Iglesia J.E.T.

Jesus and Education Transform! Transform–to change in character or condition (Merriam-Webster).

Yesterday, the church celebrated the first official day of Iglesia J.E.T. The previous name was Grace Community Church. Why the name change? The pastors, Walter and Adan, believe it is important to have a strong connection between the church and the school.

The pastors and the youth set up a coffee booth on Saturday afternoon in El Tejar park. They passed out coffee, cookies, and informational flyers to everyone in the park. All of the children from the school received an invitation to the church also. There was a buzz of excitement for the name change.

On Saturday night I asked Adan, the associate pastor, and Oscar, the worship leader, how many people they were praying to attend on Sunday. They both answered 100. The irony was 100 is exactly what God had laid on my heart. Over the course of the last several weeks the church averaged about 60 people. To pray for 100 people seemed like a stretch. Everyone was invited to the celebration, however, there was no mention of any type of food, activities, etc. I ordered 100 pieces of chicken while believing it was way too much. After everyone came in there were about 135 people at church (Only about 90 were adults). Before the service, the pastor exclaimed “Two of the families from El Tejar park came this morning!”

Side note: When I was a teenager I was involved in bus visitation every Saturday morning. We would set a numeric goal for how many children we wanted to ride our particular bus. I can remember thinking “Those numbers are way too high. It is better to set a low, realistic goal so we are not disappointed.” I can’t tell you how many times we watched God meet or exceed those numbers. Are numbers important? Yes! Every number represents a soul. Every number represents another person hearing about Jesus. Numbers are important. Work hard and ask God to give the increase. When I was a youth, I didn’t know God would use lessons from bus visitation to replay in my mind 20+ years later.

How can you pray for the church? Pray for the pastors–Walter and Adan. Pray God uses them to reach the hurting and the lost. Pray Iglesia JET becomes a church known for loving and caring for people. Pray God sends men to be faithful to the church. Pray the men become the spiritual leaders for their families.