I have been involved in ministry in many capacities for the last twenty years. I not only grew up in the hood, but I have also served in mostly urban church settings. In addition, I worked ten years in the counseling and social work field, encountering all types of people, personalities and issues. All this has prepared me for pastoral ministry in the High Desert of San Bernardino County, California.
The city where I serve has a population between 32,000 and 40,000 with the median household income at $37,500. The average age is 24 and the city has a federal maximum security prison, along with five jails, including two juvenile detention facilities. According to recent reports, 70 sex offenders are currently living in my city. This is where I am a Pastor at Kingdom Life Christian Center, a new church plant.
Our ministry has been enormously blessed since beginning our association with World Impact. The missionaries of World Impact have assisted us in many tangible ways, such as blessing us with food cards to purchase turkeys during the Thanksgiving holiday. We were also very appreciative of the leadership team, led by Pastor Peter Watts, coming to our city to introduce over 35 High Desert Pastors to World Impact. Earlier this year, God orchestrated that my wife and I could attend and graduate from the Evangel School of Urban Church Planting. This training was absolutely amazing and invaluable.
During the Summer, we were honored to have our two Evangel coaches, Pastor Robert Vasquez and Cynthia Peters, come to our city to visit and pray with us about our new church plant. It was extremely helpful to have them tour the city, and get a first hand look at our community. We have also submitted a formal application to become an official TUMI Site and will be attending the upcoming TUMI Summit in February.
I am excited about 2017 and look forward to continuing and broadening my relationship as an Associate with World Impact. Finally, my faith and trust in God has been the sustaining power in my life. I firmly believe that, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13).
