Gratitude and Hope
Beloved EBC,
Did you know this 2026 we celebrate 18 years of being one church two languages?
I’m thankful for almost three years of pastoring our Hispanic brothers and sisters among a congregation that has learned through almost two decades that “God… now commands all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30), opening the doors to the Hispanic community of this side of the Pacific Northwest. It is true that we have neighbors from many other cultures, and the Lord might lead us towards other language groups in the years to come, but this has been the identity of Evergreen since September of 2008.
We know that to be and make more, and better disciples of Jesus Christ communicates our willingness to be obedient to the Great Commission and making sure that the EBC family continues to grow in multicultural participation and collaboration through all our ministries is evidence that we are fostering Bible based unity in diversity.
Our recent Annual Meeting reflected a growing and more inclusive environment of humble learning, and integration in the most sensitive decisions of our church. What a blessing it is to be together with the purpose of glorifying our Father in this!
Two weeks ago, we started a bilingual Life Group that is creating an opportunity for members of both languages to learn from each other and experience spiritual growth as we seek a better understanding of God’s Word. I am enjoying myself sharing sixty minutes of serious exegesis and dynamic interaction as brothers and sisters who eager for learning of Bible concepts and both, English and Spanish vocabulary!
Last week I had a videocall with Tomás, Rosa and Eliseo Gómez, three of our newest missionaries, in this case, Latin American missionaries to Spain introduced by our Hispanic congregation and approved by all the members of EBC for financial support and outreach-work partnership. Brother Tomás asked me to thank you all for your generosity and prayers.
This weekend our pastors and elders will enjoy another spiritual retreat that has been offered to us yearly. Another motive of gratitude that I, on behalf of all of us, want to express. We are aware that this is possible only because God provides through your loving giving. Ray Abarca, Moisés Hernández, Jonathan Bonilla, Hyun Su Youm, Evan Chalker, Isaiah Downing, John Heath, Ed Conzatti, Jacob Abrahamson, Ryan Aufenkamp, Ryan Donovan, Toby Beck, I, and our wives thank you EBC family!
Please, pray during the week with these suggestions in mind:
- That the Lord blesses us with a unified Leadership Team, ensuring that our members who are from different ethnic backgrounds, share equal stake in decision-making and wise shepherding of our flock.
- That our church keeps celebrating together combined services and events that foster fellowship across our cultural groups in love and God-centered unity.
- That all our ministries show cross-cultural competence, incorporating cultural awareness as a core element of discipleship, enabling ourselves to engage with people of different backgrounds, leading them to Christ and the intentional follow-up provided by Evergreen.
- That we all may learn intercultural empathy, willingly approaching cultural differences with humility, focusing on learning from others’ cultural perspectives by simply remembering that we all are citizens of Heaven.
- That Our Spanish ministries’ XVIII anniversary not only provides us with one more celebration activity but will also mark an encouraging sense of spiritual maturity as an adult Hispanic congregation who wants to exalt the Name of Jesus through fruit-bearing works.
“By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Joe