April 9, 2011 – Tuxla Gutierrez, Chiapas, Mexico…[Raul Lozano/IAD]
It’s Sabbath morning, and members of the Templo Auditorio Seventh-day Adventist Church in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, rush for the 8 a.m. Family Ministries worship. They meet in the church for the “Power Hour,” a program rich in singing and prayer.
Together, they read a selected reading and share their blessings from the week. No one slips out early, because the best part happens at the end: one family takes the church Bible home.
The recently elected leaders of Family Ministries for the Templo Auditorio decided to try something new. They came up with a project called, “With the power of His Word,” which began last October. The project’s main objective was to promote the study of the Bible and connection to God through prayer, leading to spiritual revival in the church.
The project involves families in reading two chapters of the Bible a day during the week, and two chapters in church during the “Power Hour.” Other activities planned include a spiritual retreat with all families, seminars for young couples, and an in-depth seminar that analyzes the Bible chapters read every two months.
“We bought a large new Bible that would circulate among the church families and, when we launched the project, we invited any family to take the Bible home and read two chapters a day from it,” says Israel Jimenez, Family Ministries director at the Templo Auditorio Adventist church. “Now, after four months, every Sabbath morning that we ask which family wants to take the Bible with them. There are usually four or five families requesting it.”
When a family is picked, they share any particular requests they want the church to pray for during the week. The next week during the “Power Hour,” this family will bring back the Bible and share with the church the blessings they enjoyed during the week.
“[We’ve had] a child who was so attached to the church Bible that she didn’t want her parents to give it back next Sabbath, or a father crying in thankfulness to God as he recounts how the Lord increased … his income because the family decided to start off the day reading the Bible,” Jimenez said.
The Reynoso family experienced a spiritual renewal when they took the Bible last year. Sadly, they had neglected their spiritual life, but after returning from the Family Ministries spiritual retreat, decided to ask for the Bible. They had their family worship with their two kids in the morning, singing and reading the selected portion of the Bible. When the time came to return the Bible, they told of the peace and spiritual awakening they now experience.
“In five years as church members, we had never felt this confident — we are secure in the arms of the Lord now,” Mr. Reynoso said.
Luis Aguilar shares a similar story: “When I began to read the Bible at 5 a.m. with my kids, I experienced the love of God. I saw clearly that the Lord wants both me and my family to be faithful. As the owner of a car repair shop, I decided to read the Bible with my employees before doing anything. The blessings of the Lord began to pour in. Then I took a step further and made a pledge to return to the Lord a given percent of all sales. After three months doing this, I am amazed. The Lord is good indeed!”
The Family Ministries at the Templo Auditorio keep the momentum going through regular email messages where the director shares some devotional thoughts, lists the prayer requests and reminds the church about the reading schedule and coming events.
“It’s [the emails’] objective is to help church members to keep a close walk with the Lord through prayer,” Jimenez said. “But we are also reaping peace with God and reconciliation among ourselves. Such peace and spiritual affirmation are the fruits all those who spend time in communion with God can obtain.”
