Gilberto Alguera and Nuria Mendiola, husband and wife, are associate pastors at their childhood church, Centro de Fe y Vida Nueva, with Daniel Boniche, former director of the Nehemiah Center as the head pastor. Currently, their roles include taking care of the needs of the church, especially when Pastor Daniel is invited to other churches or countries to teach and preach. Daniel Boniche has been mentoring Gilberto with the goal to eventually take over as the senior pastor so that the church does not suffer during the transition in leadership; in fact, the church has continued to grow even while Pastor Daniel gives more responsibility to Gilberto. God willing, they will be the senior pastors when Pastor Daniel retires.

Over the years, Gilberto, Nuria, and others in their church have been informally receiving Nehemiah Center courses on good finances and Biblical worldview as Daniel Boniche has brought much of the Center’s teaching to the congregation. However, in 2016 Gilberto and other leaders began attending classes at the Nehemiah Center when the course “Better Churches I” began, and now he and his wife are participating in the “Family Counseling” class. Gilberto said, “’Better Churches’ was phenomenal, fantastic because one is blind, and the course served to open our eyes to recognize our weaknesses.” As a church, they have been able to work on their weak areas, and Gilberto considers their greatest achievement over the past year to be the increased involvement of men. There is much more family unity in the church. Before, parents did not come to church together with their children, but the pastors have been working hard to teach fathers what it means to be a good father who is present in his family. “We have tried to emphasize that the father isn’t only in charge, but is the priest of his family, the one who guards and guides his wife and children,” commented Gilberto. He credits Pastor Daniel for the change because of his presence and example, putting Nehemiah Center teachings into practice throughout the years.

As Gilberto and Nuria prepare to take over as senior pastors, they reflect on their desire to seek God and the best for the church. “Our goal is to give the Lord his due with the work that we are doing in the church. I want to improve for the Lord and for His church. I don’t want the quality of teaching that the church has been enjoying to diminish, and these courses from the Nehemiah Center have helped me to be better and to teach better in the church,” testified Gilberto. Nuria added, “We want to see families in the congregation serving God and working in the church.”

Gilberto and Nuria expressed their gratitude to churches that support the Nehemiah Center. They want churches in North America to continue to support these types of events and trainings because there is always more to learn. Gilberto commented, “These workshops are good because we can take them to the congregation and touch crucial themes. Financial assistance isn’t the main goal, but rather we need to touch hearts and seek out parents and children. These things are taught in Nehemiah Center courses. They are touching many more families because each couple that participates in the course impacts other couples and even whole congregations.” Nuria shared, “We are thankful, and do not grow weary. What you are doing by supporting the Nehemiah Center is not in vain, and thank you for remembering us in your prayers.” Thank you for your support of the Nehemiah Center trainings.