“The wealth of the Word of God is in our hands!” Gerardo Torres wrote to Grandma Carolyn upon receiving his Guía Pastoral. What a thrill it is for our LOGOI family to begin the year with such enthusiasm!
Gerardo had written to Grandma Carolyn from Vega Baja, a coastal town in north-central Puerto Rico, to request a binder of LOGOI’s Pastor’s Guide–our exclusive compilation of 200 articles covering Theology, Leadership, Controversy, Family, and other special topics geared for church leaders. He wanted to give it as a gift of encouragement to a recently widowed pastor friend.
When Grandma Carolyn heard this, she sent him his own Guía and a hearty dose of her signature love and encouragement. “It’s been a blessing to sense your tender heart,” Gerardo responded. “How wonderful is the love of our Lord who makes us siblings in Him and friends even though we’ve never met.”
Vega Baja is 30 miles west of the capital city of San Juan. God has blessed it with beautiful beaches and fertile plains that were once home to sugar cane plantations and orange groves. Today, Gerardo leads a newly created joint initiative of pastors whose mission is to serve as guardians of the community by evangelizing and discipling to young people. They believe a strong coalition of church leaders will help lead local youth to the Lord and away from a potential life of crime. “We pray for the Lord’s intercession for the removal of destructive forces and influences that affect moral, emotional and social behavior in our city,” he explains.
Gerardo’s most fervent prayer is to secure a location adjacent to Vega Baja’s public high school, so they can minister to young men and women through youth groups, conferences, and other cultural events. He also prays for his own three young sons–all musicians–so that God uses them and their artistic talents.
As of this writing, seven more Guías Pastorales are on their way to Gerardo, which he plans to share with his “guardian” pastors. “I am enjoying this treasure and I am going to share it with many people, starting with my own family gatherings,” he says of his Guía. And there’s more: in the future, he wants to open a center of doctrinal and theological formation for future ministers of Christ, free of charge.
Please join us in praying for Gerardo and his initiative of guardian pastors, for their success in leading the local youth to the Lord. He beautifully personifies LOGOI’s mission to “equip God’s people for works of service” (Eph 4:12). It is a joy for us at LOGOI to see how our resources help change lives, in Vega Baja and beyond.
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Your gifts are used to help train and equip national missionaries like Gerardo to help proclaim the Gospel and make disciples all over the Spanish-speaking world. Now you know a little more about one of them.