pastor Archives - 61 Isaiah

December 1, 2023 by Lindsey Moreno 1 Comment

The Importance of the Cross

Now that my understanding of life revolves around Jesus, starting when I was a child because of the teachings of my grandmother, I’ve come to embrace the beauty of my relationship with Jesus. Though I always believed in the power of God, initially, I didn’t understand why there was a crucifix with Jesus on the cross. I didn’t realize the purpose of his sacrifice. Over time, I gradually understood the importance of the cross. I never imagined that my connection with Jesus would be so deep, accepting His sacrifice and His blood as a new opportunity not just for me but for all humanity.

Starting this journey hand in hand with our heavenly Father, the Bible became my daily sustenance and prayer became my means to communicate directly with Him. Eventually I assumed the responsibility of responding to the call to do the work of God and became a leader of a local church that began with my own family. God had already crossed my life with mature Christians who acted as mentors. I attended Bible institutes to equip myself as a pastor, truly seeking to fulfill the Great Commission assigned by Jesus through His Word. Connecting with missionaries and seeking their guidance became part of the process. With the support of my family, we obeyed the call, successfully building a church with assistance not only financially but also materially with the physical work of a sister church during their annual visits. Their ongoing prayers and continuous fellowship motivated us to persevere in what we were doing.

At a certain point, it seemed like the work was done. I responded to the call and fulfilled my role. However, after four years of discipleship with the missionary team from 61 Isaiah Ministries exploring the significant theme of the Church’s Identity, my perspective on God’s love and the Church’s role became clearer and unfiltered. In October 2020, I got the opportunity to join the 61 Isaiah team as a Village Lead, visiting churches in rural areas. With the support of the missionary brothers and Avenue Church, I started a new chapter of my life , becoming a missionary in my own country.

Visiting villages, meeting new brothers in faith, sharing what I’ve learned, supporting pastors and leaders, and strengthening our connection with Jesus became a source of joy. Teaching is not just about giving knowledge; I feel that I’m learning and improving my relationship with fellow believers, my family, and myself every day. Sharing the Gospel makes me feel purposeful. Knowing that everyone I’ve encountered, whether in my country’s villages or among the brothers of Avenue Church, the missionaries in Honduras, or around the world, are all part of God’s divine plan. We are connected to share His Word with those who do not yet know Him.

Now, I understand that God sustains me. He doesn’t remember the past and the things that I did before surrendering to Jesus and aligning my life with its true purpose. He shows me His mercy. That is the power and importance of the cross, the chance to be made new through Jesus’s sacrifice. Just like my missionary friend Jeff says, “I am better than I deserve, thanks to what Jesus did for me on the cross at Calvary.”

March 24, 2023 by Lindsey Moreno Leave a Comment

Thirteen Years of Faithfulness

Once again, like every other year, the calendar marks the 14th of February, and in our country we celebrate Valentine’s Day, the day of love and friendship. This is a day to exchange gifts with your loved ones or even go on a date. Flowers, chocolates, and candies become popular again. For me this date is much more than that. It was the 14th of February in 2010 when I received the calling from God to become a pastor next to my wife and children. They were just kids when this happened Carlos was four, Regina was six, Mauricio was seven, and Elvirita, our adopted daughter was 22 years old.

We started by having church services at my house. After meeting several times, we decided to move to a different building my family owns. We didn’t have any musical instruments, logistics, much less any idea of how to fund a church, but we had a grateful heart to serve God. I knew God would be faithful, and that he had a plan for us. God had shown himself to me and my family demonstrating his love and divine protection by taking care of us when we were in a car accident.

But God had been working on my heart long before that accident. I had been on a spiritual retreat back in 2006, and during that retreat I had a personal encounter with Jesus. For me, everything changed. That’s when I started going to church and studying my bible more. I was thirsty and hungry to learn more from God, the same hunger and thirst I have now. I took every chance I had to learn more. I started going to theology seminars and studied with missionaries that came to our city. I had decided to have a real relationship with my God.

Later I realized that in the church there were things that were anti Biblical, some churches had practices that were contrary to what the sacred scriptures taught us. They used psychology and emotions to keep people there. Yes they were thrilling, but they had very little knowledge of the truth and what they were doing. Practicing retreats where I had given my life to Jesus, God used these retreats to call me but not everything the churches did had basis in the Bible. I decided to step away and stop attending churches. I didn’t want to be a judge of how the other churches work or the strategies and methods they use. I asked God to keep me from having a judgmental heart. I just wanted to have a relationship with Jesus, learn from him and his life, and learn how I could take his message to those who need it.

Returning to my story, it was on the 14th of February that we got out of the comfort of our house and we moved on to a bigger building. At that point we only used CDs for the worship songs. It was during this time that a family who had just recently moved to Gracias showed up timidly asking if this was a church. My wife’s answer was that this isn’t a church, but we do bible studies and you are welcome if you’d like to come in. From that point our church continued to grow.

Working in the Maternity home with the Avenue

Later on God sent a missionary couple and their family down to Honduras, the Hopkins family. They have helped us with their discipling programs, teachings, and connecting us through 61 Isaiah Ministries with other missionaries who live in Honduras, specifically in my town Gracias Lempira. I have walked with them and learned so much from them by visiting churches, villages, and communities. Through 61 Isaiah we formed a partnership with our sister church The Avenue from Waxahachie, Texas. They come down to visit us yearly, helping share the gospel all around. Not only do we share God’s word, but we also work on social projects at Maternity Home for women from far away communities and villages to come stay while they wait to give birth at the local hospital.

The Avenue helping with ceiling construction at Rio de Dios Church

So much has changed since we started our church that February 14th. But what I really want to share with you is that for me, Jose Mauricio Vicente Romero, I can say that by the grace of my Heavenly Father I have the privilege of being the pastor of Rio de Dios. And I can’t be more thankful for having celebrated our 13th anniversary. Every doubt and insecurity I had at the beginning, God has walked through them with me. Little by little God connected me with the right people and has shown me what it means to be part of a healthy church that may truly be a River of pure waters, like in Revelations 22:1, where people may come and find the peace that only God can give us.

Pastor Mauricio and his daughter, Regina

Christmas celebration at the church youth group meeting

February 18, 2022 by Taylor Chandler Leave a Comment

The Goodness of God

Author: José Mauricio Vicente Romero

Hello; It’s me again, do you remember my name? My name is José Mauricio Vicente Romero, I am a pastor in a church located in a town in the department of Lempira in Honduras, I am very excited because this month on the 14th we celebrated twelve years of the church Rio de Dios. During these years of ministry, we have shared the gospel with people from the community and we have traveled to nearby communities to share with brothers from other churches.

With a group of brothers from the church, we have visited the local hospital to pray for people who are patients in the hospital as well as praying for their relatives who care for them. Although in the last year due to the restrictions from COVID we have not been able to visit because the entrance is restricted. However, we pray in our homes for these people.

It also gives us great joy to be able to serve at a maternity center for pregnant women who have been attending for more than two years. In this ministry, we are responsible for providing them with a place to sleep and food. Most of these women come from low-income communities and this provides a way for us to be able to share the love of Jesus with them and take them to church on Sundays until their day of delivery.

As a minister of the word of God, I have felt tired and discouraged at times when I don’t see changes in people’s hearts. I have managed to understand that it is not in my strength, nor in my time, but it is in God’s time as it happened in my life. My heart is filled with the strength of hope.

I know that I am not perfect that there are still weak areas, but I’m reminded of a Bible verse that we have highlighted in church. “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!” Psalm 150:6. So while I breathe, I know that I must praise God because of the love he has given me. I do not deserve it but he died on the cross to cleanse me with his blood.

Having joined the 61 Isaiah team a little over a year ago has allowed me to be able to serve more efficiently since I am learning to improve the way of reaching people who have not yet given their lives to Jesus, meeting people with customs, language, nationality different from mine, shows me that there is no barrier of any kind to serve God.

October 11, 2021 by Jeff Holloway 7 Comments

Follow the Glory Trail

Right now, I am sitting in an absolutely beautiful coffee farm called Eco Finca La Bendicion in the mountains of western Honduras. From where I sit, I can see grand mountains, several kinds of pine trees, banana trees, and many other beautiful trees. Some of these trees are covered in flowers that are vibrant yellow, red, orange and purple. Of course, there are coffee plants as well, along with a pond with fish and ducks. There is a wonderful little horse, several dogs, squirrels, birds of all kinds, and I am sure much more wildlife than I can see. We are also surrounded by a wonderful and kind group of people of all ages.

I have seen many amazing sights in my life but right now I can give God glory for where I currently am. One of the core values that God placed in my life many years ago was to give God glory for who He is. I was sitting in my Old Testament class at Howard Payne and our professor, Dr. Rainey, was sharing with us the importance of seeing, recognizing, and giving God glory. The way this is done is reflecting His glory. I really have nothing in and of myself to give, but I can be a reflection of who He is. I can see His reflection in His creation and acknowledge His glory by lifting words of praise and thanksgiving to Him

In recognizing God’s infinite glory and grandeur, my vision and understanding of God continues to grow, and with this, my understanding of my inadequacy and desperate need for Him grows as well. Since God is far greater than I could grasp or imagine, I decided to spend time every day thinking of how amazing God is by thinking of the incredible things that He has done and imagining great things He can do. I end this time by realizing He is far above what I can think or imagine, He is unlimited in every way and only limited by Himself. My little pee brain can’t even begin to scratch the surface of understanding all that He is. There is enough around me to wow me and for me to contemplate for the rest of my life.

As I see the beauty around me, I recognize that it is only a reflection of His beauty. When I look at breathtaking views, how much more will my breath be taken away when I truly see Him. When I see the mighty waterfalls or the force of mighty storms, winds, rain, etc. this mighty force is only a reflection of His might. I realize that it is looking in a mirror dimly. The glimpse we get is only a peek, but in that glimpse, we are overwhelmed. Moses was told he could not look on God in His glory or he would die, so he only saw the trail of His glory, and that caused him to glow so much the people were terrified and required him to cover himself. Simply a glimpse of His glory will alter us.

When I saw each of my children born, I recognized the miracle of God’s amazing creation in them. The idea that He included us in such a wonderful thing and entrusted us with loving, caring for, and raising them. What an amazing privilege! Every person has been fearfully and wonderfully made, each one has been created to bring God glory. He has included us in His redemptive ministry. We join with Christ in the ministry of reconciliation.

I have the wonderful privilege of leading devotional and teaching Bible class at Abundant Life Christian school in Gracias, Lempira, Honduras. Every time I see them, I recognize that each one is an amazing creation of God. Each one God loves so much that He gave His only Son to redeem them. I remind them every time that we meet, that they were made by God for His glory. They should seek what God has for them to do and go and do that. Scripture tells us that they will see our good works and glorify the Father which is in heaven. I look for God’s glory in each of them as well.

Another core value that I have learned is that if I want to know something is of God, I simply need to follow the glory trail. Is God receiving the glory or is man? It is something I want to strive for in my life but also helps me to understand if something is of God – if it brings glory to God. Whatsoever we do, we should do for the glory of God. Does what we are doing or what we are part of reflect God’s glory? Does the glory trail lead to God or to man?

September 27, 2021 by Michelle Holloway 2 Comments

Gifts from God

Author: Jose Mauricio Vicente Romero

Hello, my name is Jose Mauricio Vicente Romero. I am from Gracias, Lempira, Honduras. I have learned to do a lot of things in my life to help me serve other people. Right now, some of the things I enjoy are sharing the Gospel, visiting communities, and studying God’s Word with different people. I am greatly encourage to be a part of an amazing team filled with incredible people that God has sent to my country to share His Word. I have learned so much from them and had the privilege of teaching them about my country and culture.

These last few years have been filled with happiness. I have a beautiful family, friends that believe in God, and a wonderful church. The church may be small in number but is big in its love for one another. It is a church that believes in what was said about the early church in Acts 2:47, “… And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

This month, something big happened to my family. We all tested positive for COVID. I was the first to get really sick and had to be hospitalized. Thank God, I was eventually released from the hospital to recuperate at home, but then my wife was hospitalized. Thanks be to God she is now at home and recovering. She is getting a little better each day. We are trusting God knowing that things like this happen so that we can see how big His love is. It has been amazing to see God’s protection and care throughout this trying time. I haven’t felt the need to question God, in fact it has been the opposite. I am filled with thankfulness and joy at being able to keep faithfully persevering. It is in times such as this that allows us to grow in our faith. We must remember to meditate on what is important, which is knowing what He did for us on the cross. It is knowing that it’s not about what we do, but what God has done for us.

I am so blessed and thankful to share this life with friends and the amazing team of 61 Isaiah, and for the love that God gives to each and every one of us.

Author: Jose Mauricio Vicente Romero

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