor living in the Appalachian Mountains, the Mexicans in San Antonio, the Iraqis in Dearborn, the Navajos in Tucson, the Chinese in San Francisco, the Rwandans in Baltimore, and every other individual under the sky from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego and from London to Beijing. This is our destiny, this is our mission, therefore, go, go , go, and change the world for Christ.

Taking the Great Commission with Urgency

2010-07-21T06:24:00.000-07:00

After the awesome opportunity given to me by the Lord to publish the book "¡Y Me Seréis Testigos!¡Un llamado para cumplir Hechos 1:8 a su máximo!" ("And You Shall Be My Witness! A call to fulfill Acts 1:8 to its fullest!")I was able to visit many Latino churches in the state of Florida, mostly with the purpose of spread out the word about the book. However, as I traveled across the state, the Holy Spirit begin to stir in my mind and heart about taking the Great Commission with urgency locally, regionally, and abroad. It is this sense of urgency that most congregations in North America have lost and that is the reason why religions like Buddhism or Islam are making profound inroads in our society.

Today we have in the United States beautiful church buildings, a dozen of Christian television networks, hundreds of radio stations, thousands of blogs, and other multimedia outlets. Nonetheless, we do not have urgency in taking the message of the Gospel to the millions of human beings that need to hear the Greatest Story of all. As a matter of fact I gave up Christian television long time ago. I rather watch "Law and Order" than program after program in which the hosts spent their time to convince people about the "ten ways of prosperity", the "fifteen keys of wisdom", or simply a pep chat Anthony Robbins style to make people feel good.

If you go today to most mega churches, you will have a Broadway style, well rehearsed worship service. I am not against of doing things for the Lord with excellence; however, these are services in which people go to get entertained, rather than having a personal experience with the Lord through the worship and preaching experience. It bugles my mind to listen people explaining to me the main reason the go to a church is because the "children program", the "youth program", or the "ladies program." There is not whatsoever in their minds and hearts the reason we come to church is not because of the programs, the music, or how magnificent is the church building. We come to church to connect with other believers and have a personal and profound experience with our maker. Consequently, we have a large amount of people seating in our churches without any biblical foundation, and largely moved by the emotions of the moment, instead by the Holy Spirit and His Word.

Small congregations are also struggling spiritually. In many instances the sermons preached are without any biblical foundation, their services in many instances do not have any appeal at all to the congregation, and attendance to the services becomes more of a family commitment than a time of coming together as the scripture tells us to minister to each other and receive a message from heaven that can change our minds and hearts. Instead, some of these small congregations want to compete with the mega churches and in their desire to attract more people try to imitate whatever the "big church" in town is doing.

What happened to our commitment to respond to Grace with a message of love, salvation, and power in the Holy Ghost? What happened to the efforts of the local church to reach out their community, feeding the hungry and clothing the naked, not just for the sake of doing so or because that will provide publicity, but because we are simply the church and this is what we do? What happened to our church leaders who are spending more time in promoting the theology of prosperity rather than the theology of Grace, the theology of Love, the theology of Salvation? Sadly, while the Christian church is living in complacency the Muslim community has grown to an estimated of 7 million followers in the United States according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). Please, take in consideration also the growing of the Buddhist, Hinduism, and other "New Age" movements in America.

The incredible thing is the fact the church in the Western hemisphere is well aware of their crisis, but they continue paralyzed. They complaint about the government, the liberal media, the communist faculty in our universities, and the Muslim people. As a matter of fact one of the things irritates me is to watch modern evangelical churches in many instances spending more time in scaring off their members about the Muslim people, rather than teaching them about how to reach them with the message of Christ in creative ways. It is urgent we take the message of Salvation to them not because they are growing fast and we are in danger of becoming an Islamic Republic, but because they are souls in need of a Savior before they walk into the eternity. It is my prayer the North Church dedicate more time to reach out with urgency the lost and disciple them in the Word of our Lord Jesus Christ than in all the petty stuff they are wasting their resources, energy, and time today.

Acuerdate de Tu Llamado

2009-08-02T12:07:00.000-07:00

Exodo 3:1-15
La palabra que el Señor tiene para nosotros en esta hora no es para que simplemente veamos la historia de cómo en forma mística un arbusto conocido como Zarza estaba engolfado en medio de las llamas de un fuego, pero el fuego no la consumía como normalmente ocurre en un incendio. No es tampoco acerca de una voz la cual provenía de la Zarza a pesar de lo increíble y poco común que pueda ser. Ciertamente no existen voces saliendo de arbustos con la excepción de que alguien ponga una bocina en la parte de atrás del arbusto y a la distancia alguna persona con un micrófono hablase, lo cual en la época de Moisés era imposible ya que la tecnología no había avanzado ni para tener una bombilla de luz encendida. Pero con todo eso, esta no es la parte más importante de este relato bíblico.

La parte que realmente nos interesa en este momento es la del encuentro de un Dios compasivo y amoroso con una persona que estaba completamente resquebrajado, sin ninguna auto estima, y sin ningún futuro halagador ya que su rutina diaria revolvía en atender un rebano de ovejas que ni siquiera eran de él, sino de su suegro. Esta es la historia del encuentro que Moisés tuvo con Dios. Esta es la historia del llamado de Moisés al servicio del ministerio. Esta es la historia de una página nueva o un nuevo capítulo en la vida de Moisés. Este evento ciertamente ocurrió hace miles de años, pero todavía tienen una singular importancia y aplicación en nuestras vidas aquí y ahora.

El llamado es Único:
No es interesante ver como Dios llama a Moisés? La Biblia nos dice que Moisés tenía unos 80 años de edad, se encontraba en el desierto atendiendo las ovejas de su suegro y sin ninguna intención de que ese estilo de vida cambiara. Aquel joven brillante, valiente, que se había educado en las mejores escuelas de Egipto. Aquel jovencito que fue rescatado de la muerte por la hija del Faraón convirtiéndose en príncipe con acceso al poder político, económico y militar de su familia adoptiva, luego de estar en ese desierto por cuarenta años sin casi hablar con nadie, se había convertido en una persona tartamuda y miedosa.
No ha visto a usted como los eventos de la vida cambian a las personas? Por muchos anos mi deseo era el de tener una casa grande y con todas las comodidades habidas y por haber. El tener un Mercedes Benz o un Volvo estacionado frente a mi casa listo para llevarme a cualquier parte. El tener el privilegio de que mi esposa no tuviese que nunca jamás trabajar para ninguna empresa fuera de la nuestra. Pero todo eso cambio un 6 de junio del año 2005. A partir de ese momento la prioridad dejo de ser material convirtiéndose en una espiritual y de sanidad física. Ahora mi prioridad es el poder ver el milagro de Dios en la vida de mi hija aunque tengamos que vivir debajo de un puente. Y de la misma forma creo que aquella persona que era usted cuando se graduó de la Escuela Superior no la es hoy debido a los golpes de la vida. Esos cantazos nos doblegan al punto que perdemos confianza en nosotros mismos. Esto fue exactamente lo que le paso a Moisés.
De la misma forma que paso en la vida de Moisés, Dios utiliza los momentos menos imaginados para mostrar Su gloria y poder y para llamarnos con un propósito nuevo, claro y directo, no importando nuestra edad, lo quebrantado que estemos y lo lejano que pensemos que esto pueda ocurrir. Si usted se encuentra en esta hora en un momento como el de Moisés, en el cual al mirar a los anos que han pasado y ve todas las situaciones negativas las cuales no les ha permitido el poder desarrollarse a su máximo y ha llegado no solamente a pensar, pero más bien a creer o afirmar en su corazón que ya es demasiado tarde para que ocurra algo especial, algo en el cual usted se sienta orgulloso de haber dejado como legado para generaciones futuras, déjeme decirle que en esta hora Dios está aquí y ahora para llamarle como llamo a Moisés. Este es un llamado transformador no solamente para su vida personal, pero para las personas a quienes usted influenciara a su alrededor. Y nuestro Dios utiliza momentos pocos comunes para lograr ese objetivo en nosotros. Ciertamente, Dios no crea las enfermedades ni el dolor. Eso es parte de nuestra naturaleza humana debido a los resultados de la herencia adámica en nosotros. Sin embargo el Señor aprovecha estas realidades de imposibilidades y limitaciones en nosotros para glorificar Su nombre en nuestras vidas, dejándonos saber que no importando nuestro pasado, nuestras enfermedades, nuestras dificultades económicas, Dios es Dios y el nos quiere usar para Su gloria.
Así que en esta hora piense por un momento en su vida personal. Piense en que formas Dios últimamente le ha estado tratando de llamar su atención. Cuál es la zarza que está ardiendo frente a usted. No obstante, hay personas que se enfocan más en la zarza que en la voz que sale de la zarza. Es decir, la naturaleza humana se dedica a indagar el porqué de las cosas. ¿Porque no consigo empleo? ¿Porque no vivo en un mejor lugar? ¿Porque la enfermedad me asedia de día y de noche? ¿Porque no recibo sanidad? ¿Porque no veo los cambios que deseo por más que ore y le pido a Dios? Cada una de esas preguntas son validas, pero en realidad al hacernos esas preguntas lo que estamos haciendo es prestar atención a la zarza que está ardiendo en vez de escuchar la voz de Dios que sale del medio del fuego. Y ese es nuestro reto diario como seres humanos porque hasta que nosotros no pongamos nuestra atención a escuchar la voz de Dios y respondamos a su llamado seguiremos en la misma situación de desesperanza y dolor, porque al final del día Dios nos está llamando a cada uno de nosotros con un propósito único y especifico en Su deseo de hacernos vasos útiles para Su gloria.

Hay Un Propósito Único:
En el caso de Moisés, Dios lo quería utilizar como líder nacional, como jefe de estado, como profeta y guía de una nación en desesperada necesidad de ser liberada de la esclavitud egipcia. Dios deseaba liberar al pueblo hebreo de la miseria, la angustia, la desesperación, y la esclavitud. Y hoy, en el siglo XXI todavía nuestro Dios tiene el mismo deseo para toda la raza humana. Dios se preocupa por millones de personas alrededor del mundo, comenzando aquí en nuestra comunidad local, en todo el estado de la Florida, en los Estados Unidos de América y allende a los mares en lugares tan distantes como la China quienes viven esclavizado por el diablo, cuyos corazones están atados con cadenas y grilletes espirituales debido a todo lo que ofrece este mundo. Adicciones, divorcio, crímenes, enfermedades, desempleo, y la lista continua. Estos son indicativos de que de una u otra forma cada uno de nosotros estamos en necesidad de un libertador de nuestro encarcelamiento o esclavitud individual. Jesucristo dio su vida en la cruz del calvario para que alcanzásemos esa libertad y para que pudiésemos ayudar a otros a ser también libres. Por todas las razones expuestas hasta aquí, ya debes de comenzar a comprender el porqué hay una zarza ardiendo frente a cada uno de nosotros y junto a esa zarza la voz de Dios nos está llamando. Simplemente lo que tenemos que hacer es escuchar Su voz y responder a esa Gracia Divina.

Una Respuesta Única:
En el caso de Moisés podemos ver que ocurrieron dos tipos de respuestas. Primero Moisés dice, “heme aquí”. Con esta respuesta Moisés demuestra que estaba dispuesto a escuchar la voz de Dios. Este debe ser el primer paso de cada uno de nosotros al estar frente a esa zarza que arde frente a nosotros. Por los pasados cuatros años tanto Ada como yo casi todos los días le decimos al Señor aquí estamos. En vez de preguntar el porqué de las cosas que nos suceden, nuestra actitud es preguntarnos, ¿Cuál es lo próximo? Es decir, como podemos responder a esa zarza que está ardiendo frente a nosotros.
Pero por supuesto, en nuestra debilidad como seres humanos nos hacemos la misma pregunta que Moisés se hizo. ¿Quiénes somos nosotros para hacer lo que Dios desea hacer en nosotros? Ese es un llamado muy grande. Esto es algo imposible de hacer porque estoy tan roto, tan humillado, sin auto estima, sin recursos para hacer eso, sin preparación académica, con muchas enfermedades, sin dinero, sin saber mucho de la Biblia. De la misma forma que Moisés saco su lista de supermercado de excusas, nosotros hacemos lo mismo cada día que nos levantamos y vemos a esa zarza ardiendo frente a nosotros y la voz de Dios que nos habla. Cuantas veces usted se ha dicho a sí mismo:
Eso cuesta mucha energía…
Estoy ya muy ocupado haciendo otras cosas…
No estoy preparado para hacer eso…
Estoy my cansado…
Yo quiero solamente cantar los domingos…
Cuando los niños crezcan y me retire del trabajo…
¿Qué es lo que le impide a usted obedecer a la voz de Dios en su vida? Moisés pudo sobreponerse a eso y en forma reluctante obedeció a Dios. Esto es bien importante porque Si Moisés no se hubiese movido por encima de esa reluctancia, sencillamente el no hubiese obedecido a la voz de Dios y el resultado hubiese sido el de alguien que pudo haber sido un gigante, pero decidió seguir siendo una pequeña persona. Cada uno de nosotros tendremos que vivir por el resto de nuestra vidas con las decisiones que tomemos. De hecho, las mismas no nos afectaran solamente a nosotros, pero también a nuestra familia y las personas que nos rodean.

Así que en conclusión, de la misma forma que la historia de Moisés era una en la cual la voz de Dios llamo a un individuo roto, humillado, y sin autoestima y él respondió, también el Señor nos está llamando a cada uno de nosotros con nuestras imperfecciones, problemas de auto estima y vida personal disfuncional. Dios te dice en esta hora de la misma forma que le dijo a Moisés; “Yo estaré contigo”. Esto es más que suficiente para nosotros movernos, porque si Dios está con nosotros, ¿Quién puede estar en contra de nosotros? Nuestro Dios es el Gran Yo Soy, el alfa y la Omega, el Principio y el Fin, Dios de los cielos y la tierra. Es mi oración en este día, el que cada uno de nosotros podamos sobreponernos a nuestra mente finita, respondiendo al llamado de Dios. Que podamos decir, heme aquí y que vayamos creyendo que a pesar de nuestras imperfecciones, debilidades, faltas, y disfunciones, nuestro Dios está dirigiendo nuestros pasos y que El está a nuestro lado como poderoso gigante para usarnos de la misma forma que uso a Moisés, en el nombre del Padre, del Hijo y del Espíritu Santo, Amen.

The Third Annual Chinese-Latino Fiesta

2009-06-10T13:31:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we had the wonderful opportunity of celebrate our third Annual Chinese-Latino Fiesta in Orlando, Florida. We had a group of 35 Chinese students and scholars from the University of Central Florida. It was a time in which we shared our Latino food, customs, and music with them. Dr. Zaida Pérez was the dance instructor and it was quite interesting to see Chinese people learning how to dance Salsa music. However, the fact we were able to open a connection with these Chinese student and establish friendship with them is something very special. It is our prayer, they join the FOI English language class in which we use as the textbook the Bible. The final result of this encounter with this students are eternal, thus, continue praying for them because it is our goal to see all of them save by the amazing grace of God.

Standing Up!!!

2009-05-27T07:39:00.000-07:00

As I saw the video "Muslim Demographics" last week it reminds me once again about the incredible shift we are having in global evangelization. While the European and North American Continents are distancing more and more from Christianity, Latin America, Africa, Asia, and even Australia and New Zealand are in the beginning or in a middle of a revival. I think that what we are seen in Euroamerica is the result of a church that got comfortable, speaking and remembering past glories since the late 1970's. Well, that church is no longer what once upon a time was.
The message I got from this Youtube presentation is not one of fear to middle eastern terrorists that wants to conquer the world by the sword and rather I see a challenge to the Christian church to rise up to the occasion and begin a campaign of evangelization toward the Muslim community. See, the result of growing numbers of the Muslim population in Europe and North America is not just an immigration issue. I believe this is the result of a weak Christian church that moves only in the tradition realm, leaving behind the experiential faith in Jesus Christ. Consequently, we have over 300 Methodist churches closed and over 100 Anglican congregations in England according to the Christian Research Group. This organization affirm the real possibility of the disappearance of all Christian churches in the United Kingdom by the year 2040. Furthermore, in America between 3,500 and 4,000 churches are closing every year. Half of the churches in this nation did not added a single member last year and to the contrary, American Christian churches are loosing an average of 2,765,000 individuals to secularism and other religions.
With only 9% of the American population with a biblical world view, no wonder we cannot match with this growing avalanche of Muslim immigrants with a deep rooted faith in Islam. As the Landscape Survey by the Pew Forum On Religion and Public Life shows, for the first time in its History, the United States of America is at the verge of becoming a minority Protestant nation. It is at this historical cross roads the church of Jesus Christ in North America and Europe have the challenge to stand up for the cause of the gospel. Stand up in prayer and spiritual warfare. Stand up with a evangelistic zeal to reach out anyone that needs Christ regardless of their ethnicity or past. Stand up for the defense of the Christian orthodoxia against the false teachings from within the church. It is my prayer, that we can stand together for the cause of the gospel in the same way the Apostles and the Fathers of the church did 2000 years ago.

Muslim Demographics

2009-05-17T17:23:00.000-07:00

Please, watch this video. It has been a wake up call for me and many other Christians.

Video Link

The Urgency For Missions In Growing Cities

2009-05-04T06:27:00.000-07:00

If you have an opportunity to speak with any follower of the missiological patterns or any scholar in missiology about the five most urgent focus on missions worldwide, I guarantee you he or she will include in that category the major cities of our planet. Places like Mumbai, Shanghai, Karachi, Sao Paulo, Mexico City, and New York City, among others, are the most populated urban areas in the planet. Furthermore, there is another cities that are expanding and growing in a fast pace. Cities like Lima, Bogotá, Hong Kong, Cairo, Ho Chi Minh City, London, Nairobi, or Buenos Aires, with a incredible potencial of duplicating their current population in the next ten to fifteen years. Adding to that reality, we have a realm of local cities that are also growing do to the fact of inmigration or better employment opportunities. Places like Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Dallas, Minneapolis, Portland, Sacramento, the District of Columbia, and Phoenix, are becoming as well mission fields.

Personally, I believe the most critical missionary outreach are now in this fast growing cities around the world. This are places in which many people relocate in a desperate desire to overcome poverty and with a desire to have an educational or vocational opportunity. Most mission agencies and major denominations are planning and pouring financial resources in those locations as we speak. Nonetheless, there is a need of people willing to take the Great Commission to all of those urban enclaves. From big congregations to small house churches; from the most beautiful places of those cities to the most horrible slums; the word of God must be taken to million of individuals, most of them marginalized, in need of a meaningful change in their lives.

It is critical that we as the church of Jesus Christ have the urgency to make certain people are accepting Christ as their Savior and the new converts are in a pathway of nurturing and learning in order for them to duplicate the same thing in smaller cities. Hence, there is a need not just of nurses, dentists, and doctors; but also teachers of the word of God working with the indigenous pastors through the ministry of the church in Schools of Ministry, Bible Institutes or Bible Colleges. I am convinced if we train and equipped the people that are coming to Jesus, they will be able to do the same in other people's lives. Consequently, if we as the church make an strategically plan to reach out the world, we must have somewhere in our list a major city.

A Reflection On My Calling

2009-04-29T06:54:00.000-07:00

It was a mild evening on December 22nd 1981 when at the age of 12 years old I was called by God to preach His gospel; specifically separated by Him to go to the nations of the earth. It was a very emotional moment that with the experiences of life, the cinicism built by the many things I have seen at the church, and the years passing by, became something abstract to my memory. Since that evening, I have been involved in ministry as a Radio Evangelist, a Youth Pastor, Associate Pastor, Missionary Evangelist for South America, a Church Movilizer, and a Church Planter. Also, a lot of preparation has been part of me for the last 27 years of my life. Beginning at the Assemblies of Christian Churches Bible Institute, the Asbury Theological Seminary Latino Latina Studies Program, the Latino American Faculty of Theological Studies (Universidad FLET), and returning to Asbury Theological Seminary for a Master Degree in Theological Studies.

During those years I was invited by at least four denominations to join their ordination process, but I was reluctant to do so. After all, I was called by God and His calling was an ordination and that for me was more than enough. As a person with a tendency to swim against the current, never paid attention to denominational ordination processess since at the moment my opinion was that ordination process was politicized in some places, to the point people that has not business being ordained were getting behind a pulpits. Furthermore, other individuals gave more importance to the ordination process itself than the calling given by God. Consequently, I declined to participate in any ordination process.

Then, something happened. The ministry God has placed in my hands begun to grow. New opportunities of ministry were opened to a unimaginable level in my life. Moreover God spoke to me and confirmed this word through other individuals about this ministry moving up to a higher level. Thus, after all of that I though about getting ordained, but I was not totally convinced. The final push that convinced me totally about getting ordained happened about three years ago. I was listening a conversation between Dr. Thomas Buchan and a friend of mine about ordination and the biblical, spiritual, and ministerial implications of being not just called by God, but also confirmed by the church. In his words, the ordination service is the equivalent of a marriage ceremony and as in marriage, which means that once I get ordained by the church I am bound by a covenant for the rest of my life to the service of the Kingdom. In other words, I am married with God and His church.

As I was in that altar last Friday night, memories from the last 27 years of my life and ministry came to my mind as a movie. In all of those years God fulfilled His part of the covenant. I was called, equipped, and sent to the nations of the earth, and finally, that evening I was fulfilling my part of the bargain through a covenant of service to Him and His church for the rest of my days on earth. As I look to the 150 pictures I have so far, taken by friends and supporters, I feel in my spirit that the best days of my ministry are ahead and I am going to continue proclaiming His word to the ends of the earth.

An Unforgettable Dream

2009-04-22T12:24:00.000-07:00

I was walking through the narrow alleys of Pyongyang in the middle of the day surrounded by buildings that for American counties or cities codes standards should be condemned and curious people looking at someone with Westerner factions but brown skin color. Some of them touched me as they look in amazement for having a foreigner from America among them. As I walked, I noticed in people faces their spiritual and physical hunger, desperation, anguish, and hopelessness. I got close to an structure made from leftovers of another construction and pieces from a discarded structure. There was a family sitting on the dirt floor, waiting for their dinner. What was for dinner? Well, it was some sort of rotten meat in a soup or at least that was how smell it. But that is the only thing they can afford. Meanwhile, I know I am followed. I cannot see their faces or who they are, but I felt their presence inspiring fear in me. Nonetheless, I continue my walk praying and doing spiritual warfare in my mind. I was claiming North Korea for Christ as I was walking. Suddenly, I heard a ring. I opened my eyes and I realized I was not in North Korea and rather I was at home in Titusville, Florida. It was a dream and not a real trip. However, the images of this strange dream were so vivid; I still remember the rotten smell of the food, the noisy children gathered around an old gentleman who I think was entertaining them, the terrifying presence following me, and the noticeable fear, hunger, and desperation on people's faces.

North Korea is the most repressive country in the world toward Christianity; and because the current nuclear crisis between them and the United States, the entering of American citizens into this country is more restricted than ever before. Although the focus of my prayers during the last ten years has been South America, especially Argentina; after my trip to China during the summer of 2007 I included in my daily prayers the 56 ethnias of the most populated country in the world. However, since I had this dream on November of last year, I have added to my list the people of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. In my prayers, I ask God to send to this Asian nation Latino's missionaries willing to help the persecuted church and reach out others with the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Why Latino missionaries? What about the Chinese, Thai, or Pakistani missionaries? It is true that God can and will call workers from those countries to work in the North Korean harvest, but the fact of the matter is the Latino Church is a little bit ahead in their readiness to send workers around the world than our brethren from Kuwait or the United Arab Emirates. Just compare the advance and strength of the church in Latin America with Asia or the Middle East and that will give you an answer. It seems to me that in a time and age in which the United States has a damaged image around the world, the most logic replacement in the limited access countries like North Korea are the Latinos workers. Consequently, it might sounds crazy, but God is raising up messengers from Peru, Chile, Argentina, Puerto Rico, or Mexico to go as Ambassadors of the Kingdom in North Korea. This dream reminded me about God's people in North Korea and how God is going to use the Hispanic church as part of His master plan of global evangelization. It is my prayer, that the Hispanic church in the United States and Latin America rise up to the occasion and respond to this Macedonian call in North Korea in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

The Ethnic Mission Field at Colleges and Universities

2009-04-08T06:59:00.000-07:00

It is impressive the amount of foreign students in Colleges and Universities across this nation. According to the Institute of International Education we have in our country over 565,000 foreign students, with 58% of those students coming from Asia alone. India, China, South Korea, and Taiwan are the countries that have most benefited from the foreign student programs our colleges and universities have available. Furthermore, the amount of students coming from the Middle East has also increased having as the major players Saudi Arabia, The United Arabs Emirates, and Israel. Although we have in our colleges campus volunteers from organizations as InterVarsity, Campus Crusade for Christ, and the Wesley Foundation, spreading the message of love and salvation of Jesus, I believe we do not have enough people ministering this international harvest so close to us in America.

Personally, through my involvement with the ministry of Sigue A Uno Internacional / Follow One International, my eyes has been opened to this reality. On November of 2007 the church I pastor was challenged to reach out to the Chinese students at one of the universities at the Florida's Space Coast. My wife got involved and our church help to finance a thanksgiving event, but no body from the congregation, including myself showed up to interact with them. However, during my second trip to China, the Holy Spirit begun to stir my mind about these students that come to our country and they are interacting among themselves in their own ethnic enclaves without a meaningful opportunity of reaching them out purposefully. Hence, last year and this year I have been in the forefront along with my wife, some members of our church, and the leadership of Sigue A Uno Internacional reaching out them with the Thanksgiving dinner, a Chinese New Year celebration, and other events in order to gain their trust, seeking for the right opportunity to share the word of God with them.

However, this is not enough, I believe the best way to reach out a foreign student and share our faith in a personal non threatening way is when we adopt a student in our homes. If you invest time in finding a international student, building a friendship, taking him or her to your home once a month, sharing a meal together, and a constant exchange of emails and phone calls, eventually you will be able to share the story of Jesus. That heart will be open to listen because he or she knows that you really care about them. Once, you have a adopted student in your family, not just the life of that student will be changed, but your own life will be transformed by the experience of reaching out to the world without spending a dime in airplane tickets.

We have an ethnic mission field in the colleges and universities campuses and it is the will of God for us as the church to flood our universities with the love of Christ. I believe the Lord will call us into account for what we have done in this regard. It is my prayer, the Lord rise up people willing to go forth into these places and reach someone for the Lord. This is not just the responsibility of the on campus ministries. After all,this is part of our work as ambassadors of the Kingdom of God. This is part of the Great Commission. Thus, if you do not know how to start an outreach to the ethnic mission field in our colleges and universities, please contact us and we will be more than happy to connect you with some organizations dedicated to minister on campus desperately in need of more volunteers. Because at the end of the day, how they would know about Christ if nobody guides them to Him?

In His service,

Jose

The Challenge of Missions In Our Backyard

2009-04-03T10:44:00.000-07:00

For most Christian believers in our nation, when we approach them with the subject of missions, they think in a group of missionaries traveling to a distant land, sandy dunes, people suffering from hunger and diseases, or perhaps an inhospitable rain forest surrounded by people half naked. Well, that is not necessary the whole picture at the dawn of the 21st century. The fact of the matter is that missions has become more complicated today. With the United States of America and Europe becoming more secularized, the global migration of people of all ethnias into our country, and the Islamic revival this nation is beginning to experience, it is necessary for the church to have a clear strategy of evangelization locally and abroad.

The United States of America is a nation of immigrants, and as such, during the 19th and 20th centuries we had an avalanche of people coming to this land from Germany, Ireland, Poland, Italy, and many other parts of Europe and Latin America. However, from the decade of the 1990's until the present time the migration into this country has been incrementally from Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Therefore, the culture and identity of this country is evolving dramatically. Take for instance the Latino population here in America, we have become the largest minority in the nation. Furthermore, if you travel not just to major metropolitan areas like New York City, Chicago, or Los Angeles, but in places like Postville, Iowa, the flood of immigrants coming into this land are taking even areas we never though foreigners will be calling home.

To this challenge, the question that comes to my mind is, what we are doing as the church of Jesus Christ in order to engage in a conversation with peoples from diferent nationalities in our own communities? This is the challenge of missions in our own backyard. It saddens me to see how many denominations take as an answer to a dying church because of changes in the demographics of a particular neighborhood close the doors and put in the front yard of the church building a "For Sale" sign. I strongly believe, we have been called to open churches, not to close them. Therefore, we must be kingdom minded at the time of a transition such as this in any church. In other words, if the neighborhood changes from a primarly caucasian into Korean, we should find a way to establish a Korean ministry and support it wholeheartly even if they do not belong to our own denomination. We are talking about souls, not just plain and simple numbers.

So, it is my prayer, that the church in this nation would open their eyes for a moment and see what kind of harvest they have around them. It might be a Iraqi harvest, or a Mexican harvest, a Somali harvest, or a Romanian harvest, becuae nonetheless it is a harvest. I pray that we discover in our heart the willingness to invest our lives not just to travel or finance others to take the gospel abroad, but to reach out our neighbors from other nationalities with different customs, faiths, habits, and languages. I pray, each and everyone of us will be intentional in our reaching out for the lost; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.