Apostolic Mutual Newsletter - 2nd Quarter "Build the Church"

THE VISION TO COME

By: Bishop Joseph V. Rodriguez

Greetings in Jesus Name!

It is with great delight and enthusiasm that we communicate the vision and the plans for the continued growth of Apostolic Mutual. No doubt, the previous administration’s accomplishments merit special applause and recognition for the vision and implementation of Apostolic Mutual. Thank you for your sacrifices and hard work!

As a new administration, our desire is to follow the vision of our beloved Apostolic Assembly, to Build the Church! The Apostolic Mutual foundation has been laid, and our endeavor is to continue building thereupon. Growth is our mission.

DIRECTORS & EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

JOSEPH RODRIGUEZ, CHAIRMAN

ANDY PROVENCIO, VICE CHAIRMAN

EDDIE CAMPA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

MARTIN AMADOR, SECRETARY

GIL AGUILAR, TREASURER

JORGE MONTES, DIRECTOR

LEOBARDO MAFFEY, DIRECTOR

SUZANNE VALENCIA, DIRECTOR

YVONNE VASQUEZ, DIRECTOR

GEORGE LOPEZ, DIRECTOR

LOAN COMMITTEE

ANDY PROVENCIO

JESSE VALDEZ

EMMANUEL VASQUEZ

MARIO PLASCENCIA

ADRIAN DIAZ

FINANCE COMMITTEE

GIL AGUILAR

SUZANNE VALENCIA

ISAI BAEZA

COMPLIANCE COMMITTEE

JORGE MONTES

YVONNE VASQUEZ

ERICKA JUÁREZ

STAFF

ABRAHAM MAFFEY, ACCOUNTANT

ESTEBAN ROBLEDO, LOAN OFFICER

EVA RODRIGUEZ, ASSIST. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

MICHELLE E. GONZALEZ, FINANCIAL ANALYST

ELIZABETH ORELLANA-CAUDILLO, EDITOR

DOMINIC MOSCHETTI, CREATIVE DIRECTOR

We are living in perilous times. We are conscious of the many challenges our churches are facing today, and how the global economy has suffered and has affected the certainty of the financial future of the church. Many churches are still navigating their way out of the global pandemic of COVID. However, since Apostolic Mutual is a faith-based institution, we trust in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who has control over all things. Interest rates continue to rise. But Apostolic Mutual is sustaining its footing and continues to serve our churches in these complex and challenging times. This is God’s church, and Apostolic Mutual belongs to God!

There is strength in unity. A cord of three strands is not easily broken. (Ecc. 4:12) As a church, we are united. As the children of men in Genesis 11, “God said, the people is one”, “and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they imagined to do”. Only God has the power to stop what we unite to do. In the midst of economic opposition and uncertainty, we shall prevail in our dream to bless God’s Kingdom people!

“The Lord will send rain at the proper time from his rich treasury in the heavens and will bless all the work you do. You will lend to many nations, but you will never need to borrow from them.” (Deuteronomy 28:12) We are the head, and not the tail.

Through all the twists and turns of the economy, we are still God’s people, and with great certainty, God will rain upon us from His heavenly treasury, and we are moving forward with Apostolic Mutual.

This is our season. It is time to plant, time to invest, and time to harvest the blessings of our Lord. The more we invest into God’s Kingdom, the greater the reward. We encourage you to invest into Apostolic Mutual. The dividends are specific, and the reward is two-fold. You will enjoy the monetary benefits of your investment and the spiritual dividends of investing into God’s Kingdom work. Let’s partner together in this season of the Apostolic Assembly as we Build the Church together, by investing in Apostolic Mutual!

Apostolic Mutual is expanding. As more and more believers are investing, the opportunities are increasing. There are a variety of options for investment. You select what best fits your church or person and enjoy the benefits of a win-win for God’s people.

Our churches are the benefactors of our own investment. We invest, and we benefit. Many loans have been processed and obtained by churches, that have not otherwise qualified. We are saving money in many ways from a standard mortgage lender. We encourage you to contact our professional team of Apostolic Mutual experts and see how you can benefit in many ways. To God, be the glory!

We are committed to serving God’s people, and with much love, for His Kingdom, Bishop Joseph

V. Rodriguez

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BUILD THE CHURCH: GLOBAL MISSIONS

By: Bishop Felipe Lugo

During the month of February 2016, I was commissioned by the general board to accompany the secretary of international missions to the electoral convention in Montevideo, Uruguay, South America. It was during the convention that God revealed to me the commitment of men who are sent to preach the gospel outside our country.

After concluding with the elections of the national board of directors, we received an invitation from President, Humberto Samuel Meneses, to accompany them to have lunch. As we went to lunch, I thought that the elected and outgoing directors that the purpose of the lunch would be to discuss some need for the work in that country. However, to my surprise, when we arrived at the place designated to eat, some missionaries from the southern cone began to arrive with them their wives and children. At that moment, my spirit was moved. I understood at that moment that it is not only ministers and their wives who accept the call to be sent, but it also involves all their children.

Once the convention was over, we headed to the airport for our return trip to the USA. During the flight, Bishop Provencio and I were seated next to each other and left Montevideo at 9 pm, as we began our flight, I started thinking and visualizing figures and the faces of the children of the missionaries. The joy manifested within their smile and their joy at being in the atmosphere of a missionary fellowship.

As we began our flight, my mind kept taking me back to the luncheon we had with the missionaries and their families. The memory of the ambiance of the luncheon and the manifested joy of the missionaries and their families kept me thinking as to how these families were being helped with their needs. As time started to approach midnight and being late at night, I couldn’t sleep. The memory of looking at the picture I was looking at. The brothers, parents, and children exhibited such exceptional joy even though they were away from their home countries and families. This attitude did not let me sleep.

I immediately began to ask Bishop Andy Provencio questions about the benefits missionaries received. The bishop’s response saddened me, as he told me that missionaries and church presidents based abroad lacked a retirement plan and health insurance due to a lack of resources.

This news saddened me even more because, as I mentioned earlier, the commitment of the missionary families. My reaction was that we had to do something to be able to provide the benefits lacking for our missionaries. After several hours of praying and thinking about what we could do to help our brothers, the Lord showed me to do something like he had done years before with the need of some of our local congregations.

Approximately in the year 2000, being a participant in the review committee of our constitution and assisting, at that time, the vice president Daniel Sánchez, former president of our Assembly after his period as vice president. The Lord Jesus Christ granted me the opportunity to present the program of the Trust Fund, and with the approval of President Sanchez, I presented it as an initiative proposal, which the pastors approved and is now in our constitution, Article 42, this program was the foundation of Apostolic Mutual.

It was about two o’clock in the morning when I received the revelation to establish missionary benefits, following the same model approved before. The Trust Fund received its monetary foundation from the districts by sending 5% of the pastoral tithes sent to the districts and another portion of the remittances to the General Treasury.

God showed me that the interest that local congregations pay on their loans was not tithed to any entity of our assembly and that for these interests to be a blessing, they would have to be tithed, and after it went through the constitutional process, the missionary benefit program was established.

That morning before landing in Miami, I shared with Bishop Provencio the plan, and he was very happy since it had the potential to provide one more benefit to the missionary body.

The process was not easy, but the result is that now the interest generated by Apostolic Mutual loans is a blessing to our missionaries. Now, the program that God granted us the process has been put in place, and I thank God granted us the opportunity to establish the Apostolic Mutual program, which is already of great benefit to our Beloved Apostolic Assembly of Faith in Christ Jesus.

THE MISSION MOVING FORWARD

By: Sister Elizabeth Caudillo

Apostolic Mutual has the opportunity to bless our mission field. Currently, Apostolic Mutual contributes 10% of its net interest to the Apostolic Assembly’s Foreign Missions Fund. These contributions are made possible by the investments happening because of you!

Just as Apostolic Mutual has the vision to assist churches and pastors to continue building and expanding the kingdom, the mission field needs assistance too. Since the start of the program, we have been able to contribute to the Apostolic Foreign Mission fund a total of $27, 971.68 in the span of 3 years,

2021-2023. We are blessed by investments that lead to contributing to the mission field, but the work is still great!

Elder Eddie Campa relates his experiences in the mission field as he joined our Secretary of International Mission, Bishop Steve Moran. The churches in our mission field require expansion. Could our missionaries also be blessed with loan opportunities to expand their territory? YES!

It’s time to move the mission forward and continue with the vision that Former Bishop President John Fortino and Former Treasurer Bishop Felipe Lugo planted. As we continue to Build the Church, we pray that you unite to the mission. We may not be able to travel globally; however, your investments allow for us to fulfill the mission of building the church through investing!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. When should I start looking to invest?Answer: It’s never too early to start, the sooner you start, the better. It is important to evaluate your current budget and set aside a certain percentage for investing. Investments are an excellent opportunity for the future, such as major purchases, travel, your children’s education, or retirement; opening a CD with Apostolic Mutual only requires a thousand to get you started.

2. Are there any penalties if I withdraw before the maturity date from my investment? Answer: It all depends on the situation, in most cases, we do charge a penalty of up to three months of interest. There may be some exceptions due to unexpected hardships.

3. If I only have a small amount of money to invest, is it even worth it? Answer: Yes, it is, small amounts add up and grow over time even adding a few dollars every month can make the difference when you consider earning interest that is compounded.