Moline Church to Welcome Sister Church Pastor

From October 3-7, a congregation in Latin America will have an opportunity to return the favor. Elim Covenant Church in Moline will welcome pastor Flor Rodriguez of Roca de Salvacion from Monterrey, Mexico. Elim Covenant served Roca de Salvacion during a mission trip in January and discovered the evangelistic gifts of Rodriguez. Pastor John Jacobi hopes Rodriguez's pastoral skills and passion for Jesus will bring Christ to a growing community of Spanish speakers in the Quad Cities.

Rodriguez will speak about her church and city at a dinner October 3 at Elim Covenant and will begin meeting with the Quad Cities Hispanic community October 4. Rodriguez will also aid the congregation as they make plans for a second mission trip to Monterrey before sharing her personal testimony at the worship service October 7. She will also attend a fundraiser for Elim's next mission trip that evening before heading back to Mexico.

Jacobi is appreciative of Merge Ministries in San Juan, Texas, and coordinator Dale Lusk for making initial connections with Rodriguez, an interdenominational pastor. Elim Covenant orchestrated a children's ministry at the church and local school, ran a concurrent women's ministry and completed some of the construction for a future technical school near Monterrey.

"We didn't want to go down there (to Monterrey) and do our thing for a week and then go somewhere next year," said Jacobi about Elim's growing relationship with Rodriguez and her church. "We are trying to develop a sister relationship with Roca de Salvacion. We want to develop mission work with a heart. And this person is the definition of a passionate follower of Jesus. What better thing for us to do but bring the pastor to our church?"

The Quad Cities is a metropolitan area of 350,000 with a population of Hispanics of 25,000 - and growing - according to Jacobi. Most Hispanic congregations are small and led by pastors working full-time in other jobs, which makes it difficult to build relationships with the Hispanic community at large.

Hispanic church leaders recognize the importance of having evangelists like Rodriguez in the area and are sending resources to help Elim Covenant, a congregation with 150 in average worship attendance. A local Assembly of God pastor will serve as a public speaking translator for Rodriguez during her stay.

"The original impetus for Flor's visit came when she learned of the number of Spanish-speaking persons in our community," Jacobi said. "Her question still rings in my heart: 'What is your strategy to reach these persons for Jesus?' The reality is that we don't have a strategy. Pastor Flor's visit is an early step to determine how God might be leading us."

For more information about Rodriguez and her upcoming ministry with Elim Covenant Church, call Jacobi at 309-764-6920 or email him at elimcovenant@aol.com.

Printable version of this page.