One of my favorite things about the persecuted Church is the amazing people we get to meet along the way, out in the field. Nowhere else do you see such examples of faithfulness, extreme devotion, and sacrifice for the faith.
Pastor Argelio (pseudonym) is one such man whom I met in Cuba.
Boyhood Church Closed
Argelio was just a boy when the communists started locking up and torturing pastors. As a result, his little boyhood church scattered; it simply ceased to exist.
He doubted the church would ever grow there again, but he had this recurring feeling that one day, he would worship there again. So years later, as an adult, he felt God’s call to start a church back in his hometown.
A Fleece
So he laid out a fleece. He said, “God, if I can find one believer who attended my old church 24 years ago, I will start up the church again.”
While visiting his boyhood home, as he’s walking down the street, he overheard a woman talking openly about God.
He stopped and asked her if she had attended the Pentecostal church in town two decades prior. She nodded and said that she was the only believer left in the area who had attended that church.
He began to pray fervently for the birth of a church there and prayed non-stop for the next seven years.
The New Church Birthed
While he waited, he started several other churches in various places. The government would close them and he would start them up again. Finally, though, he started the church in his hometown.
As the church began to grow, pressure from the secret police intensified. They wouldn’t let him build a church and constantly threatened to imprison him. The communists eventually closed the church. The doors of the church were locked and sealed. Anybody who broke the seal would immediately go to prison.
His flock of 60 scattered and two weeks later, he only had eight people left. That included him and his wife!
Argelio simply moved the remaining congregation to a new location. Then, the secret police closed down his church for the second time.
“You Have Sacrificed Enough”
In despair, he met with the president of his denomination, who told him, “Argelio, you have sacrificed enough. Don’t sacrifice anymore. I will give you another church.”
Although the leader’s words were meant to comfort him, they didn’t.
He felt that God had clearly called him to this church. He could only trust that this crossroad was a part of the plan. He rejected the offer to go to another church, regardless of the cost. He decided to press on with the work God had given him.
From Small Beginnings…
Argelio’s relentlessness and determination eventually caused the government to realize that he wouldn’t give up. After many years of persecution, they finally left him alone, and his church was left to grow.
After 16 years, when I met him, Argelio’s church had 700 members. The one church he started grew into 22 others, with a total membership of 3,000 believers. All of this happened over decades of constant harassment and pressure from the secret police.
Looking back on his life, Argelio told me, “When you are faithful in the midst of adversities of life, God will be faithful to you and will bless you more. We were middle-class citizens before we started the ministry, but we forsook all the comforts of life for the glory of God. We must obey the Lord, even in difficult circumstances.”
What Has God Called You To?
Think about Argelio’s words and think about the parallel in your own life. What has God called you to?
Whatever your calling is, you need to realize that it must be opposed by the evil one. That’s what he does!
Look at David, Abraham, and so many others. There is the calling, and then there is the struggle.
Tooth and Nail
You will suffer struggle, setbacks, and pain. It is inevitable. But if the Lord has given you a calling, it will come to fruition despite all the setbacks and struggles you currently face.
So even if you don’t trust yourself, trust God’s character and remember Argelio’s words: “We must obey the Lord, even in difficult circumstances.”
If you would like to help us as we support and train underground pastors and ministry workers, consider giving today.
Be Blessed,
Jeff King
President of International Christian Concern
Author of Islam Uncensored and The Last Words of the Martyrs
Host of Into the Deep Podcast
Why the fleece? Here is where it comes from in the Bible!
Faith and Fleeces
Gideon said to God, "If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised--look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said."
And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew--a bowlful of water.
Then Gideon said to God, "Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece. This time make the fleece dry and the ground covered with dew."
That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.
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