In Santiago

  The Church JESUS Built in Santiago

 

 By Pastor Jerry Cross

I had never seen my father weep uncontrollably before. He came to visit me my first year of seminary, he a pastor, missionary, theology professor, came for one purpose, to try and convince me to not go into pastoral ministry. Weeping, he begged me not to make such a horrible mistake! He said, "Son, I know you well, your gifts, your weaknesses, your temperament, and above all how introverted you are, so much so that you run from people. Son, I assure you that in ministry there is nowhere to hide. You must constantly deal with people, something I know you hate to do!" 

I answered him, "Daddy, I know that you are warning me because you love me and do not want me to make such a mistake. I actually agree with every word you say about my temperament. So much so that I have told my Heavenly Father the exact same thing a thousand times, that I am not cut out for pastoral ministry. Not only does he not seem to hear me but my sense of call only seems to get stronger. So, if He is truly calling me into ministry He is going to have to do a miracle in my life and perhaps many miracles in my ministry. The fact that His grace is made perfect in weakness gives me much hope and comfort." 

My first term on the mission field was relatively easy as professor of Bible and theology at the John Calvin Theological Seminary of Chile. However, my sense of call to do church planting in Santiago, the capital, became stronger by the day. My second term began with much apprehension, perhaps panic, remembering my father's warning and my long conversations, full of objections, with the Lord. Was I setting myself up for failure? To begin a church in a strongly Roman Catholic city, in a part of the city where I had not even a single contact seemed an impossible mission. 

We still lived in Quillota, near the seminary where I had taught, but could not move to Santiago 100 miles away for several months because my wife was expecting a baby for the fourth time. After losing the first three babies at about the fourth or fifth month of pregnancy the doctor told Peggy to maintain absolute bed rest to try and conserve this child. By God's grace it worked! 

During that time of waiting I followed up a possible contact in Santiago given to me by a friend. This contact turned out to be a staunch Roman Catholic woman who had just become a widow. Her name was Mercedes Moreno. Her husband had been a merchant seaman and promised Mercedes that when he retired at 55 he would stay home and they would do all the things that they could not do because of his long trips out to sea. Two weeks after his retirement he died of a heart attack and Mercedes was devastated! 

When I visited I said to her, "God knows what it is to lose someone He dearly loves, His only Son, and He is an expert at healing broken hearts. Would you accept me having a weekly Bible study in your home so you can learn more about it?" She accepted and brought her next door neighbor to the first study. In the next few weeks we learned why there is so much suffering and brokenness in this world and the good news of what God has done about it. We learned that in the Lord's Prayer we get to call God "Our Father" a privilege angels who have never sinned do not have. (Hebrews 1:5) If our relationship with God were based on merit, surely these perfect angels would have this privilege! Instead it is reserved for us, undeserving sinners, who (in the Lord's Prayer) while looking to Christ and repenting of our sins, not only become His sons but experience such transformation that we too are enabled to forgive others. 

This demonstrates that relationship with God is based on His grace through faith and not on our
merits or good deeds.Through the Gospel, Mercedes experienced a transformation so powerful that her friends and neighbors no longer saw a broken down extremely bitter person, but rather someone rejoicing in her new found relationship with Christ through repentance and faith in Him. So dramatic was the change that some of her friends wanted to know what happened. She shared with them her testimony and they began to come to the Bible study to hear for themselves. One by one they also experienced the joy of newness of life in Christ. 

The day came when so many people were attending the Bible study in Mercedes' home that we no longer fit. After such a crowded study I asked about the Community Center only a block away. I had noticed that it was not being used Sunday mornings and wondered if we could rent it just for a few hours when not in use, to start a Sunday school. Mercedes said that it was a great idea and Teresa, the person responsible, along with a committee, was one of her best friends, but unfortunately she was a Roman Catholic and it seemed impossible for her to ever think of renting to us. To make matters worse her church was exactly across the street from the Community Center and everything that happened at the center was known to the local priest across the street! 

It did seem humanly impossible but I invited these people to spend one month in prayer that Teresa would find it in her heart to rent to us. I told them that my prayer partners would also be praying with us. One month later, after our Bible study, I suggested to Mercedes that we go and visit Teresa and see if she would rent the center to us. Mercedes objected by saying, "Pastor, it is a total waste of time to go because there is no way she is going to allow us into the Community Center." I responded, "Mercedes, we have been praying for a month. The worst that can happen is that she says no. If we do not go we will never know what her response would be!" She agreed and the next week on a  Tuesday or Wednesday, I am not sure which, we went. To our absolute surprise Teresa answered Mercedes' request by saying, "Of course Mercedes, I would love to rent the Community Center to you. Everyone is talking about the change in your life and I think it would be wonderful for you and your group to meet in the Community Center Sunday mornings when it is not in use! Not only that but I will make sure that the committee, which is also responsible, does not charge you too much rent!" 

WOW, on the way back Mercedes and I exclaimed, "What just happened? It was almost as if Teresa were trying to convince us to please rent the Community Center!" This was truly an amazing turn of events and we were absolutely speechless! The following week Teresa called us to say that the rental contract was ready and we could come and sign it at her home. Then she asked, "Don't you want to know why I was so eager to help you?" We said, "Yes, we have been dying to know the answer to that question!" Her explanation was so unusual that we almost could not believe it! She explained that the Sunday before our request she had been in her church for Mass as was her custom. She said she was sitting near the front and the church was full. When the priest finished his sermon she did the unthinkable in a Roman Catholic Church; she stood up and interrupted Mass! Not only that but she told us that she turned her back on the priest and speaking to the congregation said, "All of you know me because I am an activist in our community. I come to church in need of spiritual nourishment and as all of you have undoubtedly noticed our holy father has only given political speeches each Sunday against the military government and I for one am terribly disappointed." When she sat down the priest gave Teresa a strong tongue lashing in front of everyone for daring to interrupt Mass in order to criticize him! She in turn walked out in a huff, extremely angry with him. As a result of her anger she was more than ready to help us acquire the community center for our new Sunday school! Then she added, "Don't think that I am going to join your group. A few days after your visit our holy father came to visit me. He asked my forgiveness for the extremely harsh things he had said about me. He told me that he listens to people and if I had gone to him after the service with my complaint he would have been more than glad to receive me. But to interrupt Mass was a total lack of respect for all that is holy. I agreed with him, we are now reconciled one with the other, and I am back to daily Mass as before." 

When we told everyone at our Bible study what had happened they all agreed that this was a miracle from the Lord. If we had gone a few days before Teresa's incident in the church there was no way she would have helped us. If we had waited a few more days the same thing would have happened. The Lord worked it so that we went exactly when out of anger she was most inclined to help us. Praise the Lord! 

A few months later while using the Community Center opposition began by those unhappy with our presence there. Fortunately we had a legal contract signed by us and the community leaders. Just the same, we began making plans for the day we would need to leave. One possibility was through a government program which provided free land to help churches get started on a first come first served basis. We made out the application with little hope of success because there was no guarantee a property would be near our meeting place even if we got one. Since we would not be allowed to exchange it for another property closer to us it might not do us much good. 

After a couple of months the government agency responsible for free properties got in touch with us and said, "We are sorry, there are no more properties available under this program, but since you are next in line, if a property does become available for any reason that property will become yours.” Once again, in a city of four million people, our fear was that such a property might be too far away to meet our needs. 

In the meantime our congregation continued to grow and lives transformed. When we celebrated our one year anniversary I did not preach. Instead we had a party in which all those who wished could give their testimonies of what God had done in their lives this first year. The first person to speak was Mercedes Moreno. As long as I live I will not forget her first words. She began her testimony by saying, "You all know how devastated I was when my husband suddenly passed away. Today I can joyfully say that I am glad the Lord took away my husband because if He had not taken him away I never would have come to know Christ as my Lord and Savior which is far better!" 

A few weeks after receiving word from the Chilean government that we were next in line to receiving a property, they gave me a call. To my surprise they said, "We have found a property for you. It is not under the property for churches program but if you are interested you can have it. It is a property previously designated to the fire department. But the local fire department was stealing the funds for building and we have decided that you can have it instead. They already built a two bedroom house for firefighters to spend the night and partially finished the main brick building where the fire trucks were to be stowed. Neither the front nor the roof has been finished. Are you interested?" Were we interested! Of course we were interested. But where in this vast city of four million people was this property? I was absolutely astonished when they gave me the address. It was the property right next to the Community Center! I had noticed that work had been suspended on these fine buildings but never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine that what I was observing was the construction of our new church building! 

Our fledgling congregation could not believe their ears when we announced what God had done
for us. Not only was God doing miracles in our lives but now this was the second miracle He had done to give us a meeting place. Our congregation was absolutely jubilant, full of praise at the greatness of our God. This was clearly not the work of their pastor, who after all was just a poor earthen vessel of clay in the Master's hands. (2 Corinthians 4:7) This was clearly the work of the Mater Himself! He Himself was in our midst fighting our battles so that all the honor and glory would go to Him and to Him alone.

A member of our congregation, Damaris, was an architect and she accepted to do all the work of
designing our new church for free, with one condition, that we pray for her to find work. On inspection of the property she said two things: The two bedroom house built on the property, although simple, would make a good pastor's manse. Secondly, construction on the main building had been suspended precisely where it needed to be suspended in order for us to continue the work as a church. Once again, our hearts were full of praise to our wonderful Lord!

Then a few weeks later, to our utter dismay, God allowed everything that we had planned to come crashing down on our heads. We received a letter from City Hall with devastating news. They informed us that the fire department had made a terrible mistake by building the main structure too close to the street. As a result, if ever the street were widened this building would be in the way. The letter was an official order demanding that we demolish the main building and build it the legal distance from the street required by law in their construction code! 

I personally was devastated when I received this letter. We had bragged to the whole community
about what a great God we had and now we would be the laughingstock of every unbeliever, and especially of those who wished us ill. They would certainly say that God was not with us, that we had simply had a spat of "good luck." This undoubtedly would be a devastating blow to our testimony in our community which we so much desired to come to Christ through His Word and
the power of His Spirit. 

As I bitterly complained to my wife Peggy about this, as usual she had good advice. She suggested that I go and talk with Damaris, the architect, and perhaps she could think of a solution. When I knocked at Damaris’ door, she came bounding out in her usual vivacious and energetic manner. But on seeing my distraught face, exclaimed, "Pastor, what is wrong?" The truth was that I was almost in tears! I said, "Damaris, I have absolutely terrible news concerning our church property." She replied, "I have great news to share with you, but first, please tell me your bad news." Without a word I simply handed her the letter from city hall. She read it carefully, and I noticed her taking special care in reading the signature of the one who had ordered the demolition of our building. Then she said the most amazing words. Even now as I retell it, it brings tears to my eyes! She said, "I have good news. The whole church has been praying that God would give me a job. And praise the Lord He has answered our prayers. I now have a job. I have been hired by City Hall and my new boss is the very man who wrote this letter! Please give me this letter and have the church pray about this for two weeks after which I will approach my new boss and ask him if there is any solution to this problem." 

Two weeks later Damaris approached her boss and he said to her, "Yes, the construction code is very clear so this building must be demolished." She said, "But boss, this is MY church you are talking about and we have no money to tear down this building and then rebuild farther away from the street in conformity with the building code. Isn't there some other solution to this problem?" He said, "Let me study the map to see where this property is located." As he studied the map he exclaimed, "Why your property's street is only three blocks long. It begins here at the community center which is on the main avenue but the side street on which your property is located ends three blocks away at an apartment complex. There is no way that a street only three blocks long will ever be widened! Please have the leaders of your church write a letter saying that they received this letter and promise that if their street is ever widened they will demolish the offending building even though it is a church. I promise you," he said, "this street will never be widened, not ever!"

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This was the first of four churches that God by his miraculous grace enabled this poor instrument in His marvelous hands to establish. "I, who am less than the least of all God's people, was given this grace..." (Ephesians 3:8)