I haven’t really shared the details of what has been taking place over the past 6 months. A big part of that is because I have been the busiest I have been in a long time. But the main reason why I personally have not said much is that none of this is about me or because of me. And I will be the first to tell you that this is much bigger than me.

For the past 2 years #RedemptionHD had been looking for a new location. By God’s grace and God’s hands we grew over the pandemic and our building no longer facilitated what we were doing. For our RE Community we didn’t mind being crammed into our little sanctuary but we knew that the Lord had called us to more.

We prayed and we looked for a new building. We applied and submitted applications but nothing fell through. We eventually started calling other churches to see if they had any extra building spaces that we could rent, which eventually led me to a conversation with my friend Albert and then Pastor David Corona. Something that I have learned is that God is always at work around us. Even when we don’t see it, He’s working. And that’s exactly what He was doing with myself, Pastor David, Family Life Church, and Redemption High Desert.

Pastor David and I began to meet and we found out that we could possibly be the answer to each other’s prayers. And after praying and meeting for months we knew the assignment. The Lord was bringing our two congregations together as one.

This assignment was and is very humbling. It has and will require me to fully empty myself out in way that I pray only glorifies Jesus. The vision has expanded and the opportunities have now multiplied. This is not man’s doing but it is only (and will continue to be) by the power of the Holy Spirit. And with that being said I would like to announce that we have merged Redemption High Desert and Family Life Church, and I humbly accept the privilege to be the Lead Senior Pastor of the “Redemption Family”.

I want to thank Pastor David Corona for his wisdom and humility as he has handed me a baton solidifying a partnership of generations. I will always honor the legacy and work of Pastor David and Kathy Corona, and I’m honored to have Pastor David in my life to help me as a Pastor and a mentor in this new chapter. I also want to honor and thank my Pastors and my in-laws, Pastor Tommy and Monica Hinojos. Ahelya and I are where we are because of what the Lord taught us through your example. PT it is because of your pursuit of the Lord that I have been forever impacted and I thank God that I have you in my life. You are a father and a spiritual father to us and we love you and Monica so much. To my wife, my son, my mom, siblings, friends, and family. Thank you for being understanding and gracious over the past 6 months. The Lord has completely crushed me in preparation for this chapter and He used all of you as encouragement and motivation.

And to the Redemption Community, nothing has changed but an address (and we grew overnight haha). We still worship as we love to do, we will build and protect relationships, we will follow Christ with everything we have, we will be the light to the world, and we will be what we always have been…#family