The church in San Luis, Arizona, chose the nearby Bienestar Apartments to make friends and gain the trust of the local community. “Our goal was for them to know who we are and that we love them because they are our neighbors,” said Pastor Antulio Espinoza.
Since San Luis is a border town on the outskirts of Yuma, Arizona, the church decided to start with activities relating to Mexican culture. The first event was to celebrate Dia del Niño on April 30 and El Dia de la Madre on May 10. The members organized themselves and assigned different tasks: purchasing gifts, getting permission from the complex to use the event space, organizing games for children and mothers, and preparing pupusas for dinner.
“It was amazing how the community accepted us,” said Espinoza. More than 40 children and 30 mothers participated in the events, playing games and enjoying the food. “The program was more social, with games and gifts, but we also prayed with them and introduced ourselves as their neighbors,” he continued.
Following the two festivals, they invited their neighbors to participate in a health seminar with Dr. Andres Ramirez. The health seminar received a lot of interest and provided the foundation for an eight-week program entitled "I Want to Live Healthy” that included the church’s new mobile kitchen. The mobile kitchen was purchased as part of a grant from the Pacific Union for creative evangelism. The purpose of the mobile kitchen is to teach people how to cook healthfully and to connect them with the San Luis church.
The church is following a three-step process of evangelism they have identified in Acts 2:47. Step one: the people in town love them. Step two: the Lord works on receptive hearts and many believe and are saved. Step three: the group of followers grows bigger and bigger.
“We are in the first step because the community loves us,” said Espinoza. “They have given us their friendship and opened their doors to us. We hope to soon reach the second and third step with God’s help.”
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By Jeff Rogers, with Pastor Antulio Espinoza
