Project Pablo

 

Pictures of Pablo's Home Dedication are at the bottom of this page

 

The movement which took place in the early church where every member acted as a witness is happening today in Mexico. Ordained as well as non-ordained people are taking seriously the Great Commission. The number of lay people participating is great. This is the Good News of the Mazahua region. The people saw the need, received the calling, and now dedicate their lives to the service of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

It is a blessing to see that the local congregations have developed a model of pastoral work and church planting that has proven successful in the villages. This model begins with the families who are the first ones to embrace the Gospel in the villages. Usually, the first person who comes to faith is the one who will take the responsibility of watching over the other families who join the faith. These first Christians, who are hungry for the Word of God, normally begin a very intensive study of the Bible taught by church leaders who visit their community regularly. Since the pastors understand the dynamics of the community, because they are from the community itself, this model of church planting and forming ministers has proven to be a very effective way of working in the villages. The pastors know the customs and traditions, and they know how to approach the members of the community or village. The role of leadership is efficient because of their well-grounded perspective of the situation.

 

During the past 10 years, many of these pastors who started this way have now gone through the Mazahua Valley Bible Institute and many others who are starting a new mission or taking over the leadership of an already established church are also attending the MVBI. However, we face one problem. The most critical problem is economics. All of our pastors are volunteers. They usually receive sporadic offerings which don't even provide for their family's daily needs and thus are forced to find a secular job to fulfill that need which inhibits them from working fulltime in the ministry.

 

About Pastor Pablo

Pablo Gonzalez and his wife, Berenice, are pastors of a small congregation called Mount Zion in a community called, La Mesa, far up in the mountains. Upon visiting their community, we noticed that there were no men in their small congregation.  Most had left the village to find work. Therefore Pablo was not only the pastor, but also responsible, along with his wife, for the well-being of the families. Pablo, who would regularly go for two weeks at a time to Mexico City to work, shared that he was amazed at how many problems he would encounter among his members upon his return (illness, financial, and family problems). He felt a great tension between dedicating time to the church and working to support his family. The burden of working in the ministry without an income made Pablo consider the possibility of resigning his position as pastor not too long ago.

 

Pastors Pablo and Berenice Gonzalez and family

 

Pastor Pablo's Testimony

My name is Pablo Gonzalez Galindo and I am married to Berenice Marin Galindo. We have two little girls, Sarai and Nahomi. I am pastor of the church Monte de Sion. Some years ago, I became acquainted with MVM and am very grateful to them for their support, especially the scholarship that my wife received to enable her to finish her studies at the Mazahua Valley Bible Institute (MVBI).

 

I became involved in serving the Lord while a teenager, working with the Sunday school at the church where my father was a pastor. Later on, I worked with the youth group locally and then at a regional level. On December 31, 2000 I gave my life to the Lord's service and in 2001 I became a student at the MVBI where Brother Tacho (MVM Director) was one of my teachers. As I was finishing my first year at the Bible Institute I accepted the call to serve as Pastor in my community.

 

My pilgrimage as a young pastor in the ministry has not been easy. As a family, we have encountered many difficult circumstances and sometimes we have become discouraged, but whenever it seemed that there was no way out, God was there to help. It is a blessing and privilege for me to serve in the ministry, because through the ministry I can see the hand of God like the time I was contemplating resigning as pastor because the financial burden was too great. I had made the decision when Tacho and Sally came to visit my family and invite us to a breakfast with Pastor Mary Brown from Calvary Lutheran Church . It was then that God came into my heart reassuring me, 'I am with you always.'

 

Even if I had to relive all of the times I have stumbled and fallen; I would never change my decision to serve the Lord. I only need to remember the feel of God's hand lifting me up time and time again and hearing him say, "Don't worry, when you fall I will pick you up. My grace is sufficient." Amen

 

"So, do not fear, for I am with you, do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10

 

 

About the Project Pablo Program

Project Pablo is a new ministry designed to support pastors who are without salaries to start a small business or build a home. The name, Project Pablo, is not just because of Pastor Pablo Gonzalez; but also because of the similarities between the New Testament churches that Apostle Paul started with the ones in the Mazahua area. We base the model of this project on the teachings of the Apostle Paul in relation to his own economic support as he says in II Thessalonians 3:8, "Nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it. On the contrary,  we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you."  It is a model that was emphasized in the beginning by our fathers in the faith in Mexico where the pastors did not want to be a burden on these new impoverished congregations that had not developed the culture of giving based on Biblical teaching.

 

The goal of Project Pablo is to provide evangelism and outreach funds to support the ministry of these pastors and lay leaders starting with Pastor Pablo Gonzalez and his congregation, Mount Zion in La Mesa. Funds will be used to make improvements to their existing church, to begin the building of a home for Pablo and his family (presently this family of four lives with Pablo's parents and many other family members in a small dwelling), and to provide start up funds for a small business which will provide income for Pablo's family. As a result, Pablo will be able to dedicate the majority of his time to pastoral work, providing stability to the church, spiritual growth to its members, and outreach to the community.

 

Our vision for the future is not just to provide for one pastor, but to move on and provide for other pastors in the same circumstances which will in turn lead to more stability in growth and leadership among the churches.

 

Below: Mount Zion Church (Pablo's Congregation) Construction Pictures 

 

Pablo starting the construction of his house along with his father and brother

 

 

Inside Mount Zion Church - "Monte de Zion"

 

Putting the concrete floor into the church of Mount Zion; done while volunteers from Calvary Lutheran Church (Golden Valley, MN) were visiting.

 

Pablo's Home Dedication

Mission team members (from Calvary Lutheran Church, Golden Valley, MN) share in the celebration of Pastor Pablo's Home Dedication!