Pastor
A. Maestre
I
have been actively serving the Lord since I was a child. I was
born in Colombia,
South America and
my family came to the Lord when I was a child. I
received the Lord as my Savior in my local Church in Baranquillas
(Iglesia Cristiana Salem) when I was ten years old.
At the age
of thirteen
I was baptized in waters by Pastor
Jorge Vanegas;
that same year I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit in a crusade
with Evangelist
Puertas
from Caracas,
Venezuela.
In
1981,
I began playing the drums in my church worship team. The group
was called Salem Music. The band started as worship team
but soon the Lord gave us grace and favor with other ministries, and
started to call the group for invitations for crusades, revivals,
concerts and conferences everywhere in the North
of Colombia.
After
playing the drums for more than three years, I started to feel the
need to sing for the Lord, the
Music Director, Omar Rodriguez,
saw and felt the desire and passion that I had for the Lord and gave
me the opportunity to start worshiping the Lord through my sing.
A new door was open for my ministry. I started to worship the
Lord through my voice and soon after I started getting invited to
many christian events. Many people came to the Lord by listened
that young teenager praising and worshiping the Lord with all he has
had.
In
1989,
I was invited to a Conference in Puerto Rico to sing and preach.
That same year from Puerto
Rico,
I was invited to another conference in Miami,
Florida
to
share the Gospel of God. These invitations changed my ministry
forever, that is when I understood, that the Lord wanted something
with me He wants me to dedicate my life to His service. I
was certain sure that my call was to be a Worship Minister, but God
had other plans for me, beside that one.
In
1990,
I moved to New
York,
and became a member of the Hispanic Church La
Sinagoga.
I was part of the worship team, the department of arts, and the youth
team. I also had the opportunity to start taking classes in the
Latin-American
Bible Institute.
In 1994,
my former Pastor
Abelardo Berrios,
who later on passed away, and then a new Pastor
Carmelo Ruperto
came to take over and care of our congregation. That is when I met
Pastor Ruperto’s daughter, Merari Ruperto, who I have being happily
married for the past 12 years; since June 14, 1997.
My
wife, Merari
is not just the Pastora of our congregation; she is my friend, my
companion, my inspiration, my motivation, my comfort, my
suitable helper,
my partner in life and in this ministry, the one and only that the
Lord blessed me with. She is the mother of my two children: Jahdiel
and Genesis. She is a nature leader, smart woman, very consistent,
focus in life and always looking for the best for her family and
those that are in need or need her. We have a strong marriage, base
in the Bible, and build on the Rock, that is Jesus Christ.
In
1998,
my wife joined the Army, and two year later she was assigned to Fort
Gordon, GA.
We became members of the Hispanic Church Oasis
de Bendición.
I joined the worship ministry and also I was appointed to be the
Youth
Pastor.
Dr. Jose L. Serrano
was my pastor for a couple of years and he saw the potential and the
passion I had for the Lord, he asked me to minister not only to the
youth people but also to the church.
In
November, 2004,
I was ordained as Pastor
by Dr.
José L. Serrano
under our Ministry
Oasis de Bendición.
A month later I was appointed as the
new Senior Pastor in the “Centro Cristiano Oasis de Bendición”
(CCOB).
It has been five years since I was appointed as the Senior Pastor of
Oasis de Bendición and the Lord has blessed us in so many ways.
The church has gone through a lot of changes, and God has done
wonderful things, Oasis has not only had a revival, but the number of
members has triple. God is doing amazing things in Oasis de
Bendición, and I feel so humble that the Lord is allowing me to be
part of all this blessings. We have different ministries
that are making the difference in our community. I am so proud to be
the Senior Pastor of this wonderful Congregation.
Personal
View of Ministry
What
the Lord desires to accomplish in our lives, is people, sensitive to
His Word and His Spirit, where He Will lead each calling, each plan,
and each work. We believe that with God’s help and His Holy
Spirit, men, committed leaders with the vision of Evangelism will
multiply as we embrace the change and challenge to preach the Good
News of Salvation because of the awesome love He gave to us first. In
the final analysis, when we accomplish through the Lord what the He
has called us to do, we will unite people from different cities,
states and nations of the earth and exalt the Name of Jesus Christ to
the highest.
