by Veronica Sanchez

Shalom Nuevo Comienzo, a recent church plant in Virginia, works to build a solid foundation so people can come to know the good news of salvation, feel part of the community of faith, and grow in discipleship to become faithful followers of Jesus.

I remember receiving a call from an anguished woman. She had received a death threat and had been suffering from domestic violence from her husband for some time. She called to ask for help with food and prayer because someone who knew me had told her that I am a Pastor. Hearing this woman’s anguish, I contacted a sister from the church and we immediately went to Margarita’s house (name changed) and found her crying and desperate. We brought her food and then we prayed with her and she received Jesus as her Savior! Peace came to her heart and she could be sure that God will protect her. We have visited her several times to share the Word of God, and she made the decision to be baptized.

I have the privilege of leading this ministry to women. I do this ministry so that every woman I know or who comes to the Church can hear the good news of Jesus and feel loved, valued, healed, and accepted into the community of faith. Here, we train them in discipleship and invite them to serve the Church with their gifts and talents that they discover. We journey with them as they learn what the Word of God says and build a relationship with God.

And we have seen miracles of healing! Recently in a small prayer group, a couple came to the meeting who needed healing. The husband was suffering from terminal cancer; the doctors called him in to do a biopsy, and the couple were alarmed and afraid of finding out the results. However, the day before we had prayed to the Almighty God for healing. The next day, they shared the testimony that God had heard our prayers, and the biopsy showed a negative result and that he was cancer-free. Praise the Lord!

Iglesia Shalom Nuevo Comienzo is a church plant in the Blue Ridge District of LMC, located in Waynesboro, VA. Armando and Veronica Sanchez serve as pastors.