I’ve always had problems fitting in… it’s actually a part of my testimony! I’ve never been able to fully fit in to a peer group on my own. Growing up in elementary school I was an oversized nerd that tried hella hard to be cool but wasn’t accepted. In Junior High School I’d made a promise to myself that I’d fit in somewhere, anywhere… it didn’t matter which peer group. There were stoners, there were cholos, and there were surfers, I didn’t wanna smoke weed, and I didn’t own a surfboard, so the cholos seemed the most interesting. Not only that, it was guaranteed protection from getting chased or beat up by others.

Before I knew it, I’d gotten jumped in by Big Pollo (RIP), Poison (RIP), T-Bone, and the homie Chueco. It was my official “court in” as they beat me, punched me, and kicked me for 60 seconds. I was a bloody mess, but I was instantly accepted, I was now a part of a family that would defend me to the death, care for me, feed me if needed, but most of all, offer me brotherhood and fellowship… I belonged. I had a small army of dudes that had my back, accepted me, and welcomed me in with open arms. I quicky began to build up this façade of who I wanted the world to believe I was. I immediately started getting arrested and doing time, in which I’d further build my reputation of someone to be feared and respected. Huntington Park, South Central, and Watts were my stomping grounds!

I would eventually go from juvenile hall, to probation camp, the California Youth Authority, LA County Jail, Department of Corrections, and finally on the run to Mexico as a wanted fugitive. Hiding out there I had an option to further carry out my criminal career by connecting deeper with the cartels, or reinvent myself to start over. I was tired of running, so I chose for an identity makeover. I went to Sinaloa and got fake ID’s, moved to Baja California, started from the bottom as a Night Auditor at a small motel, and worked my way up to General Manager of one of the finest Beach Resorts in all of Baja. But even holding that prestigious job, I never truly fit in to the community there, it’s like they knew that there was something fishy about me, so they kept their distance.

And when I came back years later, I was trying to figure out who I was after the many identity changes, getting reconnected with my homies, prison political associations (IYKYK), all while remaining under the radar so as to not alert the authorities I was back. Then while starting my last prison term, I had a true encounter with Christ, not quite as dramatic as Paul on the road to Damascus, but it was probably a close runner up. And while I was in prison, a place that’d been home for so many years, I now felt out of place because I was a Christian. Upon my release from prison almost 3 years later, going to my wife’s church in Compton, then to a Reformed church and growing there, I didn’t quite fit into either of those two churches.

And now, fast forward a bunch of years later and being 3 ½ years into planting the Reformed Church of Los Angeles, with 4 – 5 more plants in the works, leaving our denomination due to irreconcilable differences, and looking for a new denominational home, I am again reminded that I don’t fit in anywhere, nor does our church. There are places that will tolerate me, there are groups of people that would probably be happy to have us with them to make them look different, and there a couple of groups we’re having conversations with and though we’d be a good theological fit, the question is would we be a good cultural fit. What am I referring to? Being “Hood and Reformed”.

The Reformed/ Presbyterian world has some of thee smartest folks in theological circles. It is also a very homogenous environment within most circles we are connected to. There are very few, if any, Ministers of Word & Sacrament, who come from my type of background. There aren’t many Latino “Teaching Elders” let alone church planters, or even Ministers whom we could connect with that have experienced church planting in the hood. At times it seems like folks we’ve been connected to in our theological circles are too busy to give us wise counsel, or maybe wouldn’t understand some of our struggles, our context, or our need of them and their guidance.

We’re hood, we’re Reformed, we’re confessional, we’re creedal, we’re complementarian, and we’re focused on reaching the urban poor, the under resourced communities where prosperity pushing pimps thrive, fleecing the flock of what little they have. We are adamant about reaching our community with the Gospel, passionate about teaching folks solid theology that they might know God more intimately, love Him more profoundly, and serve Him more passionately. Because we’re in the hood we don’t have the resources that most Reformed/ Presbyterian churches do, so fundraising is another part of our scope of work, by God’s grace He’s provided every step of the way. So what do we do now? Where do we go from here?

We are currently praying, discerning a way forward that God would lead us to make the right affiliations to enhance our ministry… not just Lynwood, but Wilmington, San Bernardino, Santa Ana, Phoenix, and who knows maybe even Chicago and Las Vegas. There are many dope groups of folks with whom we can connect, but the question is which would benefit our lil #GuerillaChurchPlanting movement the best going forward. You see, we’ve got dudes who will be planting that only have a G.E.D. and will be going to seminary, these aren’t the normal paths to ordination, but that’s what we’re working with and that’s what we’re going to do. We’re in unchartered waters here… whereas most Reformed/ Presbyterian churches have moved to more suburban areas, or are in urban areas but not as actively involved with their community (no shade just facts) we want to plant confessionally Reformed churches in the hood by the hood and for the hood. But, unfortunately most of us weren’t raised in the church, we’ve got at least a couple felonies, no undergrad education, we’re bi-vocational, but have all the passion in the world to teach folks in our communities who Jesus really is.

One of the hardest things I’ve had to encounter in my Christian walk was to wait! Wait until I got back into school to finish my undergraduate, wait on seminary, finish seminary, get ordained, and somewhere in the middle of all that we planted a confessionally Reformed church. I’ve got such a huge respect and admiration for the Reformed tradition, its organization, it’s profoundly sound doctrine, rich history, love of God’s Word, commitment to accurately teach the Bible, and the seriousness with which we take theological education, and with all it’s pro’s, there are still some cons.

I think the absolute hardest thing in my Christian walk was my identity. I didn’t know who I was anymore. I used to be this fat nerd as a kid who got bullied, then I became a fake gangster who transformed into a real gangster, then fled the country and took on another name and had to reinvent myself with this new identity, and then when I came back the U.S. to assume my old identity and resume being a hardened criminal. And if that wasn’t enough to confuse me, when I surrendered all to Christ in a prison cell on my knees crying out to Him, I was thrown for a loop.

Friends, becoming a Christian yanked the rug from underneath my footing as I had to become everything I never was in the past, like I now had to demonstrate love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Who me? You gotta be kidding right? Actually yeah, that’s exactly what I had to do. I had no idea how I’d do this, and in doing so I quickly noticed and acknowledged certain things that were hard for me. Like, was I a punk now? Was I a coward for having walked away from the hood? Did this mean I’m weak? I didn’t quite know where to fit in, especially since I was still in prison. And now, I think I’m in the same boat, only now I’m helping lead a church and not quite sure where we fit in.

I wonder if I’m looking for another “court in”(only without the violence), I wonder if we’ll find that acceptance, though we may be struggling to find our place in the theological world, we know our identity is in Christ, we know that we’re kin to other believers by the shed blood of Jesus, we know that we’ve been grafted into Him, and that nothing or no one can separate us from the love of God. We still have many habits, we still enjoy the music we grew up listening to like Pac, Biggie, and Los Tigres del Norte, we minister to our taquero when were out on a Friday evening in Compton, we share Jesus with our neighbors, and promiscuously invite erry’body to church. One thing is certain, is that God’s got us, we’re His and He is ours, we belong to one Holy, Catholic, and apostolic church… keep your eyes peeled as God is doing some pretty dope stuff. Coming to a hood near you soon!

And P.S. Don’t forget to baptize yo’ babies!

Is “church covenant” still a thing?

For those people who are true followers of Christ, becoming a member of a church is biblical and imperative, not optional. Every Christian should be excited about becoming a member of a church asking just how can they use their time, talents, and treasure for the sake of reaching the lost… so that other people can also hear the life changing Gospel of Christ, because it is the power of salvation for all who believe. That’s what the story should look like, but instead we have one of “musical chairs” in which people shuffle from one church to another for a season, then on to another, under the assumption that so long as they’re in a church on Sunday, they’re good. That couldn’t be farther from the truth!

When the Apostle Paul wrote his epistles, he often referred to specific groups of people who formed churches. For instance, he wrote the following:

• To the church of God at Corinth… (1 Corinthians 1:2)
• To the churches of Galatia… (Galatians 1:2)
• To the church of the Thessalonians in God… (1 Thessalonians 1:1)
• To Philemon our dear friend… and the church that meets in your house… (Philemon 1:1-2)

The Apostle Paul was writing to a group of people committed to these churches, people that were sold out for the advancement of the Gospel. In the early church, there was much hard work to reconcile Jews and Gentiles, to set aside cultural differences for the sake of drawing folks to Christ and His Gospel message of salvation… but today? Today we have people leaving churches over their position on the use of masks, vaccinations, and political parties. Today we have people leaving churches over religious liberties being expressed, “I don’t want to be around people that drink alcohol…” Well, at our Reformed church we use wine for communion every Sunday, so I don’t know what to tell you.

The Church has become like Chipotle, where you create your church as you would a burrito bowl, that’s how folks want it, a custom ordered church… and if you put onions in it and they don’t like them, POOF, just like that, they’re gone. It makes no difference how much time the church has invested in them, it makes no difference how many people will be hurt with their departure. Something rubbed them the wrong way, someone looked at them the wrong way, didn’t let them do this or that, preached too long, preached too short, had too much doctrine or too little doctrine in the sermon, too many groups or not enough groups… the case in point being, people are not sticking around to fight for their church. They give up way too quickly and leave for insignificant, nonbiblical issues.

It is a sad thing as we compare the modern church to the early church. Folks would sell all their possessions for the sake of ministry as we see in Acts 2:45, but today we see people church hopping, not committing for long periods of time, or even at all. The modern church has gone from dying for Christ to not even being willing to be discomforted for His sake. This sad fact makes one think, do these folks even really know Jesus… how does one explain Galatians 6:2 and the instruction to bear one another’s burdens yet be willing to leave a church for minor issues, that are more subjects of personal choice than biblical or sinful matters. 

Churches have different methods to become members, for us its an 8 week class, in which we hope will demonstrate a person’s commitment to understand our story, understand our theology/ doctrine, our mission/ values, as well as their commitments as a member coming into covenant. Because we’re a church that bears our theological position in our name “Reformed Church of Los Angeles”, it can draw certain kinds of persons. Some of these people are amazing Jesus loving folk who want to serve His church and our community. But sometimes it draws in problematic people… many problems… After the 8-week class, we publicly receive folks as members and ask them questions, including this one:

“Do you promise to accept the spiritual guidance of the church, to walk in a spirit of Christian love with this congregation, and to seek those things that make for unity, purity, and peace?” 

This all sounds good in theory, but in many churches, it is good, at least until something happens that rubs someone the wrong way. Until something doesn’t go their way, until this, that or the other… everything starts coming under a magnifying glass in which pretexts are being sought out to use and justify an imminent departure. The Lord is no longer deemed worthy enough for differences to be put to the aside and instead the mission of the church reached by fighting for it. All Christians stand upon the Scripture where Christ calls us to deny ourselves and pick up our crosses daily (Luke 9:23) but there are many that won’t even be discomforted let alone deny self or carry their cross, it’s more of a hypothetical understanding.  

My brother and partner in crime Rev. Chris Márquez posted an image about a year ago that clearly specifies what it is that all followers of Jesus must do. And I’m confident that every Christian will affirm those things, that is at least until something doesn’t go their way. The modern Church should look back to our history and see how the church has always fought for truth, fought for each other, and never divided on small issues that were personal preferences. 

Pre-existing tertiary doctrinal issues or religious liberties shouldn’t be an issue (Romans 14). Things like tattoos, alcohol, smoking, dancing, and music are not reasons to divide over nor reasons to leave a church. Heresy being taught, orthodoxy being abandoned, getting kicked out, or the Gospel not being preached are legit reasons. The body needs people of all shapes, sizes, and colors to help it grow by giving of their time, talents, and treasures for the glory of God. To exalt the name of the risen Christ is what every believer should strive for… and as a church planting pastor, it’s always sad when you see or hear of people walking away from their church for minor issues.

So friend, if you’re reading this… don’t give up on your church, don’t give up on your pastor, but above all, don’t give up on the people that God has called you to help reach in the community He’s placed you, with the ministry He’s called you to, and with the gifts He’s given you to steward. Fight for your church, don’t give up on your brothers and sisters, don’t leave your team hanging, and above all… keep Christ where He needs to be, at the center of your decisions. Would Jesus smile at you in approval for leaving your church, or would He frown? He endured the passion… the burden of carrying the Cross after having been beaten almost to death, He suffered the pangs of hell on the Cross… for you… please give His sacrifice more attention than your personal discomfort. 

Since God has called you to a local church, make sure you commit to it. Make sure you become a member there, support it and its mission, speak well of it, invite your friends to it, fight for it, encourage your brothers/ sisters, pray for it, give to it, and most importantly, honor the covenant you’ve made with it. 

Another reason people leave churches often is that their sin catches up to them, and rather than deal with it, they’ll go somewhere else and start off fresh. No one knows, they play it off like they’re super spiritual, all holier than thou… and then when it comes up, and folks find out, they bounce… again. If that’s you, stop running, if you really love Jesus, let Him help you through your struggles, but He’s gonna use the local church for that, so stop running. It’s ok if you’re not perfect, none of us are… so there’s no need to fake the funk. Christ will still love you, and so will His bride!

Church covenant is still, very much a thing. Honor it, respect it, do your part, and give Christ your absolute best… He deserves nothing less than that. He gave His very best, for our very worst… never forget that… ever! God be with you!

About last night? “You see what happened was” is how I almost started this off, it was a close call. You see… last night I almost… almost fell… but the wisdom of Proverbs came through. Last night was very difficult and emotional. You see, one of my good friends, my oldest homeboys passed away about 2 months ago. Big Rich Lucero was someone I used to look up to, when I was just a young teenager he would go out of his way to try to guide me right, to give me wisdom… and I heard him out, I looked up to him… but I didn’t always listen. He always told me that there was something different about me, and that drew me to him even more, because I sought affirmation, that which I lacked from the men in my own family. 

Well, because of life, bad choices, prison, and addictions… we became somewhat distant, as I did with most of the homeboys from my neighborhood. You see, they didn’t like the fact that I had “left the hood” or walked away. Many of them hold anger towards me, they resent me, and probably hurt by my actions and take it as a betrayal… I get it… totally get it. Many of my homeboys have expressed their love for me, many have expressed how proud of me they are for getting my life together… but many others don’t feel the same. You see, I wasn’t just an average gangmember, I helped lead the gang… I was the one representing at a political level with the Mexican Mafia. I was the one always looking out to make sure we were covered when it came to those affairs. We’d had multiple “green lights” and I swore to myself I’d never let that happen again. They ain’t nothing nice when you’re on the inside.

So last night, I’d offered Big Rich’s family, to host and officiate his memorial services at my church. Remember, we’re a church plant, that means almost everyone is a volunteer, I’ve also got a full-time job working at MLK Community Hospital in Watts as chaplain, which means I would need help to pull it off. Especially as we were hosting our Wilmington Campus Midweek service at the same time with volunteers already serving there. My wife left work early to help set up, my daughter and good friend/ sister from church practiced early to lead worship, and my son literally drove straight from his office to the church, to help run sound… not to mention two other brothers from church who helped set up, tear down, and clean up afterwards. Hold up… I’m getting to the part about me almost falling… but the words of the Bible in Proverbs 11:2, “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.” saved me from making a huge mistake.

So what happened then? Well, I remember stepping into the pulpit to begin the service when one of my homeboys walked into the church, he looked angry, he was walking fast but with a limp and a cane. As he walked from the back to the front, he was “mad dogging” me hard… when I saw him, I got heated… like really upset that he would dare look at me like that, because I know that were I not a Christian, he’d dare not even think about it. Here is where pride begins to well in my heart. Here is where I start to contemplate in my heart and mind approaching him afterwards and asking him if he had something he needed to get off of his chest, and kind of hope he said or did something… you see, I haven’t gotten into a fight nor beat anyone up since I’ve been saved… we’re talking July of 2008.

I didn’t let it get to me though, I shook it off, and continued to lead the service. We opened up with prayer, we sang “Psalm 23” and “It Is Well”, I preached from Psalm 34, and clearly shared the Gospel with everyone that was present. I called us all to repentance, I called us all to forgive as God has forgiven us, I called us to be mindful that we didn’t need to continue with strained relationships. We all came together to support Dora, Big Rich’s wife, and their kids. There were many tears, many hugs, many smiles, and great memories… but there was also a strong undercurrent of much tension, and in these circles, tension does not go away on it’s own, there’s usually an escape, usually a violent escape. So I was starting to get nervous, because I had to keep reminding myself that I’m no longer an active gangmember… but an active Minister of the Gospel, an active pastor shepherding a church, an active man of God serving his community… an active man leading his family well and making much progress. 

We began to close by taking group pictures in front of Big Rich’s urn and picture. Folks started to drift outside and scatter, I ended up grabbing a vacuum and hit the carpet to clean up so we could make our way out for dinner and then home. We turned off the lights, locked up the church, and there’s people all around the church outside, parking lot conversation, on the street some were smoking weed, laughing, telling old war stories, and enjoying the moment. As I made my rounds saying goodbye and goodnight to everyone, inviting them to join us for church on Sunday I came up to one of the fellas out there and extended my hand to shake his, but instead of shaking it, he just looked down his nose with disgust and asked, “Why you wanna shake my hand? After everything that’s happened?” I began to feel the anger burn up within me, multiple scenarios about how this would end were flashing in my mind and none of them were good. My hand remained extended to him and my eyes were locked on his, he asked me again what I wanted, and I said, “I wanna shake your hand!” after what seemed an eternity, he kinda’ looked around to those who were there and said, “Nah, I’m good!” and I said, “All good man, God bless you! ” and walked away and saw another dude that tried to look away but our eyes locked and he quickly looked away in fear, it was at that moment that I realized what my face must look like, what emotions my facial expression must’ve portrayed and I knew it probably wasn’t good. 

I had many things going through my mind, things that were not of God, but what was of God popped in my head… the word “pride” was swimming in my head as were the many biblical references to it, like, Proverbs 16:18, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” And Proverbs 29:23, “One’s pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.” I had to honor Christ, I had to suppress my feelings of pride, my anger, and force myself to remember and reflect upon the word humility, that it might push out the word pride. I had to be more concerned at that moment with what God thought of me, than what others thought of me and I literally swallowed my pride, got into my car and left. And I thanked God that I didn’t hear the words, “Better walk away then!” (insert any ‘You heard what I said’ meme here) because that probably would’ve been a different story ending (LOL). 

So friends, it seems that lately, I’ve been getting attacked over and over again, from different sides, and most of them are rooted in my pride. I’ve had problems surface as a result of people, whom I thought had my back, talk about me behind my back, I’ve had people question my leadership abilities, and I’ve even questioned myself at times as a result of it all. But God is good, He’s helped me identify the enemy in it all, and I definitely saw him working overtime at Big Rich’s memorial service trying to get me to bite and get suckered into a fight… but God is good, and He saved me from falling last night. I can’t even begin to imagine how I’d bounce back from that. My Savior is too important, my ministry is too special, and my church deserves better… I’m grateful nothing happened. But lowkey, I’m still afraid, because the pride hasn’t gone away… it’ll forever be there, I’m sure. What brings me comfort is that even Paul asked multiple times for God to remove the thorn from his flesh, but the answer he got was, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

So dear Christian… what is your weakness? What is the thorn in your flesh and how are you dealing with it so that you might not fall? Because let me tell you, last night I almost did. Last night there was a small victory, now I gotta worry about today’s, then tomorrow’s battles… and then the day after that, I need to be sober-minded and watchful because my adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). Would you please pray for me? If you’d like for me to pray for you please contact me and let me know how. Friends, please pray for your pastors, you’ve no idea all the things they’re struggling with, you’ve no idea all the side conversations they’re having, the plans they’ve been making, the moves they’ve made, relationships strengthened, all that they might continue to do what they’ve been called to do… preach the Gospel and make disciples. If you’ve not walked in pastoral church planting shoes, don’t try to tell us how to tie our laces. 

That is all, carry on! (insert wink emoji here)

Thanks for taking the time to look into my life, my heart, and my mind. May all we do be for God’s glory! #HoodGrace

When we set out to plant “Reformed Church of Los Angeles” 3 years ago, we’d always planned to be a church planting church, we didn’t really know how, where, when, or who would plant, just that we’d be planting again. One thing we knew for sure was that we’d plant in Wilmington, CA. it made sense since my brother Pastor Chris Márquez has lived there his whole life. It was something we’d talked about often, but had more questions than answers. I’ve written previously about how our team has shifted drastically since launching, but God in His mercies has drawn some amazing folks to join our church and commit to our mission of planting more healthy, confessionally Reformed churches in the hood by making disciples. 

The Lord has graciously brought to our church multiple groups of men who are passionate about the work that has been done in Lynwood and anxious to see the same type of ministry in their neighborhoods. Because we’re adamant about church membership being a biblical imperative (1 Cor. 12:21-26; Acts 20:28; Matthew 18:16-17; 1 Cor. 5:12-13; and Heb. 13:17), we’ve been adamant about training up leaders to help our church planting efforts. We’ve gone from ministering in Lynwood, Compton, and Watts to soft launching in Wilmington in just a couple of weeks, while simultaneously preparing men to plant Reformed Churches in San Bernardino, Santa Ana, and Arizona. How in the world has this happened? Well, I wish I could tell you it’s because we did a, b, and c; but the truth is that God has done it, we’ve just been along for the ride. 

Today we baptized one person and received 12 more as new members. Our turn out for Lord’s Day corporate worship service was a little over a 100 people, so how do we plan on planting 4 more churches with just 100 people? Great question! A better one, is how are we planning on planting 4 more churches without any money? An even better question, and the answer is that we just don’t know. What we do know is that God has sovereignly been drawing the right people, with the right giftings, and the right passions to plant. We will do all that we can to prepare and train them up to plant alongside their families. We plan on taking them through a multi-faceted training, help strengthen their marriages, deepen relationships with their children, and start actively fundraising for these plants. I think that’s one of the hardest parts or struggles… the finances! You see, our whole get down is to go into the hoods, the under-resourced communities that most people are trying to get out of, we’re trying to take solid theology to the hoods, because Jesus loves the hood too!

For many folks, they’re more concerned with getting out of the hood than what kind of churches are starting there. And all too often Christian folk are more concerned with visiting the hood, doing day mission trips there, taking some dope selfies, and then going back home. There aren’t too many folks moving into the hood for the purpose of supporting theologically sound churches that would in turn plant more theologically sound churches. There aren’t too many folks that are trying to truly and genuinely engage with their communities, and instead are ok with commuting into a building, having church and then going home. I ain’t hating, but I wonder just how effective that model is. 

Just yesterday afternoon I went on a bike ride ALL through the hood. My brotha’ Adrian Bañales and myself took off from my house in Lynwood, crossed over into South Gate, went into the heart of Watts, cruised all through Compton, and then back to Lynwood. While we were getting ready to cross Alameda into Watts off of 92^nd Street, I heard someone honk and yell. I looked back at Adrian and then I saw an SUV with a big old dude, mean looking cholo bending over to say something. I got a closer look and realized it was my homeboy Big Pete Cuevas, first thing I yelled was, “When are you gonna join us at church?!” I got a wide eyed grin back from him and I asked him to please send my love and “saludos” to his brother Snake. 

At that moment I remembered once again why I need to stay in the community that God has called me to minister in and minister to! Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you can’t live outside, but the odds of being more successful, more impacting, and deeper engagement is by living in the community we minister in and to. Whether it’s going to the corner to buy milk and eggs, walking your dog, pumping gas, or riding your bike. The neighborhood sees you all the time, all days, not just an hour or two on Sundays.

By God’s grace, the men we are training up to plant are or will be living in their neighborhoods. Jesus loves the hood, not just upper middle class or affluent neighborhoods. Jesus walked with the hoods of His day. He walked with the marginalized, Jesus walked amongst the people, Jesus knew their needs, and Jesus helped meet those needs. May we do the same as we plant more confessionally Reformed churches in the hoods across Southern California and Arizona, our Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. There are some exciting changes coming up for us this year, can’t speak on it now, but will definitely be doing so hopefully by the end of the Spring. If you’re so inclined to help support our church planting efforts, let me know and I’d be glad to let you know how you can pray for us, or help us. If you’d like to support these efforts financially, we’d be super grateful, or if you’d like to join these efforts here in person with your gifts and talents, hit me up too. 

For now, please pray for the following church planting and ministry efforts:

• Reformed Church L.A. Wilmington – Pastor Chris Márquez 
• Reformed Church of the Inland Empire – Sam Montes & David Cabrera
• Reformed Church of Orange County – Martin & Victor Velazquez and Justin Corona
• Reformed Church of Arizona – Alex Diaz
• Reformed Church of L.A. Lynwood Español – Merari Herrera

Our small network of Reformed Churches is pulling together and we’re calling it “Guerilla Church Planting” because planting confessionally Reformed churches in the hood is a straight mission, it’s spiritual guerilla warfare. This year has already started out with complications but we know that Christ is on the throne and that gives us hope… as a matter of fact, its our only hope. Psalm 39:7, “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.” We’ll continue to push, we’ll continue to preach Christ crucified, repentance of sin, and trusting in Christ alone. 

It was Monday morning, as I walked into the ICU at Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital in Watts where I serve as Coordinator for Spiritual Care. ICU rounds hadn’t yet started so I went to the North side of the unit to check on some of my patients and see how they were doing, I hated Monday mornings because it’s when I would find out that some of my patients had died over the weekend. As I tried to sneak over really quick, I heard my name being called, so I turned around and saw the doctor, one of the intensivists, telling me about a patient not going to make it, and asked if I’d be around in the next hour or so because the family was on their way to say their good-byes. One more family that I’d pray with as their loved one was getting ready to transition from this life to the next. 

I can’t tell you how many end-of- life conversations, Gospel presentations, hands held, foreheads stroked, and prayers given for patients and their families… all because of some stupid bug that I hate, COVID-19. I know we aren’t to hate things, but this virus, I do hate. I know that God is sovereign, I know that “leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and lean years, food and drink, health and sickness, prosperity and poverty all come to us not by chance… but by God’s fatherly hand” (Heidelberg Catechism Lord’s Day 10, Question 27). But because I know and trust in God’s sovereign hand doesn’t mean that I can’t hate evil or lament… it’s actually Biblical to lament, right? 

If church planting and pastoring wasn’t hard enough, if having to help start a business to create a consistent stream of revenue to help fund ministry wasn’t difficult, if studying for a doctorate degree and helping to grow one church plant and help plant 3 other churches during a pandemic wasn’t difficult enough… how about dealing with death almost on a daily basis, and not being calloused to death in the midst of it all. I wish I could say that it hasn’t yet happened to me, but it has… don’t get me wrong, I still feel… I still cry… I still sigh and yet still believe in Christ the Risen Savior… but it’s hard ya’ll… really, really hard. This isn’t a complaint, at all… I love my life, love my ministry, and love the various opportunities that God has given me to help further His kingdom, to help teach others about the King of King, to help folks know the Jesus of the Bible for there are far too many bootleg versions of Him going around. 

But this is just one part of my life as a church planter… I wish we’d had as much support as other church planters, where we could solely focus on ministry, and not have to be bi-vocational or even tri-vocational… but that’s not the case. When you plant a church in a hard place, these are the types of things you can expect, but I love every moment of being used by God for His glory. Some folks don’t really understand how I have to have 2 jobs in order to do my main one, my 24/7 church planter/ pastor calling. What would you do if you had to work a separate job just to do the one you really love? Would you? Probably not, it’s not even the norm in ministry, but it is a very real thing. 

I haven’t blogged in quite some time, I hadn’t recorded a podcast/ vlog in quite some time until recently, I was thinking about what to write, and this morning as I was walking into the ICU for work and heard my name called and the doctor gave me the rundown on one our patients, it all just kind of came to mind and I knew I had to write about this. I see first-hand how all of our front-line workers give so much of themselves, caring for people who are critical, at end of life situations, working over-time because they’re short on staff, and over worked because people will just not stop getting admitted, there is no more ICU space, and more room was added to another floor just to help accommodate the ICU patients that had nowhere to be placed or housed. And I see how we all risk our own health by going into COVID rooms every day, to care for our patients… and yet I’ve got friends who think this is all fake, I’ve got people I love dearly that say this is some kind of hoax, some kind of government tactic for control so they refuse to wear a mask, “Governor can’t make me do $#!+” I get it… but at the same time I don’t. Real people with real families, are dying and leaving behind kids… young kids. One of my patients might not be there tomorrow morning when I get to work… and she has a 4 year old son! 

I can be honest and say that after the initial COVID surge had flattened out, I got a lil lax on my care, I wasn’t as careful as I could’ve been. ICU space was opened up at the hospital, very few COVID cases and then BAM!!! My daughter got sick, and all kinds of people we know started getting it, getting really sick, and then dying. In less than 7 days I heard about a good friend who Pastored a church in the SFV died… then a few days later I found out a childhood friend had also died… Pastors and their families were also contracting it, many had to cancel church service, go back to online, and have guest preachers fill in. Yet for some reason, there are still folks who will refuse to wear a mask, refuse to believe that this is really happening. I really don’t understand. 

My hope is that by way of my recent posts and this blog, folks who know me, know that I’m not a Trump supporter, nor am I a Democrat… I see evil on both sides, so I’ve got no bone in this fight. I’m no politician, no political favorites or connections… just a very deep and profound love of the Lord Jesus and His people… so I embrace the opportunity to minister to folks, especially those at end of life situations, I have one last shot at sharing the Gospel with them, and pray that they’d repent and believe. If you’re reading this, you could make my job and that of my coworkers so much easier by just wearing a mask… by avoiding close contact with folks outside of your home… by washing or sanitizing your hands often… some people have tested + for COVID and barely even knew they were sick, while others that had no other medical issues have died… folks younger than me, thinner than me… dying… that die? I’ll be ok, because I know Jesus… but my family won’t. Eventually they’ll be ok, but it’s gonna hurt like hell. 

Sorry if this sounds morbid, although not as morbid as my friend Johanna who even has her funeral playlist ready, but this is real life. This is a very real thing for me, something I do on a daily basis, in dealing with death, hoping and praying for the opportunity to share about the one death that an actually bring life… by simply believing… by trusting in the finished work of Christ on the Cross, that His shed blood would pay for our crimes committed against a Holy God. Do you believe? Do you possess faith in Christ as Lord? Or do you just profess it with no faith? Are you a part of a local church? Do you give to it? Do you serve in it? Are you involved in discipleship? Are you submitted to the elders of that local church? If you answered no to any of those questions, you might wanna consider your standing with Christ… because those are things that Christians must do… not in order to get saved, but as proof that they are saved. 

So if you’re not a part of a church, you might consider supporting a church plant by becoming a member, giving financially, serving, growing, and helping it by advancing their Gospel proclamation and mission to engage it’s community. You can’t say you’re a Christian and not belong to a church… real spit! When someone asks you what church you go to, respond by saying, “I’m a part of __________ church!” Help your pastors not have to be bi or tri-vocational. I’m blessed in that my church supports my working at MLK Community Hospital and helping build a bridge into our community. This opportunity was clearly laid out by God and so grateful to be on a team of amazing folks who love what they do, have a passion to serve our community of South L.A. and give so much of themselves to do so. Please keep my team and I in prayer. Please keep my church and I in prayer. Please keep our leaders and future church planters in prayer… we’re so thankful for your friendship and partnership in the Gospel. 

Ever feel like you’re a square peg trying to fit into a round hole?

That seems to be my life story, as far back as I can remember… I was always getting yelled at by my dad for not doing things the way he wanted me to. I was willing to change and eventually found myself talking like him and his friends, using certain grown folk mannerisms hoping to get a chuckle or acknowledgement from him and his drinking buddies. I remember in school I was a nerd, bigger than most, and fatter than almost all… I wasn’t a jock by any means or into sports but I was willing to change and give them a try by playing a bit of everything because all of my friends played, but I never really got a joy out of playing sports. My parents never went to any of my games so that kinda’ sucked. It wasn’t until I started getting awards for academic achievements that my mom started going to my ceremonies.

Fast forward to Junior High School and it was even more awkward, I’m still a nerd and just didn’t seem to fit in, but I was willing to change. I managed to fit in the New Wave crowd for a bit, I didn’t like smoking weed so I kept away from the stoners. But after a fight where I got whooped by some dude smaller than me, I realized that I craved something else, a different kind of attention, and I was willing to change to get it. I began to actively seek acceptance from the local street gang in Huntington Park where I’d been living. But they wouldn’t accept me as I was, I had to again be willing to change, so I did.

I changed so much, that I’d forgotten who I actually was. I entered what seemed to be a revolving door that led me in and out of jails and institutions over and over again from the age of 13 through 24. I’d also become very close with the cartels and began working with them, but they wouldn’t accept me as a cholo, so I needed to dress the part, and talk the part… I had to fully live into my Sinaloan heritage, once again I had to be willing to change in order to be accepted by these guys and do business with them. That whole situation ended really bad with me having to flee to Sinaloa as a fugitive on the run, on LA’s most wanted, and because federal agents were now actively looking for me I had to once again, make serious changes… even my name.

Living in Sinaloa and then Ensenada, Baja California was not easy… it was extremely hard, so much in fact that at times I felt like returning to the U.S. and telling the agents at the border who I was and that I was a wanted fugitive… but I didn’t, so I had to change and adapt to a new way of life. When I decided to come back to the U.S. again many years later, I had to forget all the changes I’d made while on the run in Mexico and get back to the old me… but I was having a hard time figuring out who I was. I had to be willing to change yet again.

Me and my homeboy/ compadre Happy in Soledad circa ’93

In Tehachapi; My last time in prison and new believer in Jesus.

My past finally caught up to me and I ended up in jail again, but this time they weren’t playing, the system was done with me and they were trying to give me life… again. At the peak of my downfall, recidivism kicks in and I get stuck in another revolving door in and out a few more times, until I come to “thee” moment… that defining moment that God used to draw me in and not let me go. At that point, when I came to saving faith in a prison cell, I encountered one of the biggest battles ever… an identity crisis, because you see, being a Christian in prison isn’t looked upon as being cool… but I was tired, I was done and desperately wanted to submit my life to Christ. I gave up the gang, changed up and pissed a lot of people off in the process… I had to be willing to change again, but I didn’t know how… I started using my real name, started reading God’s Word and it started coming alive to me and in me. Things were changing rapidly… but I was struggling with my identity. I’d been used to changing so much of myself in order to please others I’d forgotten who I was along the way. But in Christ, I started to discover who I really was. I was a son of the living God, grafted into Him by way of faith, forgiven, restored, and being formed into His image slowly but surely, day by day seeking to serve Him and only Him. 2 Corinthians 5:17 showed me that because I was in Christ, I was a new creation, “The old has passed away; behold the new has come.”

As a Christian, things didn’t change much. I found myself… a ghetto raised Latino in an 80+ year old church that belonged to 392-year-old Dutch Reformed Denomination. Although the church I was a part of was extremely diverse in many aspects, it in no way reflected the denomination as a whole which remained predominantly white. As I grew in my faith, my theology grew too, I was passionate about studying and getting as much theological and biblical doctrine as possible, I was like a sponge trying to absorb as much as I could and discern things on my own and for myself, and as I did, I found myself not really fitting in. I found myself not really agreeing with many things my beloved denomination allowed, tolerated, or was known for. I was nurtured there, cared for, encouraged, spurred on and challenged… so I remained true, faithful, and dedicated to help give my 2 cents as well as a voice to those like me. But something changed though, and that was that I was no longer willing to change anymore, especially any changes pertaining to my understanding of what the Bible taught about delicate issues such as gender and roles, marriage, and immigration. I needed to be like Jesus!

1 Corinthians 11:1, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”

2 years ago I was invited to serve on a team of 12 that was tasked with trying to find the best way forward for the Reformed Church in America. There’s talk of a split… and it makes us wonder what the potential outcome will be. What will happen at General Synod, will we stay, will we leave, will we be forced to go elsewhere… one thing for sure is this, I will never again change for anyone or anything, especially as it pertains to my understanding of what is expected of me by my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God didn’t save me from multiple life sentences, gunshot wounds, and stabbings to forget where I came from or not use that as an advantage to reach and teach folks that come from similar backgrounds as mine. I am no longer willing to change! I must preach and teach the Gospel, my walk MUST match my talk. It’s been a difficult 2 years thus far as we navigate and truly wonder what the outcome will be. I know there are folks who’ve already made up their minds to leave the RCA as well as those determined to stay and fight… fight that their understanding of holy scripture would be accepted and lived out by all, I don’t want to fight. I want to make disciples, I want to plant more churches, I want folks to know who Jesus is, what our mandate is and how we serve Him as both our Lord and Savior. I want to try to live a holy life, called to die daily to my sin, serve others selflessly, be hospitable, and to keep peace, unity, as we preserve God’s Truth.

1 Peter 2:21, “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.”

I’m all about unity and peace, but I’m more about purity and truth… and my love of God will NOT allow me to ever change my my ways to please anyone, never again! I do hope and expect  to continue to grow as a Christian, and to change only as He sees fit, as He molds me… as God forms me and shapes me to be conformed to the image of His son.

My life is much different now than when I was growing up, I’ve matured, I’ve found out who I really am, and most importantly Who’s I am. I am a son of the Most High God, adopted into His family, chosen by Him out of sheer mercy and grace, forgiven of my sins, and spiritually regenerated and made new… do you know who you are? Are you a square peg trying to fit into a round hole? You don’t have to keep feeling that way, submit your life to an audience of One and all will be well.

1 John 2:6, “Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”

I remember being in seminary, and one of my professors had a ring on his finger with some Hebrew writing, and it just so happened I was also taking Hebrew that semester and asked him about it. Although I knew what it said, “El Roi” or “the God who sees me”. I wasn’t quite sure why he was wearing it. He shared a touching story with us and that stayed with me, not so much his story, but the fact that God does in fact see me… and He sees you too. This name of “El Roi” comes from Genesis 16 in a story in which Hagar, a young slave, was being obedient to her mistress and mistreated so much that she ran away. While she was in the wilderness an angel of the Lord came to her to tell her that the Lord had heard her affliction and that she was to go back. It might sound like a strange story if you’re not familiar with the whole narrative, but this blog post isn’t meant to be a thorough Bible study on Genesis 16, but instead a reminder to you that as God saw the young servant girl Hagar in the wilderness when she was at wits end, she was so overwhelmed with life, she was stuck in a situation where she was being obedient and faithful yet made to suffer… for many of us, it too can seem like we’re doing all that we’re supposed to and just can’t catch a break, right? This whole COVID-19 pandemic has many people feeling this way for a variety of reasons… friend, be reminded that God sees you, just as He saw the poor slave girl running away in the wilderness.

For some folks, the loss of a job after having worked so hard to get financially stable completely killed their hard earned progress. For others that were barely getting by week to week, the loss of a job or reduction of hours has also been a major setback. These things might not seem like a big deal to some people because they’ve got savings, or tons of resources to fall back on, but for many in my community and in my church that’s just not the case. This is a blog on urban church planting, which means starting a church from scratch in the hood… an area that’s already under resourced, an area where folks (like myself) have to have more than one job in order to get by… and this domino effect unfortunately hits the church hard too. And when you have no paid staff for tech stuff, audio/ video needs, etc… this is what it looks like sometimes on a Sunday during live stream of service… I’m manning the cameras while Elder Steve Price is preaching.But here’s the thing… God sees the needs of His church and He provides… so when we learn of almost $35K lost being lost already, we are concerned about it but we don’t worry because we continue to do what we’ve been called by God to do. As many are out trying to find new ways to obtain funding for their ministry, as present, we at Reformed Church LA are more concerned right now about making sure our community’s needs are being met. This isn’t a show off, or to brag… not at all, the only thing we boast about is our Savior, His great love, and His great power. But because this is a blog about planting churches in the hood, the hood needs to know you care about it before it cares about what you got to say. We’ve come together with some amazing people, truly God ordained partnerships. We’ve undertaken a pretty big responsibility by joining forces with the Lynwood Unified School District to ensure their food pantry did not stop serving the community when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The district offices were shut down and most employees were extremely busy trying to figure out how to move all their studies to an online format and serve a community that isn’t online by getting them online with distribution of Chromebooks to thousands of students.

Together in partnership with the Lynwood Unified School District, our friends at Greater Emmanuel Temple Church, Lynwood City Council, Parks & Recreation, Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, and us… Reformed Church L.A have committed to serving and supporting the School District’s Food Pantry every week during the present stay at home order. Because of this collaborative effort, lots of attention has come to what we’re doing, and lots of people are offering to donate money, food, clothes, and themselves to volunteer. During one of these distributions, my good friend Pastor Nisan Stewart of G.E.T said we should talk about how to do more for our community and although it’s a great idea, we both knew that our plates were already super full but just couldn’t pass up an opportunity to do something more to bless our community. We can’t just say we’re worried about their eternity but not their now, right? I immediately thought of our good friend Audrey Casas, who’s an amazing advocate for our community, and we’ve partnered on so many other community efforts in the past. She’d recently started raising funds to help serve those folks in our community who don’t qualify for Federal Stimulus checks, or Unemployment benefits, those families who are the most vulnerable and have lost work, reduction of hours, and money. As we were preparing to meet the following day to talk about getting behind Audrey and her team, I got a call from a homie and fellow church planter in Torrance, Russ Hightower. He said his church (Pacific Crossroads South Bay, a PCA church) wanted to help us and our efforts. Well, ain’t that a coincidence?!? NOT!!! Our God knows what He’s doing and He’s ALWAYS on time. So the very next day after our food distribution efforts we met at G.E.T. and formed a new partnership to further support our community. Below you’ll see Pastor Joe Brown of PCCSB, Audrey Casas of Mastering Hope, Pastor Nisan Stewart of G.E.T. and yours truly, Rev. Rudy Rubio of RCLA. Our homies at PCCSB came through with way more than we could’ve expected and hope to bless hundreds more families with their contribution!  So what does any of this have to do with the title of this blog post, El Roi? Well, that God sees us, and even though we’re all experiencing hard times right now, we don’t let that stop us from doing what we’ve been called by God to do. The platform may have changed, but the mission and the message remains the same. We are confident that if we do as the early church did, like we read from Acts 2:42-47 in which they “devoted themselves” to the Apostle’s teaching, to the breaking of bread, costly fellowship, prayers, and looking out for the needs of others… all the while praising God… we’re gonna be ok and God will add to the numbers of those being saved every day. We gotta keep pushing, we can’t stop, won’t stop, we will not be stopped if we only keep our eyes on the Cross, can I get an amen?! We’ll do what we gotta do, and know that God will do what He’s gotta do. God is faithful… God will provide… God will draw in His people… and God will use His church… we are His people, His called, and He will use as agents of change in this dying world. 

So friends, church planters, pastors, church members, or maybe you don’t even believe in God but are actively seeking because you know that there’s some kind of higher power… please know that God is real and He doesn’t lie, He keeps all of His promises and none greater than, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9.

So, we’re not a big church that has to cut back on staff, we already don’t have a budget for covering our needs, so we won’t let even less money stop us from serving. God isn’t just Creator, He’s Sustainer, and He’s providential… He’s using our team and our church members as volunteers to step up our game and serve in ways we never thought we’d have to. Our team has stepped it up in so many ways to care not only for our community, but especially for our church, that our family in Christ would know they’re loved, not alone, and have a team of people who got their backs, and what a comfort knowing we can count on these people, right. In other words, they’re truly living out Galatians 6:10 that says, “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

To give you a better understanding as to what I’m talking about, check out this clip of what our Kid’s Ministry did on Easter Sunday.

All that said, if you’ve been a supporter of Reformed Church L.A. and our ministry efforts, please know that we’re so grateful for you, that we appreciate you, and that we’re truly thankful for trusting us with your finances as we seek to share the Gospel of Christ. If you’d like to join in with what we’re doing, please know that we could REALLY use your financial support, as I mentioned at the beginning, we’ve lost almost $35K so far and could use a little help. All for Christ’s glory!!!

So it’s been approximately 2 1/2 months since I’ve last blogged, not by choice nor lack of want, but because life has been so crazy, seriously! Let me bring you up to speed and fill you in, my last post had to do with complete transparency and how I’d been struggling by taking things too personally and that was end of January. Here are some pictures of our memories since then.

Our beloved Kobe died

RCLA partnered with our friends of East Side Riders Club and Peque Brown for this amazing Kobe mural in Watts.

I was honored to have opened in prayer at the Kobe Bryant Memorial hosted by the City of Lynwood in front of hundreds of people.

RCLA hosted “Word On The Street Evangelism Conference”

It was awesome collaborating w/ Ruling Elder Izzy Avila, Lamont English Jr., and Rev. James Lim

My beautiful wife Edna and daughter Natalia were invited to Lynwood’s Breakfast in honor of Women.

Visited my dad and my homie Yogie in Tijuana, Mexico

As a chaplain for the Los Angeles Dodgers, I was in Phoenix, AZ for a few days during Spring Training and bumped into other pastor friends and church planters.

And then… Corona Virus hit… and it hit hard. That’s a whole other blog just to be able to tell you how we’ve adapted, what we’ve done, where God has come through for His glory, as well as some of our struggles. It’s all good though because our God is in the heavens and He’s sovereign over ALL.

Have you ever felt like you’re just overwhelmed? Like everything around you is falling apart? Or is it just me? It’s not a good feeling right? I was having a couple days like that, where it just seemed that everything that could possibly go wrong, was going wrong. Things at home, at church, with friends, work, marriage… like everything just seems to be piling up!

Please don’t hear what I’m not saying, my family is great, my marriage is strong, friends are awesome, and ministry continues to amaze me… but sometimes, sometimes we can often drown in a glass of water, right? At least that’s what I was experiencing just a few days ago. It seems like no matter how hard you try sometimes to focus on the important things in life, bad news and gossip always seem to come to you, always seem to try to bring you down and get your focus off the Cross and onto insignificant worldly things.

• When things go right at church, I celebrate immensely, not because of my efforts but because of God’s goodness.
• When things go right in the home, I celebrate that too, not because of amazing parenting skills, but because of God’s compassion.
• When things go great in my marriage, I so celebrate the gift of my wife, not because I’m an amazing husband, but because of God’s generosity.

But when things don’t go right, then what?

Then things change… things are different, they’re no longer the same, then I beat myself up. I no longer look to God but instead question myself, horrible right? So that’s a struggle of mine, one amongst many others, but I’m so grateful and full of joy that instead of trying to shift blame when things don’t go right, instead of trying to find fault in myself, I analyze and try to think what God is doing and teaching me in the midst of it. I can be very hard on myself and that inward focus can make me miss what God is actually doing through any given situation.

As I was reading and praying this morning, I don’t know how the heck this song came up in my mind but before I knew it, I was humming it, and then I was singing it, and then I had to look it up on YouTube and play. Here’s the link #DontJudgeMe:

I heard an old, old story,
How a Savior came from glory,
How He gave His life on Calvary,
To save a wretch like me…

O Victory in Jesus, my Savior forever…

Any victory I have is in Christ… from salvation to ordinary and daily living. God is sovereign, yet I’m not a puppet or robot. God uses me, He uses my gifts, and He even uses my flaws and mistakes to bring Him glory. He reconciles all things to Himself, He redeems, and He restores… such a refreshing reminder.

1 Corinthians 15:57,
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

If you’re struggling today, be reminded of how God is blessing you. I don’t mean material things… but think of the small and usually overlooked things, like coming home each day to your family. With our beloved Kobe Bryant having been tragically killed in a helicopter crash along with his daughter and 7 other people, the world is very aware and sensitive to how short life can be and literally gone in the blink of an eye. It was a startling reminder to me that I can’t allow even ministry to come between spending quality time with my family. I’ve already made the mistake of focusing too much on others and not enough time on my family. That’s a wrap, won’t happen again!

So when I find myself drowning in a glass of water, I’m reminded of God’s goodness, allow me to share some of those celebrations with you, that you might give God glory too for the victories that Christ is giving us:

Our Men’s Group just continues to grow

Our Youth Group has been restructured and is looking amazing. They’ve got some fundraisers prepped for this year, they’re being refreshed with the Gospel continuously and growing spiritually. Yvette, Kristina, Paul, Jerett, and Ricky are doing a great job with our teens. It’s not just fun and games, they’re gaining the trust of our Youth, and teaching them deep theological truths.

Our Women’s Group is growing, look at these beautiful sisters whom are striving to encourage each other, love each other, and build each other up. Ruby and her crew (Edna, Maribel, Kristina, and Rachel) are putting it down!

Our Children’s Ministry has also recently undergone a restructuring and we’re amazed at how smooth it is running, our sister Liz Price has outdone herself with an easy system she’s implemented, the amount of support she has is awesome. Edna, Gabby, Tabitha, Ica, Melissa, Christine, Maribel, Oralia, and so many other ladies got her back. As a pastor I’m thankful for her giftings being used to comfort parents knowing their kids are not just being watched, but taught, catechized, and instructed in the ways of the Lord.

And as for our worship team, it started off with many problems but under Rachel’s leadership she’s taken us beyond any expectations we could’ve had, not just in how she leads, invites others to step up, but in how she’s pouring into the next generation of worshippers, and discipling them outside of church and worship ministry.

Thanks for following my/ our story! Thanks for praying for us, encouraging us, supporting us, holding us accountable, but most importantly for just being there for us and not turning away or forgetting about us. We love you!

www.reformedchurch.la