A Desire To See The Hispanic Community Know Christ
Meet Avel
At 17, I was saved by God’s grace at the church my father pastored. In 1989 I moved to Florida, where I met my wife Cyndia, originally from Milwaukee, WI. We were married in 1991 and are the parents of two adult children, Jasmine, and Daniel. We have been members of The Grove Church in Clermont since 2017. For the last three years, I have served as one of the pastors at The Grove Church, dedicating myself to preaching when needed, teaching, discipleship, and leadership. In July 2023, my wife and I temporarily moved to Miami, Florida, to participate in the pastoral residency program offered by NAMB (North American Mission Board) through Send Network en Español, certified by Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Now that the residency in Miami has been completed we have returned home and are ready to plug back into our Clermont community. For the next 8 months, I will attend the Finishing Residency program with OCPN and in the summer of 2025, we will plant a Hispanic (bilingual) church in Clermont, FL.
I am planting to reach the Hispanic community with the truths of Scripture. I desire to see them come to the knowledge that we are saved by the grace of God as we put our faith in Christ Jesus for salvation. Calvin said in, The necessity To Reform The Church, “Whoever I am, I here profess to plead in defense, both of sound doctrine and of the Church”. Calvin recalls how God raised up Luther and others. They were the ones who stretched out the torch to light the way of salvation by grace alone and not by works or anything else for that matter. His greatest desire was to show how just and necessary were the causes for making changes against the practical evils of the church in his time.
Reading this brings back memories of my past experiences in the religious movement I was a part of. Because they did not preach sound doctrine, many people were either led astray or struggled in their faith in Christ. I thank God for men like Calvin who have revolted against religious fads and heretical teachings, but through their teachings help me keep my gaze and faith in the holy scriptures so that I can continue to respond to God with genuine worship.
As I continue with the preparation in planting a church it is of utmost importance to be clear about what is true worship of God, prayer to God, the doctrine of salvation, the meaning of the sacraments, and the government of the Church. Having these teachings grounded in scripture would help to disciple others into the maturity of the Christian faith that would produce men and women who will not be confused about biblical sound doctrines.
Lastly, as Calvin stated, “When passion for the church is added to a solid foundation in the gospel, we begin to understand the call to ministry correctly". This serves as a reminder to me that God has placed me in this community of Clermont FL, and if my passion is not founded on God, His Gospel, and His Bride (The Church) I can recoil from my dependence on God and depend on the sinful influences of this world.