Evangelism is an exciting world. There is no doubt that Paul's words in Rom. 16:1, declaring the Gospel is power, are fulfilled every moment the word of God is presented.
During our transition to Milton-Freewater Spanish Church, we found a church with questions. What was going to happen? There was a new pastoral family, new challenges and new perspectives. What would be the plans and projects dreamed of by our congregation? In the same way, we had expectations and questions. We were joining a new territory and praying constantly, asking what God's plan is.
At our first meeting, we assessed the needs of leadership and of the community. We realized that one way to satisfy the congregation's needs is to get involved in fulfilling the mission.
Quickly, our minds turned to a week of evangelism. Some recommended a week of prayer, and others thought of vigils and the famous 40 days of prayer. However, when reading the scriptures, we realized that if something energizes the church and turns it into a vibrant, fervent organism that invites the participation of the entire congregation, it is evangelism.
Preparations were made. A good number of members became involved during the evangelism week called, Jesus, the Teacher. We were able to notice how the Holy Spirit was working in the lives of the participants. Our joy came when a couple decided to unite their lives through holy matrimony and later be baptized in the name of Jesus.
The baptism was significant since, for many years, they had been recommended to take the legal step of marriage. Nevertheless, for some reason, they had not made such a decision. Seeing them descend into the waters of baptism, a question arose in the minds of many: What motivated them to finally make the decision? They answered that through studying the Bible, God had impressed their minds and they understood the importance of creating a covenant with Him.
Today that beautiful family is an active member of our church and they have been involved in the Sabbath School ministry.
As a church, we are experiencing a revival as we put all our efforts into fulfilling the mission. There is no doubt that if something brings vitality to the church, it is preaching Jesus during the evangelical periods and in all the actions of our congregation. We exist to worship God and fulfill the mission. That is the motivation of our church.
Milton-Freewater Spanish Church thanks God for having touched us during that week of evangelism.