God’s work continues in the Republic of Costa Rica.
Pastor Giovanni Arce, who graduated from the School of Christ in Nicaragua in 2017, returned to Costa Rica to continue the work of the School of Christ.
In November, 2018, 30 students graduated from the School of Christ, in the city of Alajuela, Costa Rica. The majority of these graduates were going down the path of apostasy, but when they heard the SOC lessons their lives were turned around. Their spiritual eyes were opened and all were moved to repentance.
Pastor Giovanni Arce, pastored for more than 17 years with churches of over 500 members, realized how wrong he had been in his beliefs when he was confronted with the Truth of Pentecost. He told me, “It does not matter if I lose it all, all I want is for Christ to be preached in Truth.” After going through the SOC and taking the position of Truth, many people began to leave his church. This is the effect that returning to the message of the Cross is having on his church.
I also held a graduation for the School of Christ in the city of San José Puriscal, Costa Rica, under the direction of missionaries Franklin and Evelyn Turner. This SOC was for pastors only. During this School we witnessed the powerful hand of God working in the hearts and lives of each student. Listening to the Word of God through the SOC lessons, two pastors realized their need to be baptized in water. At the end of the class, we found a river in the mountains to baptize these two men.
Another tremendous move of God happened at the end of October, 2018. Over the past two years we have met with great opposition in Costa Rica. There was a group of pastors who sent out letters declaring that Delvis Mercado and the School of Christ were very dangerous. The letters stated that the School of Christ should not be allowed in their churches. However, when we arrived in October and began to minister, we did not know that people of the opposition was in the congregation. At the end of the day’s services, those that had opposed the SOC came and asked for forgiveness and requested that we come and teach the SOC in their churches as soon as possible. They said, “We need this kind of teaching.” That same evening, we were also invited to run the SOC with two other groups of churches. This all happened because of the presence of the Lord in those meetings. Praise God, in one day, God brought down all the confusion and opened a door that seemed so far from being opened to us for two years. We came to Costa Rica to encourage the saints and it was a powerful time of preaching, worship, and prayer in these two cities.
We cannot stop carrying this message of Pentecost. There is a great price to pay, since we sacrifice our time, work, and in many cases, being away from our family. However, when we hear the testimonies of the students who have completed the SOC and how it has changed their lives, no price is too high. We thank God for giving us this opportunity to fulfill the mandate of the Lord.
Please help us with your prayers as we believe that it is time to see a great move of God in this country.
Richard Goebel – SOC Director