Javier and Lori Acosta
It was Resurrection Sunday in 1990, when Lori and I received Jesus as our Lord and Savior. That day we both began our journey with the Lord. Almost two years later we arrived at Christian Life Mission, where we truly began to grow in Him. In 1995 I felt that there was a call upon my life and after seeking guidance from my Pastor, it was becoming clear that there was in fact a call upon my life to serve the Lord. It was a bitter sweet moment for me. I was relieved at the fact that I now had an idea of what God’s purpose for me was, but at the same time becoming a Pastor was not something that was on my “agenda”. A year later after surrendering fully to Him, Lori and I offered ourselves for the ministry and began to wait upon the Lord for His time and the opportunity to be accepted for training.
In June of 1998 we were “sent forth” from this very church to begin our lives in the full time ministry. Lori and I (along with our infant daughter Lorin) were sent to Puerto Rico where we spent several months being trained for the ministry. We were then sent to Uhrichsville , Ohio where we spent two months receiving additional training and also getting to know the local church there. We arrived back in Miami in April of 1999 where we served as Associate Pastors until November of that year when the Lord called us out of Miami , again, this time to found a church in Manchester , Connecticut . The small group of believers grew, as did our family. While in Connecticut we welcomed the addition of our second daughter Emily. During our time in Connecticut , we experienced the Lord perform some beautiful things. We were just settling down when the “winds began to blow” and His Spirit once again called us to move.
In April of 2001 we were sent back to Uhrichsville , Ohio where the church welcomed us and received us as their new Pastors. During our time there we also experienced growth, within the congregation and at home. Ohio was the birth place for our third child, Andrew. In November of 2004 the Lord brought to fruition a word that He had given Lori almost two years prior which was that He would bring us back to Miami .
Leaving the Uhrichsville church was not something that was easy for us to do. We had labored hard there and in our short time there we were truly joined to many of the brethren. Nonetheless, we know the type of life we have been called to live. My covenant with the Lord was “wherever” and “whenever”. We knew that if we were to “lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of us”, we would have to be obedient. In November of 2004, we once again moved and arrived back in Miami ; 6 years to the month.
We feel honored to be serving the Lord in the place where we grew so much in Him. We have a great deal of history with this church and feel privileged to now be its Pastors.
Christian Life Mission ( Miami ) was founded in 1988 and our desire is to continue to build on its foundation – “Make Disciples”. Over the years this church has been through many changes, but the Blood which redeemed it, has never changed. Therefore, we desire to see disciplined people live this life for Christ and serve Him with “loyal hearts and willing minds”. Our vision for this congregation is to continue to see Isaiah 60:1 come to fruition in our midst - “Arise and shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.”
So as darkness continues its course in today’s world we will continue to see Him arise over us and His glory will be seen upon this congregation.
Associate Pastors
Our Deacons
Our Ushers
