Giving for the earthquake victims from abroad

In the picture: the Sports Palace of Rieti (the main city nearby the affected area) transformed into a storage 
facility for humanitarian aid to those who survived the earthquake. Our church too sent stuff to this place!

The goal of our church for the victims of the earthquake that hit the central part of Italy is not just to give emotionally  during the emergency, but to give a long-term help to them especially when the spotlight of the media will be turned off.

To do so, we joined a large group of Italian as well as international organizations and churches co-ordinated by the Italian Evangelical Alliance (AEI), signing a pact to not give up helping until the situation is normalized.


For our international friends who want to join our church in collecting money to help us in doing so, here are the methods you can use:

• bank draft  on the following account:

Chiesa Cristiana Evangelica della Vera Vite

Via Delio Ricci, snc

01027 Montefiascone (VT)

Fiscal Code 90118250563

IBAN: IT03 F057 0473 1600 0000 0115 300

Reason of payment: EARTHQUAKE CENTRAL ITALY

•  donation by credit card via PayPal

Farming the vine of the Lord: 5 Self-Truths to Realize to Become a Better Pastor

In 2014 I will be in my twenty-second year of service to the Lord.  

I spent more than half of this time as a pastor, initially as a youth pastor for a few teenagers in a church of ten adult members, then as an associate pastor in a church of nearly one hundred members - this is a huge church by Italian standards. For the last ten years I've been the lead pastor in a church of... well, in a church whose numbers ebb and flow like the annual wine production from  the vineyards surrounding the hilltop town where it was planted.

There are years where the harvest is plentiful, but the quality is not the best, the bouquet of scents does not bind to create a good glass of wine, and the aftertaste is a little bitter. Other years, however, the product is scarce, but the flavour is superb, the bouquet is full, with a full-bodied aftertaste that remains in your mouth for hours after drinking it  (you've figured out that I like a good glass of wine, right?). 

But, inevitably, in any season, whether the product is abundant or scarce, whether the taste is mediocre or superb, you get to a stage where fatigue sets in, or there is the desire to dismantle everything and start over again, or worse, the need to escape from the stress of tilling a land that had seen neither  hoe nor spade for so long. 

It can come over you at the end of  a service in response to a comment on  your sermon: "... but I heard others think differently..." with the person quoting dozens of web pages consulted on the subject of your sermon. Or during a church meeting in the form of a “creative” suggestion  for the life of the community ... that would move in completely the opposite direction of where you are trying to lead your congregation. It can be the comment  from the new attender who came last Sunday, asking you whether it is possible to modify the service so that it will more closely resemble the church he attended up to three weeks ago, or by an established member of your congregation, who suddenly discovers he - or she-  "...no longer feels loved...”. 

What do you do on such occasions, in addition to using your wife as a "shoulder" to cry on in your frustration? During these times it is nice to find others who can tell you they walked the same winding roads,  went up and down the same stairs, pulled the same wagon ... 

What follows is a brief reflection that encouraged me, made me smile .. . and put into perspective why I'm doing what I'm doing, and on whom everything depends. 

I offer it to all my fellow pastors, for whom I have tremendous love and admiration. But also to all  church members, so that they may reflect and understand that, behind the pulpit, there are no supermen ... but simply men who have been called to the ministry and that, one day, must give an account to Jesus .

"Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you. " (Hebrews 13:17 NIV)

---

The painful truths are usually the ones that best aid growth. These five truths about yourself as a pastor are painful to realize but will help you grow as a pastor and as a person.

1. You are not the best pastor out there.

I hate to be the one to break it to you, but name a pastoral skill (e.g., preaching, discipleship, administration) and you can find another pastor out there who’s better at it than you. And that’s okay. You’re not trying to be better than Pastor So-and-so (at least I hope you’re not), you’re trying to be the best you can be with what God has given you so you can serve the congregation where God has placed you.

2. Not everyone likes you or will like you.

I know you think you’re just lovable. Maybe you are and maybe you aren’t. Some people hate Teddy Bears and Mr. Rogers but lots of people like Lady Gaga. My point is, as wonderful as you are, some people just aren’t going to connect with you, like you, be able to follow you. That’s okay. As long as those people continue on to find a place where they can serve and don’t stir up trouble there, let them go with God and don’t bind yourself to their opinion of you.

3. You don’t know everything.

I sure wish I didn’t have to tell you this. If you have seminary training then your area of expertise is ministry, theology, or biblical studies, or a combination of those. In seminary my recognized area of expertise was systematic theology (I’m a systems thinker). This was validated by the faculty award I received at graduation. I have been trained in the other areas, however, and that along with my experience both in ordained ministry and as a layman means that I can speak with confidence as somewhat of an expert in those areas.

Sometimes I am able to speak outside these areas. I was in management at a large mortgage operations center before getting into ministry so I can speak to some aspects of business life. I can talk about which copy machine company we should use because I use the copy machine and have been responsible for the machines in my department when I was in the business world.

In other areas I must defer to other peoples’ judgment. I know nothing about roofing so my opinion is pretty much useless when it comes to which roofer we should contract with to re-roof the church building. Ditto on a company to repave the parking lot. I don’t know what is wrong with the air conditioner. I cannot tell you where you should invest your retirement funds (I have a guy and I’ll recommend him but other than that…).

And, you know what? I don’t have to know those things. The church didn’t call me because I was a reliable air conditioner repairman; they called me to serve as pastor. As long as I’m the best I can be at that, everything will be fine. If the church is looking for something more or different, then they have unrealistic expectations.

4. There are people in your church who can do some things better than you.

This is similar to the previous point but hits a little closer to home. There are probably people in your church that are better than you are even at things like discipleship, evangelism, pastoral care, and other areas of church ministry. There are two ways you can respond to this. (1) You can be jealous, let ego get in the way, and refuse to let these people use their gifts to serve the church, serve the Lord, and make your life and ministry easier and better, or (2) You can be grateful God has sent someone to serve the church by making up for areas in which you are weak.

If this is all about you, then do the first, but if you’ve realized that this is about Christ and his church, then your only reasonable response is gratefulness that the body of Christ is being helped.

5. As gracious as you think you are with your people, sometimes they’re just as gracious with you.

I know people can be difficult. (Please believe me when I say, “I know.” I really do.) But sometimes you can be difficult, too. This is just a fact and you know it’s true (don’t pretend it’s not).

If you serve your people well and love them with Christ’s love, most of them will love you back. (The ones that don’t you must still love and serve but you must leave them to the Lord.) When your people love you back, they will put up with your less-than-stellar behavior as well.

I am notoriously cranky. I’m more than half a curmudgeon anyway but sometimes I just plain get cranky. I try not to be and I’ve had to apologize more than once for my crankiness, but they’ve always loved me in spite of it. I know that they’re being gracious with me simply because they love me and it’s even easier to love them back.

Their love for me in return just confirms that I am where God wants me to be.

Michael Jones - Pastor of Zion Baptist Church in Taylor, MI (USA) for pastors.com

---

Being a pastor, an elder, a leader, or whatever you call your position in your church, according to its denomination, is a mixture of honor and hard work, joy and sorrow, discouragement and excitement. And the key to success is not measured by the number of chairs that you can fill (although  numbers count, since  numbers represent saved people), but in fulfilling to the utmost what God has commanded you to do, remembering that you're not a superman, but just a normal man (if they  pierce you, you too will bleed), with your limits, your hang-ups, your weaknesses, but also your gifts and talents, your strengths and abilities based on past experiences.

As long as you give the best of yourself, not to show off, but to serve, you will be safe, despite the tiredness, the discouragement and doubts (which are the source on which you can build certainties in the future).

And you will find that the bouquet of wine produced by the vineyard where you're working has always, without fail, whether in years of abundance or scarcity, the superb and perfect flavour of Him who has called you to serve.

"Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve;  not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.  And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away." (1 Peter 5:2-4 NIV)

Marco

(You can also find the Italian version of this article here)

A “one and only” new year's resolution: to be light in the world for Christ.

How will my 2013 be?  Will it be better or worse than 2012? I know that it will be impossible to be the same ... but with what attitude should I approach these next 365 days of my life?

At the beginning of each year, we usually start with a series of new year's resolutions: I will stop doing this, I will start doing that, I will do less of this and more of that. When we hit the 31^st December, statistics say that most of the good intentions have been diluted in the ocean of life of the past 364 days.

Our proposals are all very positive for us, for our loved ones and those we meet every day. They are all prompted by our innate desire to improve ourselves, to advance in the good things, to promote not only ourselves but also positive values ​​in the world where we spend those 365 days so that it will be better and we can enjoy it to the full.

So why is it so difficult, if not impossible, to live doing something which is really good and positive for us and for others?

What is missing is that in order to change the way we act, the first thing we need to do is to change ourselves. Jesus told us clearly:

“No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. Otherwise, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better.’ ” (Luke 5:36-39 NIV)

So every year we pour new wine in old damaged wineskins and, unfailingly every year the new wine is lost along the road of our 365 days and when we get to at the 31^st December there is little or no wine left.

However, a way does exist to be sure that we can can be renewed ourselves to keep the new wine until the end of our year. What I propose to you is my personal “one and only” new year's resolution" which alone includes all the good intentions that I would have for me and for others in this 2013: to be light in the world for Christ.

"No one lights a lamp and puts it under a clay pot. Instead, it is placed on a lampstand, where it can give light to everyone in the house. Make your light shine, so others will see the good you do and will praise your Father in heaven. " (Matthew 5:15-16 CEV)

If I can remember every day I'm not on this earth to spend my years just living, but to be a living witness of Christ, who us alive and working in the world and in people's lives, then I will be able to be renewed myself on a daily basis and adjust my behavior step by step. By doing this, I will spread a bright, pure warm light for others. And, in doing so, I know I'll never be alone, because Jesus has promised:

"If you love me, show it by doing what I've told you. I will talk to the Father, and he'll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can't take him in because it doesn't have eyes to see him, doesn't know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be in you! " (John 14:15-18 MSG)
And I trust Jesus.

But, as always, theory without application does not bear any fruit, so I want to to share with you what I will do first, based on my “one and only” resolution for 2013.

In Italy, as in many parts of the world, we are living a time of recession and of economic and political uncertainty. Throughout 2012, I have largely applied myself either on social media or personally to show all my anger and impatience with the Italian situation. What was the effect on the people around me? Did they see a "better light"? Did I somehow "build" anyone up with my outbursts of hatred towards a situation that affects not only me but a few million other people? Did I warm any heart?

The questions are, of course, rhetorical, and the answers are all a big dry "no” But if I had already taken my "one and only" resolution at the beginning of 2012, I might have lit and warmed up someone in need, rather than exacerbate his anger.  For this reason, in accordance with my "one and only” resolution", I will work in 2013 to emphasize the good that I see in the world, rather than the evil I suffer.

But this is what the Spirit has prompted in me. You'll have to ask yourself, with the same Spirit's help, how to be a witness of the light of Christ.

As you can see from the photo, I signed my resolution with my name. Are you are ready to do the same, to be the light of Christ in 2013?

The best I can wish for you is to accept the challenge of this "one and only resolution". And be sure you will not be alone in this, but the Holy Spirit will fight with you so that you keep your resolution!

Happy 2013!

More than twenty Italian evangelical churches closed by Milan City Council

It seems there is a subtle strategy trying to "slow down" the growth of the evangelical churches in Italy, making more and more difficult for them to find places for their meetings, closing down the facilities the are using, and putting them under the hand lens of the Italian bureaucracy.

Even if  this is happening only in  a couple of regions in the north, it seems possible other Italian regions may apply the same rules over the evangelical communities living in their territory.

While I'm waiting in prayer the Italian Evangelical Churches of all the regions will wake up from their lethargy and stop thinking "this not going to happen in my region" or "we have friends at the City Council, they will not bother us", and rise their voices all together to defend those churches in need, I urge all of you to pray for the communities facing those tough moments.

Marco

 Here is the official Press Release from the President of  COEL ( Lombardy Region Evangelical Conference) asking for action from Milan City Council on October 8th 2012
---
"Despite last Tuesday's meeting with Milan City Council, four church facilities were closed, with the cotnsequent eviction of 6 evangelical churches in Milan city, in accordance with a Regional law. COEL began discussions with the City Council, which responded by allowing some of the churches to hold their services in city facilities; COEL thanked the administration for this possibility. 

COEL has also contacted several political representatives – Lombardy Region Councillors, national Parliament members and Senators, mainly non- evangelical – regarding this burning issue and continues to believe in and ask for loyal collaboration and solidarity from all those who are committed to religious freedom in our nation, besides all the Christian churches, irrespective of denomination or confession of faith. 

With the closure of these facilities, the number of evangelical churches evicted from their places of worship has now risen to more than 20; some of these have disbanded, others have moved to other premises but all have suffered a blow to their vocation and function in the place where God, before man, had called them.
COEL also announced that it had been summoned again this week by the City Council, regarding the citizens' discussion on the establishment of a Register of religious associations, which is one of the main problems at the heart of the current situation.

Starting tomorrow the Vice-Mayor of Milan has specifically expressed his commitment to intervene together with COEL to help to find a solution to the problem of these churches evicted from their places of worship.
We again call upon all the public and private parties involved – as well as all the governing bodies and in particular Regional and national politicians – who have at heart religious freedom and plurality of faith which our (Italian) Constitution, art.3, lays out admirably, to work to find a positive solution to this problem. 

To all christians, in particular, we ask that they pray to God for us."

Pastor Riccardo Tocco
COEL President 

 ---

(Translated by Janet Duggan)

The work of our missionaries in Zimbabwe continues!

Many of you know our church is supporting Giuseppe and Anna Rita Longo, a missionary couple who  decided to livein Zimbabwe with their three children to work with the local churches and help with the children in the area of Bulawayo.

This is what Giuseppe and Annarita wrote to us in their latest letter:

"Hi to everybody from our Africa.

August revealed many blessings and was a month of very intense and demanding activities. The group was quite numerous. We had Bernardino, Fabio, Linda and Stefania from Italy. With them we evangelized the various areas of Bulawayo with our puppets, the new theater, mimes and singing.

 It was beautiful and exciting to work with the orphans and poor of the city at the orphanages. Every day we tried to make our contribution putting our skills and talents to good use.

We also visited some African churches where we presented our program, which was much appreciated, especially when we sang in Italian and Ndebele.

Fabio went back to Italy at the end of August and today Linda and Stefania are leaving us. Bernardino, however, will remain with us until October 2, helping with his talents and gifts.

We started to pay school fees for the "Project Abantwana," but we were not able to cover the fees for all the children. As for the new project "Adopt a teacher" we received only one gift, but it will not be enough to pay for two teachers.

We are confident that our Father will supply every need. With Bernardino, in faith, we still want to start the room that will be used as a nursery school. We hope to start the program on September 11, when school will start again for everyone. Anyone wishing to donate can still use our bank account or post office occount here below.

What more can we say? We will be more than happy to accommodate anyone who is interested in cominh and visiting us,  and we will spend our time together serving the Lord. This group was happy to work with us and we were overjoyed to be a tool in providing an opportunity for service.

You are welcome. For those who want more information, a new group will be here in December. Please contact us as soon as possible.

We greet you with love in the Lord, Giuseppe, Annarita, Emmanuele, Desirée and David. "

---

Since the beginning of August my colleague Elder Bernardino Balzi is there to serve together with Giuseppe and Annarita.

Berni sent us some photos from the region around Bulawayo. The task is heavy, but the joy of the faces of those who receive help is priceless, and it's worth all the effort.

Berni is acting as our church's hands, feet and eyes there and we bless the Lord that through him, just as though Giuseppe and Annarita, our small church can do something for "the least". Berni wrote the following to us yesterday:

"Hi Marco, on Tuesday school starts again and some of the children supported by the "Abwantana Project" risk not being able to go back to school because we haven't received enough funds to pay for them. We still need about $400. Next week the Longos and I will be going to work on a room in a local Baptist church on the outskirts of town, which will be used as a school room for children in that area. We'll be painting the walls, laying a concrete floor... but funds are tight here, too, and with just another $50 we could fix the leaking roof and maybe replace some of the broken windows. Greet everyone for me, see you soon, and Strength in Christ"

On Monday, we'll send the amount Berni mentioned (plus an extra 30%)...
I am proud of every member of the church I lead, because though small, it has a great heart for those in need, giving faithfully and more generously than that which would be expected in this period of recession! And I am also blessed that as pastor, I can transform that money into a roof, a floor, windows and instalments to pay for food, cothing and EDUCATION! for many childen. I love my church, because my church loves with practical action, not with words.
Yes, I'm very blessed as a pastor!

Marco

PS: if anyone else would like to contribute to Giuseppe and Annarita's work (and Berni's) in Zimbabwe, they can find out how to do so by reading the information here.

Thank you Jessica Joy!

Perhaps many of you remember  Jessica Joy Rees, the 12 years old daughter of an American pastor suffering from a brain tumor.

Jessica became a "mascot" for our church and an example. I spoke about her in many Sunday messages as well as to friends, posting on Facebook and elsewhere, telling her awesome story of suffering, joy, sorrow, hope,  pain and altruism.

Many of us prayed constantly for her, for a miraculous healing, for something that could contradict the cold statistical data related to the inoperable cancer  she suffered from: 9-month survival since its discovery.

Yesterday evening (it was morning in California) Jessica was welcomed by Jesus into Heaven, leaving her family but also all of us, alone. They told us she fell asleep, without pain, as if  she was going to bed at night. When she  wakes up (this has already happened as I write!), she will not find her family to comfort her from the pain, or her beloved Mr. Moe -the faithful dog that accompanied her in these months of illness - but Jesus himself, her real father, the one who has loved her since before she existed, and that now is taking her to  the room he prepared for her. No more pain, or needles, or headache, or facial paralysis ... only the joy of being with Jesus!

I miss my Jessie. I was accustomed to pray for her every day, to exchange text messages and photos on Facebook. I cannot even imagine how much her family is missing her. She  went to the Father, but her shining example of unselfishness, joy and faith will remain carved in the minds of those who met her, even if only through the pages of Facebook.

As a believer, I know that " for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).

I do not see that my stretch of road, that appears before me along the way, and I do not know what lies beyond the bend  that limits me to the view, while God, flying higher than time and events, sees - as would an eagle- , the entire path. He sees the whole picture, and its intersections, and chooses them according to the good of those who love him. And I know he has chosen the better for the sake of Jessie ... although I cannot see it with my short sight, and I cannot understand it with my limited intellect.

Two comments, however, helped me put into perspective even one small fraction of the plan that God has written through Jessie.

The first is from my wife. As I pondered out loud about the fact that I did not know enough about Jessica, she said: "Jessica wanted to be known by you, as well as by thousands of other people in the world.Through Facebook she searched contact with you, as with the others,  making herself vulnerable to others and choosing to tell you and to others what was inside:  her joys, her fears, the best and the worst of those ten months of pain. "

This comment led me to a first reflection on my life as a believer: how much am I willing to reveal myself to others, making me vulnerable to them?Do I seek the help and support of my  brothers and sisters in Christ, near or far , or do I try to do "everything by myself", thinking of  my challenges as a private affair? Jessica opened herself to the world and to other believers receiving through  prayer the help and the constant encouragement that enabled her to live ten months not in a passive way towards her illness, but attacking it and making it a springboard for action, rather than to a dark room  to hide and weep.

The second, and perhaps most important, came from my son Matteo, thirteen years old , more or less the same age as Jessie: "Well, dad, I'm so sorry for her, but even though he lived only twelve years, that was a great way to live.Without her there would be no Team Negu, nor  Joy Jars, which are now known all over the United States. I hope that here in Italy there will be something like that sooner or later. "

This is the correct perspective, which could only come from a young mind ready to see life not as a sum of the days gone by, but as the book of the future.

Matteo was telling me: this is what a 12 year old girl, in her 10 months of illness, was able to do thanks to her faith in Jesus.
Rather than becoming bitter about the evil she experienced, she deliberately decided to be better, to LOVE those who were in her own conditions. There wouldn't be a Team Negu to help children with cancer and their families without Jessie.
There wouldn't have been JOY JARS to give a smile to a child who is suffering without Jessie. Jessie's life in 10 months has had more impact on thousands of people than I had with my hundreds of sermons I preached in church ... because she decided to LOVE LIVING.

Love is not a feeling but an action .... How many times have I taught this? And how many times have I ignored my own teaching? How many times bitter I was  because I felt pain instead of being better, loving those around me? How many times have I been BITTER LOOKING FOR LOVE, instead of being BETTER living in love?

Jessie Thanks for teaching me a truth that I heard so many times and  I taught so many times: "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4).

I have often only heard or taught this. You lived it!

Marco

A prayer and an encouragement to the workers for Christ

While we are reaching the end of this year, in a time of holidays and celebrations, let me say few words to a category of which I am also a part.  People that work all year long, often even much more in that period, with messages to prepare, services to set up, budgets to be drawn up and programs  for the new year to finalize. I'm talking about all those who,  for various reasons and often called with various names according to the denomination - pastor, elder, leader, etc.-  serve as leaders, but lead as servants in the local churches.

They are people who often steal time from their rest just to obey the call that the Lord  gave to them, just to see the birth, growth, and gradual spiritual maturity of those people that, every Sunday (maybe not each one) are there, listening to what the Lord has put in their hearts to teach about.

They do this with joy, without expecting anything in return, except for the hope (sometimes, but not always, the consciousness) to be effective tools in the hands of God.  But they are men (and women), with their weaknesses and their doubts. And often a word of comfort, appreciation or praise is worth a hundred "successful" services.

I want to share a prayer that was sent to me as well as to thousands of other church leaders in the world by Pastor Rick Warren, and is dedicated to all those who make serving the Lord in their local communities a priority.

---
Pastor, Have a Joyful Christmas

My prayer for you this week is that God will bless and anoint your ministry. I’m so thankful for your testimony of faith and obedience. For such a time as this, God placed you in leadership at your church, and he has equipped and provided you with everything you need to be the servant leader he requires for your congregation.

God is pleased with your tireless work and sacrifice. What you are doing now will bring so many people into God’s family. The time, energy, and sacrifice are worth it all. Because of your obedience, God is doing a great work through you.

You bring pleasure to God because you have a heart full of praise and thanksgiving. God is pleased with this worship, and he knows it works both ways. When we express our thanks to God for what he has done for us, it brings him joy — but it also increases our joy. The book of Psalms says, “The righteous are glad and rejoice in his presence; they are happy and shout for joy” (Psalm 68:3 TEV).

Our joy is a continuation of the joy sent that first Christmas. The angel said, “… I am here with good news for you, which will bring great joy to all the people. This very day in David's town your Savior was born—Christ the Lord!” (Luke 2:10b-11 TEV)

Your heart filled with joy will bring joy to your congregation. I am so blessed to co-labor with you, and I pray that God will anoint your ministry with joy this Christmas season and throughout the coming year.

Your friend,

Rick Warren
---

It is nice to hear such an encouragement from another leader of the Church of Christ, someone who knows from experience how the path of the person who works for the Lord in the local church is difficult and exhausting, how this is lived between joy and pain , how often it's fed by doubts and dead ends ... that, miraculously, become highways thanks to Him who has placed us at the heads of our communities. This is the reason why I want to join Pastor Rick in prayer for all  the "workers for Christ."

 I feel personally greatly blessed to share the powerful work of God with such a great host of devoted and humble workers. To you my sincere wish for a season of great blessings.

But if it's nice to receive such encouragement from another "worker" in the field of Christ, as a pastor I can only tell you how wonderful is to receive something similar from those that are  the pastor's "flock".

When was the last time you thanked those who love you, care about you,  bring a message that uplifts you and help you so that you will not feel alone or dicouraged in your next six days? When was the last time you gave them a pat on their shoulder saying "thanks pastor!" for a message that  touched you, for a  phone call  that raised your broken spirit, for advice that illuminated your decision?

Remember, your pastors (or elders, or leaders, etc..) DO NOT live for your praise, but your praise can let them know how much you appreciate them. And to them that is a good sign that they are fulfilling the call that God has made!

They don't live fot that, but that's what help them to live, and to continue to lead  you as a servant on Christ's  road.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Marco Delle Monache
Pastor of The True Vine Evangelical Church