Leadership

Natalia Paz Alvarez Venegas

Azusa, Iglesia Confraternidad Cristiana

Briefly describe your testimony of coming to Christ…

Yo tuve la bendición de nacer en un hogar cristiano. Mis abuelos fueron plantadores de una iglesia al sur de Chile. Luego mis padres también fueron llamados al ministerio pastoral. Sin embargo, aunque mis padres desde pequeña me llevaron a la iglesia, mi encuentro personal con Cristo fue a los 13 años. Y desde ese momento mi relación con Cristo ha sido mi prioridad. I was blessed to grow up in a Christian home. My grandparents were the founders of a church in southern Chile. Eventually my parents were also called to pastoral ministry. However, even though my parents took me to church since I was small, my real personal encounter with Christ was at the age of 13. Since that moment my relationship with Christ has been my priority.

Briefly describe your understanding of God’s calling on your life…

El llamado de Dios es algo muy importante y valioso para mí. Me siento plenamente bendecida de estar envuelta en esta labor. Gracias a esta convicción, he podido entender que mi servicio a él y a su iglesia debe ser realizado con pasión, entrega, compromiso e integridad. Y aunque es un constante desafío, he aprendido a caminar en fe, a depender del Señor en todo tiempo, y a ver mi vida simplemente como un medio o instrumento que él usará para extender su reino y alcanzar a los necesitados.
Por otra parte, tengo claridad que mi llamado es al ministerio pastoral; específicamente con las mujeres latinas que han sido víctimas de abusos, maltrato intrafamiliar, drogas, divorcio y muchas otras situaciones que originan trastornos emocionales y familiares. Mujeres que necesitan conocer de Cristo, ser discipuladas y guiadas a enfrentar sus situaciones personales y familiares.
The call of God is very important and valuable for me. I feel abundantly blessed by being involved in His work. It is because of such conviction that I have been able to understand that my service to him and his church must be done with passion, surrender, commitment and integrity. And even if it is an ongoing challenge, I have learned to walk by faith, to depend on the Lord at all times, and see my life simply as a means or as an instrument he will use to extend his kingdom and reach people that are in need.
On the other hand, I am clear that my calling is to pastoral ministry; specifically focused on Hispanic women who have been victims of different types of abuse, domestic abuse, drugs, divorce and many other situations that result in emotional turmoil. Women who need to know Christ and need to receive discipleship and guidance to face the situations in their family and their own personal situations.

How did you come to the Free Methodist Church?

Antes de casarme, mi esposo Jonatan Gonzalez estaba como pastor asistente en la iglesia hispana Luz y Vida en Long Beach. Cuando nos casamos, Dios nos dio la oportunidad de juntos iniciar un proyecto de plantación de iglesia, en abril del 2004 en la ciudad de Downey junto al pastor Larry Walkemeyer. Un año más tarde, Dios nos conectó con un grupo de 12 personas en Azusa, para iniciar un nuevo proyecto de plantación de iglesia en esa ciudad, y con ellos decidimos afiliarnos a esta gran familia de FMC. Before I got married, my husband Jonatan Gonzalez was the assistant pastor at Light
and Life church in Long Beach. After getting married, God allowed us the opportunity to
initiate a project to plant a church on April 2004, in Downey with Pastor Larry
Walkemeyer. A year later, God connected us with a group of 12 people in Azusa to
plant a church in that city, and together with them we decided to affiliate to the great
family of FMC.