Inglesia Evangelica Restaurando Vidas
Restoring Lives Evangelical Church
San Juan de la Maguana,
Dominican Republic
We live in a broken world. The sad part is many people have experienced brokenness in their personal lives. It may have been a broken marriage, a broken relationship, or a very deep hurt. It was not God's plan that we suffer from brokenness. But, as a result of man's sin, at one time or another, we have all experienced it.
In 2016, a church was started in San Juan de la Maguana that demonstrated Christ's love and healing to all people.
Pastor Dionisio Valdez and Pastor Sandy Valdez met with a group of people in a small hotel meeting room to share the Gospel message and share God's love with people in the community. It did not take long for the church to outgrow the meeting space. They then rented a storefront building, and they continued to grow and grow and grow. God used the church to minister to people's lives. People heard God's message, came to Christ and continued to be spiritually fed. The church continued to grow until the rented building was full for every service. God was at work in restoring lives.
God led the church's leadership to realize paying rent was not good use of their resources. The leadership decided they needed their own building. A decision was made to purchase a piece of property about a block from their rented building. Resources were limited, so they needed to get a bank loan to purchase the property. Along with that decision came the need to make loan payments. The next logical step was to end the lease on the rented building and use that money to help pay back the loan. So that is what happened.
They needed a place to meet, so they purchased a tent, put it at the back of the new property, and started having services in the tent. You would think that would have a negative effect on attendance. The opposite happened. The church continued to grow. Sunday mornings find the tent church continuing to grow, and it is now overflowing. That is a sign that God's Word is being faithfully shared there.
They need a building. The project's projected cost is $200,000 US to build a new sanctuary. It will be built on the front part of the property while they continue to worship in the tent. Once the sanctuary is complete, the tent will be removed, and they will they build an office and classroom addition.
The Restoring Lives Evangelical Church is beginning to raise funds for its new building. They plan to raise as much as they can locally. They also know they will need some help. They have many friends worldwide willing to help if there is a way to do it. There is now a way!
Helping Hands Unlimited has been friends with Dionisio and Dr. Sandy for a very long time, and we are willing to partner with them in this fundraising effort. The only expenses coming out of any donations will be the credit card processing fees and the wire charges to forward the money to them. Close to 100 percent of contributions will be going to the church project.
There are several ways to give:
- You can give online by clicking on the Donate Now button below.
- You can also mail us a check. Please make the check out to Helping Hands Unlimited, PO Box 111, Albany, IN 47320. Please put "Restoring Life Church" on the memo line of your check.
- You can also donate RMD funds, stocks, and bonds or proceeds from grain sales. Please call us at 765-730-3618.
All contributions from US donors is tax-deductible. We will provide you with a receipt you can possibly use in the country where you live.
The pastors at Restoring Lives Evangelical Church are visionaries, and they want to reach out to small towns surrounding San Juan to reach people for Christ and start new churches. Several have already been established, and more are being planned. You can help by clicking on the "Help Church Plants" button to donate online, or you can put "Helping Church Plants" on your check and mail it to us.
Thank you for helping Restore Lives in the Dominican Republic!