Hello everybody. Welcome back to another episode of Anabaptist Perspectives.
I'm here in Los Angeles, California with Jose and his wife, and we're gonna hear a
little bit of your story of how you came to know Jesus and got involved in the
church. Now you pastor this church. Is that correct?
Yes.
Okay so this is the back yard really of your house. You have a church that meets here
every Sunday. Can you go into a little of that process of where you were
before you were a Christian and how you got to --- because honestly I don't really know your story.
I came from Mexico, you know, Jalisco,
yeah, Jalisco. I was living there. I didn't know the Lord,
first of all, but I already have a problem with alcohol and some violence
in my house and family and things like that. So when I came here to the US in
1993 for the next two years I still struggle a lot with alcohol and
then I started using drugs and both together. My life was a disaster you
know for those two years after I came to the US. Thank God that He always has a way
for us and He care so much for us that I came to know Him in 1995.
Well, He already has a purpose for us. I know that. Now I understand that part, but
back in 1995, I didn't know what's going on other than that I have a tremendous
problem with addictions. I was living with my family in Orange County.
After they tried to work with me and to
you know trying to help me out. They don't know the Lord until today,
they don't know the Lord, but they trying to help me out in a different ways and
you know, provide me different ways to help out and that didn't work out.
They kick me out from their house.
Wow.
So after living for you know few days, weeks on the streets and getting more deep and
in alcohol and drugs is when I came to know the Lord on the street.
Someone, yes talk to me about the Lord and they invited me to a place.
Honestly what I was looking and that finding a place to stay. I didn't have no place to stay.
You were homeless.
Pretty much I ended being a homeless. Yes.
They invited me to this place. They offer me food and place to stay.
Where else, you know, that's what I was looking for --- some place to
stay and food. I was hungry. No money. I went to that place and I didn't know
what to expect, you know. They start talking to me about the Lord and God loved me and John 3:16
and I didn't know anything about that. It's just ok, well, you know.
Wow. Had you had any interaction with Christianity before this time or...?
No. No, not really. I didn't know they were Christians.
They were someone that they serve the Lord. If I knew, I might say, you know, what I'm not
going that place. To be clear in this, it was they take me to a rehab where
was more people like me, you know with problems, addictions. Time goes by in
the next few months and I started feeling better, you know. Like I have no
need to use alcohol or drugs. I started doing some projects for the
place and knowing more people and seeing people the way that they came to that rehab.
I said, wow! I was like that. Wow! You know and I start feeling that
compassion for them and trying to help them out.
Instead of just going by myself, I started seeing the need and started, you know, in
my heart feeling that. I decided to serve them and to work with them and to see them change.
I stay in the house for three years.
Wow.
Three years. So back in that time the program that
the house has was for nine months. After three months, I start feeling that call
from the Lord to do something else. I start, like I said, working with new
people coming in and helping and doing whatever I could. I was six months,
nine months and the time came when I graduate and they give me a certificate.
They say, okay well you already finish you nine months program, so you're
free to go. I said, no, now I don't wanna go. I want to stay.
Wow! Okay and then how did you meet your wife through all this process?
I knew my wife at church.
That's a good place to meet.
I think I was already
two years and a half when I met her in church, so by that time I already was praying.
One of the first prayers that I learned in that place is that
if you want something, you need something and if you desire something
you must pray. You must ask. Then I say, well, Lord, I need a wife. I want to have a family.
The way that I met her was the church, yes.
This is another big question then. What happened between 1998 to now to where you're pastoring a
church here behind your house? I mean I'm sure a lot of things happened there, but
can you kind of walk me through some of that process?
Like I said in the beginning, I feel the call from the Lord since I was in the house -- 1995, 1996.
I don't see any other explanation why I stay in the house
because I didn't get no pay. They didn't pay not even one penny just to clarify.
So I really was there because the Lord put it in my heart. Then from 1998, we live in
Orange County in Anaheim, California for few years. Some very bad and I don't
remember exactly the days and years, but I've tended to the same church and
get involved in serving as much as we could and helping others there and doing
whatever the church asked -- preaching the gospel and evangelizing and all that.
Then when I moved from Orange County to LA, it's because I was
working for a company. The owner of a company asked me, said, do you
wanna work with me in LA? I say, yes.
I'm gonna open our store over there. Do you come with me? I say, yes.
You and the whole family? I said, yes.
We move to LA.
The time that we moved to LA we were a little bit struggling a little bit
and then when we moved here, we start attending to the same church where I
came to know the Lord. We attend to that church for maybe 4 years -- something like that.
Then we walk away from that church.
We decided that we have the need to find a different church where our children have a better environment.
Even though it was a Christian Church still things that we didn't agree in -- we didn't like.
Anyways, so for I think one year my wife and I --
especially my wife, she was praying and praying for a church where people really
loved the Lord. Where people really served the Lord with you know
with their hearts. Thank God, we found Pastor Ernest and family.
That happened through his sons and my children because they were having kids club in the park.
My children, they go to the park. They see that they were teaching
art and doing things like that. They came back home. Oh, we met Christian
people in there and they teaching this and they teaching that.
At that time I don't really, you know, pay so much attention. Like, okay, if they're
Christians, then we'll be good, but I didn't know who they...
Then after a few weeks, we see my neighbor here -- one of my best friend too, Sam.
They move, and then I see Marcel and Asher helping them to move,
and I say, huh, that's interesting. These are the people that was in the park
and now they helping here. What's going on here? I'm trying to figure it out and when we
found out that it's the same people, same church and they loved the Lord and that they
were doing this serving here in LA. It get my attention a little bit and
sure enough, we started going to visit Pastor Ernest and his house and
everything started from there.
That's amazing. So you met them
in the park, and then sometime later, here they're helping
someone move in next door and here it's the same people?
Yes.
That's amazing. Do you know how long ago that would have been?
That was like around I would say 7 to 8 years.
And then the church began meeting here I guess behind your house at some point?
Not right after that. I think after one year -- a few months after that. Yes.
And now you're the pastor of this church?
Thanks to God, yes. Praise the Lord! He gave me the revelation about the
opportunity to serve Him.
Yeah, I'm very happy.
Can you maybe tell a little bit of how you
decided this was the church, this was the people that you wanted to join?
I had the same question. One of the first EBC that we attended
one young man -- I don't remember his name --
he asked me the same question. I say well, that's a good question.
One of the reasons that we can say that I have to come to this church is because, as I say
before, I was praying, and we were praying to find a church that they love God.
A church that they were real, that they were really just pursuing the Lord.
I'm sure that we found that church. I really like just the way that they are.
Very simple, very honest, and I see a good opportunity to learn.
So maybe that was one thing then for this church that you found that you wanted to be a part of.
It's because of that sense of community, right?
Yes.
A sense of bonding.
Love and care. Yes. Definitely.
So, I'm gonna ask you another big question. What would be your vision for the city of Los Angeles?
For what you want to see happen in your neighborhood, across the city.
To plant churches and to, yes, open houses and the whole LA. Yes, plant churches.
Doesn't matter how big, and which area, but yes, plant churches as much as we can.
That's my vision at this point.
That's my vision, and I don't see myself changing that vision because I
see how beautiful it is to open the house and to open the house for whoever
wants to come to church.
Is there a specific -- like you talk about planting churches--
is there a specific vision you have for church planting?
Like a specific part of LA, or do you want to just keep serving here with the fellowship that that you have.
It's so much need in this community and not only in this community
around the area, but in the whole LA, you know, and it's not because there's not churches.
It's so many churches, but those churches it is so many questions there.
I don't want to really go into detail, but I really want to see more churches
like that one that we have here. Churches like the thrift store that we have
already and some other fellowships where we don't need really to worry too
much to pay rent, to pay bills, to really squish the church members to
you know, give more and more, but churches that they can just openly start.
That's why you choose to meet in homes or you know in a back patio like this?
Yes, yeah, that's one of the things that I learned from this church
that it's possible. Before then, in my mind was that I need to see those four
walls, that big building, AC. If it's not that, it's kind of questionable. Maybe it's not a church.
The Bible's clear where two, three gather in His name, His presence is there and He's there. (Matthew 18:20)
So that makes me happy. Here we don't need AC. We have AC all around.
Thank you for sharing that especially your vision for church. Do more.
Let's plant more churches.
Thank you everyone for watching. Thank you for coming and sharing your story.
I really appreciate that.
Let us know what you think about this video. Maybe leave a comment or send us an email.
We release videos like this every week and new podcasts and new articles about
what God is doing around the world and in people's lives like Hose and Ana.
So, yeah, thank you! If you enjoy this episode, come back for more.
We will see you in the next video.
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