No
Retirement Plans
by ERIC
TIANSAY
Longtime Assemblies of God minister
and septuagenarian Flora Vergara should be retired, but she's more interested
in being re-fired for God.
An AG U.S. Missionary since 1981 with Missionary Church Planters and
Developers, Vergara has planted a dozen
Spanish-speaking churches in Oregon with assistance from the AG’s Church Multiplication Network.
“As long as the Lord gives me
strength, I will continue to plant churches and tell people about His love for
them,” says Vergara, 77. She currently is pastoring churches in Roseburg and
Sutherlin that have gone through periods with no leadership.
The area has been economically
depressed, and Vergara is helping to open a center for residents in need of
food, clothing, and spiritual guidance.
Being a woman who plants churches
in a state known for its low church attendance makes Vergara a trailblazer,
according to Raul Sanchez Jr., assistant superintendent of the AG’s Northern Pacific Latin American District.
“Flora Vergara has passionately
pursued the call of God to plant churches in Oregon for four decades,” Sanchez
says. “She has succeeded in spite of incredible odds.
She not only raised her own children
as a single mom, but has helped countless families find hope and salvation in
Christ in the midst of their helpless and difficult circumstances.”
Sanchez says Vergara is humble and
caring, yet she serves God with an iron will.
“Compassion for people of all walks
of life has given her favor in reaching and leading countless people to the
Lord,” Sanchez says. “She has mentored men and women who have gone on to serve
in ministry in various churches.”
Vergara sees church planting as
investing in individual lives rather than buildings.
“Many times I just listen and let
people know that I care and that Jesus cares and He loves them so very much,”
Vergara says. “I encourage them to go out and do the same. God will reward us
for our faithfulness.”
Vergara didn’t have the ideal
background to be a church planter. Soon after her conversion to Christianity in
1962, Vergara's husband left the family, and she raised six children alone.
Despite the daunting outlook, she
pressed through, believing in the power of God to overcome the discouragement
and thoughts of failure.
Vergara received a degree in
theology from the Latin American Bible Institute in 1978, and she became an AG U.S.
Missionary three years later.
“I enjoy helping people see their
beautiful potential in Jesus,” says Vergara, who notes that all of her children
are in ministry. “The most challenging part is the attack of the enemy. He
comes in many different ways to cause discouragement.”
Vergara also has served in prison
ministry at area correctional facilities. In addition to her work with
inmates, she established a home for Hispanic women and their children.
Due to her years of work in prison
ministry, former Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber named Vergara an honorary chaplain
to the Spanish-speaking prisoners in the state.
“Many people I have worked with in
jail ministry have contacted me over the years to let me know they are still
serving the Lord,” Vergara says.
But her true passion is planting
churches.
“God always prepares a miraculous
way to begin each new plant through divine appointments with people within the
communities,” Vergara says. “I speak to everyone who comes into my path.”
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“My Jesus, I Love Thee”
William R. Featherston
lyrics
1.
My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine;
For Thee all the follies of sin I resign;
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
For Thee all the follies of sin I resign;
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
2.
I love Thee because Thou hast first loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree;
I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree;
I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
3.
I’ll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death,
And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath;
And say when the death dew lies cold on my brow,
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath;
And say when the death dew lies cold on my brow,
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
4. In mansions of glory
and endless delight,
I’ll ever adore Thee in heaven so bright;
I’ll sing with the glittering crown on my brow,
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now. http://penews.org/news/no-retirement-plans
I’ll ever adore Thee in heaven so bright;
I’ll sing with the glittering crown on my brow,
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now. http://penews.org/news/no-retirement-plans
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