A few years back, when I started leading evangelist training in Area B, I would invite people from different churches to attend circuit meetings to raise awareness about the training. Then one day, Deaconess Alma approached me and asked if she could take the training. I was happy to see that she was interested. Deaconess Alma has served through network T2C2 for all its 12 years of existence, developing and supporting Hispanic ministry in DFW, and in the process of planting churches in the area. So, I thought about how this training would shape her ministry. Here’s her testimony. (Written by Rev. Juan Zamora, Evangelist Trainer, Area B):

My name is Alma, a commissioned deaconess for the last 12 years. During and after the evangelist training, I was wondering how I would invest my time wisely, because of my multiple commitments, I was wondering how to do it, with very little time available, but wanted to take the training with an open mind and put it into practice.

Working with multiple churches and all of them having some similar outreach efforts to the Hispanic community, my question was, if there would be something else for us? Didn’t know what at that time, but after the evangelism training, I started to realize that there could be something else that could be done.  The Lord made it evident that my goal after the training was to unite some of our church partners and work together because this would help ministries to have a bigger impact and would encourage the development of new leaders and expand their impact and work in God’s kingdom.  So, for the last year, I’ve created a team, with multiple key women leaders from multiple network partners, and we have put together a monthly gathering, taking turns to host the gathering. For now, only 6 of our sites are part of this effort, hoping to add the rest of our church partners soon.

This lady’s ministry is now called “Hermanas en Cristo”, where half the group participants are members from church and the other half of participants are new people coming from the community to meet with us for the first time as a church and heard what we are about.  We gather, we have breakfast, have a devotion, and then we have questions for discussion and reflection. Also, we are able to talk and know more from the ladies, and we ended our gathering with prayer. This has become our faith community, and more importantly, this has become for many ladies their safe space, where they can share their questions, worries, and needs, but for us, an opportunity to lead them to Christ.  We have ladies who have come back, others have been connected to a local church when they asked for information, and others have been linked to other ministries and activities, creating an opportunity to develop and nurture these relationships. Since we started a year ago, this initiative has created an opportunity to see the beauty of the church working together, growing new leadership, connecting people to Christ, sharing the good news of Jesus, and reaching out to our community far beyond one church, area, or community. This new ministry has created momentum and energy among the Hispanic ministries, and even our English-speaking ministries have been inspired by this effort. I encourage you, even if you’re a professional worker, to consider this opportunity, knowing that the Lord works in mysterious ways. Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to work as one church, His church. To the Lord be all glory!

By Deaconess Alma Zamora