There is truly a great move of God’s Spirit happening within the nation of Cuba. Pastor Mercado writes. “The work continues to advance in the nation of Cuba. The Word of our Lord Jesus Christ is being fulfilled when he said, “and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hell will not overcome it” (Matthew 16:18). We are soldiers in the Kingdom of God, and we are in a merciless war with many attacks but, the victories are wonderful in the name of Jesus. I am thrilled to be able to report on the work of pastors in Cuba, to tell of the experiences in this country through the School of Christ. In 2 Timothy 2: 2 we’re told to take what we have heard and commit it to faithful men so that they may teach others. We are seeing this fulfilled as we see faithful men, whose lives have been effected by the SOC, going forth to teach all over Cuba. We are grateful to be a part of this work by the grace of God.”
There has been much persecution and difficulties for the brethren in Cuba over the past few years. We have a great burden to strengthen the work of Christ in Cuba at this time. There has been much labor and fruit in this country over the past few years, but we see the devil fighting on every side to bring confusion and fear upon those that are standing with Christ in this communist nation. With this in mind, Pastor Mercado traveled to Cuba for 10 days to strengthen the brethren and plan for future Schools to be run in Cuba. We have organized the leaders so that we can effectively work and cover a great part of the country in the year of 2015.
After arriving in Havana, we met with Pastor Jose Reynosa, and we drove 1200 km to the town of Baracoa. Meetings were held with pastors and SOC coordinators from Maisi tip, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo and Baracoa. During days of fasting and prayer, these men prayed and asked God for wisdom in how to strengthen the great work that has already been accomplished. Also, much time was spent coordinating our plans on how to reach many more people in Cuba with this message of Pentecost during 2015.
The next day we had a meeting with pastors from Maisí tip, which is the easternmost part of Cuba. It is an area of great poverty, but we could see that the real famine is in hearing the Word of God (Amos 8:11). We began the first School of Christ in this region with thirty pastors attending the School.
From Maisí, Pastor Mercado and the leaders drove to Guantanamo to meet with two pastors whose lives have been greatly affected by the SOC. This meeting was very successful; and both of these men are willing to preach this Gospel in the Guantánamo area; the work there is going very well. We thank God that we are hearing testimonies of what God is doing among these who are the neediest of the people.
We then traveled to meet with pastors in Camaguey and Pinar del Rioand where the willingness and desire to receive what God is teaching in the SOC was very evident. During these days we preached the Gospel to the saints of the church and saw the mighty hand of God manifested. We have made plans to run a School in Pinar del Rio in 2015.
Pastor Delvis writes, “The day before I left Cuba, I met with the President of the Council of Calvary Church of Cuba; who opened the door for the School of Christ. We were extended an invitation to preach the Word of God in the annual congress held in the city of Havana. We are eager to once again have time to pray and seek God’s face together with these pastors in a conference that will gather many of the leaders of the School of Christ in Cuba. I marvel how the Glorious Holy Spirit moved in every place, and to see God’s mighty hand in everything we are doing, as He moves among the churchs in Cuba.”
Pastor Mercado and I wish to thank the School of Christ in Beaumont, Texas, who not only prayed but also contributed financially to fulfill this mission. The vision and our labor in Cuba continues to live and thrive. So much fruit is being harvested in Cuba. When I was there last year, the prayer meetings, the preaching and the sacrifice to God were so very powerful. It touched my heart deeply to see these brethren earnestly crying out to God. We ask that you pray for the brethren in this nation. It is very difficult to live for God in this country, but God does give the liberty in the Spirit, and the work in Cuba is very, very strong.
Pastors working with the School of Christ in Cuba
Church in Cuba