Edition II Spring: 2011
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PRESIDENTIAL NEWSLETTER
INSIDE THE
PRESIDENTIAL NEWSLETTER APOSTOLIC ASSEMBLY of the Faith in Christ Jesus
II Edition | May, 2011
President Samuel Valverde
INSIDE
“BELOVED, I PRAY THAT YOU MAY PROSPER IN ALL THINGS AND BE IN HEALTH, JUST AS YOUR SOUL PROSPERS.” III JOHN 2
International Missions Profit and Loss Statements Hawaii 7-Day Fast/Convocation 3-Day Fast/Convocation Calling out of the Sons Featured Pastor
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RECEIVE A HEART-FELT THANK YOU FROM ALL OF US AT HEADQUARTERS
“PROFOUND APPRECIATION” Dear Pastors, Paz de Cristo. Thank you for taking a few minutes to review the following important Assembly matters: “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.” III John 2
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rom time to time we approach you to solicit funds for Missions, humanitarian aid for those in crisis and other urgent needs. In 1998 you responded generously to help those devastated by Hurricane Mitch (More than $100,000!); since then, whether it be for New York, Pakistan, Haiti, New Orleans or any other emergency, Pastors and members of the Apostolic Assembly are always ready and willing to give generously. You recently received a letter soliciting funds for Japan and responded with over $33,000! Our April 17th Missions effort is underway and again we’ll respond according to the Luke 6:38 principle: “Give and it shall be given unto you.”
Please receive a heart-felt thank you from all of us at Headquarters and I’m sure from the recipients of your blessings. May God bless you richly, may he meet your needs and those of your family and church. May the good Lord bless you with health and provision and sustain you always with His generosity. We preach and teach it and repeat it at every opportunity – and it continues to hold true – we can never, ever out give the Lord. It’s all about experiencing, not just receiving His blessings. “How can I experience the blessings of God?” The simple, yet profound, answer to that question is found in the very nature and character of God. If we truly want to live life to our fullest potential, we must be people after God’s own heart—a heart marked first and foremost by generosity. Then and only then can we understand the powerful biblical principle that “God is for us.”
PRESIDENTIAL NEWSLETTER Edition II - May, 2011
INTERNATIONAL MISSIONS
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations… ”Matthew 28:19
PROFIT AND LOSS Furthermore,we are reaching out to other continents beyond our usual Latin missionary efforts. Pastor Domingo Carlos has visited India a few times and Lord willing will be sent to establish Apostolic Assembly works in that area. Minister Jesse Mendoza has brought back information from Japan and we are preparing to send a missionary to that devastated country. Let us continue to pray for Japan. Visit: www.apostolicassembly.org/Japan
In that same spirit of generosity I encourage you to join the effort to raise 1.5M for International Missions. You have already received the promotional package that slated April 17, 2011 as Missions Day. Thank you for taking a few minutes to present this two-option simple request: 1) That every lady (Sister, Dorca) give $100 to Flor Azul in 2011 or 2) That families pledge a Missions offering payable in October of this year. Some pastors are combining (not doubling) both options and are encouraging all to participate. One church has already pledged $80,000! Pastor, as the amounts increase, please do not feel that outgoing, abundant Missions offerings will negatively affect
Profit and Loss Statements To those Pastors who have complied with submitting all of the required yearly documents thank you. If you recall, the urgency for receiving these reports is to achieve audited financial certification and acquire loans at lower interest rates.
the finances of your church. In fact, the opposite is true: God will bless more, according to His word. Thank you for not retaining any portion of these funds for any other purpose. God will bless our integrity.
PRESIDENTIAL NEWSLETTER Edition II - May, 2011
Thank you to all Bishops who worked hard to complete this task. Congratulations Bishop Tinoco for being the first to complete your report. Pack your bags...you and your wife are on your way to Hawaii!
7 DAY FAST CONVOCATION For all Pastors and Missionaries of the Apostolic Assembly Monday, May 9, 2011 – Sunday, May 15, 2011 “Let the priests, who minister to the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar; let them say, spare your people, O LORD, and do not give your heritage to reproach, that the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, where is their God?” Joel 2:17 Jesus said that there are some things that are expelled only by prayer and fasting. (Matthew 17:21)The world is in turmoil and literally on fire. Earthquakes, tsunamis, wars and rumors of wars scream to us that Jesus is coming for his church – soon! If you look around you may agree that many churches have become lukewarm and are in danger of being spewed out of the mouth of God. Many are not only questioning biblical apostolic standards of holiness, but are putting in doubt the oneness of God, baptism in Jesus’ name and the necessity of receiving the Holy Ghost with the initial evidence of speaking in other tongues. In the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I am calling all pastors to a 7-day fast beginning May 9 - May 15.
PURPOSE
FASTING GUIDES • Please fast wisely according to your physical ability and medical condition. • Some may choose to fast each day and have dinner in the evening. • Others may choose to fast 2 or 3 consecutive days and then begin another cycle of fasting. • Those who wish to fast the entire 7 days, please remember to drink water. • For those with delicate health, you may consider offering the Lord a Daniel’s fast. • I encourage you to fast radio and television, nonbusiness computer and Internet use, non-religious literature and any other distraction. • I encourage you to set aside much time for prayer, meditation and worship (As I write this, I can feel God’s presence and anticipate the blessings the Lord will bestow on his church as we draw closer to him.)
The purpose of this fast is three-fold:
1
To repent before our Lord, by falling on our faces to seek his mercies.
2
To pray for our marriages and family relationships to ensure that our own foundations are secure in God.
3
To ask God to sweep across the Apostolic Assembly with a fiery, end- time revival and to saturate every local church with power, purpose and purity.
• Fasting is a good time to memorize scripture and meditate on key passages of the biblical text.
Coming in September!
3 DAY FAST CONVOCATION Every member of the Apostolic Assembly both at home and abroad are invited to fast for 3 days from September 20th to the 22nd, 2011
THE CALLING OUT OF THE SONS A Peace Core teacher serving in Nigeria was asked by a young student: “How do they call out the sons in your village?” Not completely understanding the question, the wise teacher reversed the question back to the young boy: “How do they do it in yours?” The young man proceeded to explain, in detail, the exciting but sometimes painful process used by the tribe to “call out” the sons from childhood to manhood.
As beloved pastors who have faithfully served for decades are passing on to be with the Lord or retiring due to illness, a new generation of Apostolic young men need to step up and take the mantle. However, these men must be called by God and trained and certified by their elders. Pastors, I invite you join me in this effort. We must be willing to “give up and let go” of some of our ministers in order to prepare them for the future.
The Apostolic Assembly is very interested in “calling out” both its natural and spiritual sons from ministers to pastors. This refers to the natural sons of Pastors who are not waiting in the wings, but working at our side in the local church. It is the Aaronic handing down of the mantle of the priestly lineage to our sons. It also refers to “sons of the church”, men who are serving under a Pastor who is their spiritual, not natural Father. These too, can be and are called by God to lead his church in pastoral capacity.
The Calling Out of the Sons (C.O.S.T.) is a sixweekend training program (two weekends in 2011 and four weekends in 2012) that will prepare those who qualify to be ready to assume the pastoral charge when the time comes. We need to identify the genuine call of God on their life, examine the fruit they have produced, and train them in all areas from spiritual authority to organizational administration.
TRAINING for FUTURE PASTORS C.O.S.T.
FIRST SESSION BEGINS AUGUST 18-20, 2011 For more information visit: www.apostolicassembly.org
FEATURED PASTOR, FEATURED CHURCH
Congratulations!
Pastor Luciano Montes and the Apostolic Church of Indio, Ca I’d like to honor and congratulate Pastor Luciano and Becky Montes and the Apostolic Church of Indio for the accomplishment of paying off their building. Pastor Luciano Montes writes... The new sanctuary was built in two years at a cost of $1,300,000.00. A loan for approximately $1,000,000.00 was secured and paid off in 14 years. In the first years, we used a combination of monthly pledges that were collected, the congregation’s tithes and profits from weekly food sales in order to make monthly mortgage payments. The sanctuary has a legal capacity for 900 persons and thank the Lord it reaches full capacity when a combined English and Spanish service is held. It is presently valued for $5,000,000.00. The Indio church is a church that is friendly, loving, hardworking, united, faithful and is “A Church for Everyone”.
A note to all Pastors: Please send us your praise reports, blessings and accomplishments. Don’t forget to send some pictures!
Indio Apostolic Church 46601 Vargas Road P. O. Box 10070 Indio, CA. 92202-2506 Pastor: Luciano M. Montes www.apostolicchurchofindio.com
PRESIDENTIAL NEWSLETTER Edition II - May, 2011