by Noel Santiago
“A Dios sea la gloria” (To God be the Glory).
With these words of praise, Pastors Fernando Loyola and Lety Cortés of Centro de Alabanza (Philadelphia, PA) opened the 15th anniversary celebration service on Sunday, June 23, 2024.
The service began with intimate songs of worship. As the expressions of love for God flowed, the songs of exuberant joy burst forth like rivers of living waters. God’s people had gathered from near and far to celebrate 15 years of God’s faithfulness at, in, and through Centro de Alabanza.
Pastors Loyola and Cortés have been ministering in the congregation for 17 years, including a two-year start-up period.
As the celebration continued, we were invited to offer what God had placed in our hearts to give with a huge smile on our face, because God loves a cheerful giver.
The women’s group offered a celebration in dance as they moved and waved worship flags in sync with a song of praise. There was lots of singing and clapping.
Mosaic Conference Associate Executive Minister Marta Castillo offered words of congratulations, encouragement, and strength to continue the journey.
Pastor Tomás Hangar shared the message from 1 Corinthians 5:17-21, highlighting that God is a mission-sending God who seeks to be reconciled with all humanity; we are made new in Christ and reconciled to God. God invites us to participate in his mission of reconciliation as “Chalanes de Dios” (Chalanes is a Mexican expression for an employer’s “helper”).
The children’s group acted out a story of the Israelites under Moses leadership which called for trusting wholly in God. The youth group shared a video based on Psalm 78:4 reflecting on the church’s anniversary and learnings that each generation brings
A reminiscent video showed snippets from the congregation’s life together to give praise to God’s faithfulness over these 15 years! As with any good celebration a wonderful Mexican meal was enjoyed by all!
¡Felicidades, Centro de Alabanza! To God be the Glory!
Noel Santiago
Noel Santiago is the Leadership Minister for Missional Transformation for Mosaic Conference.
The opinions expressed in articles posted on Mosaic’s website are those of the author and may not reflect the official policy of Mosaic Conference. Mosaic is a large conference, crossing ethnicities, geographies, generations, theologies, and politics. Each person can only speak for themselves; no one can represent “the conference.” May God give us the grace to hear what the Spirit is speaking to us through people with whom we disagree and the humility and courage to love one another even when those disagreements can’t be bridged.
This post is also available in: Español (Spanish)
This post is also available in: Español (Spanish)