1990 – 1991
Living Word Church was born in God’s heart and mind. He stirred in the heart of Pastors Francisco and Raquel Rodríguez to start a new mission en the Meadow Woods area, a growing community lacking a Hispanic church. They started a prayer service on Tuesdays, which the Adorno Family attended.
In May of 1990 they started services at the Adorno Family’s home. By the month of June they started to meet in the cafeteria of Meadow Woods Elementary School. Six months later, Living Word is recognized as a new mission by the Assemblies of God.
In 1991 Pastors Rodríguez were instrumental in the process of affiliating the church to the Assemblies of God. Pastor Epifanio López and Pastor David Vargas served as interim pastors and pioneered the process of acquiring land for Living Word Church.
1992 – 1994
Pastors Juan and Trinidad Sánchez served as pastors from 1992 to 1994. Under their leadership and the joint venture with Southeastern Spanish District of the Assemblies of God, the purchase of the property in Meadow Woods subdivision on New Hampshire Drive was finalized. The church relocated from Meadow Woods Elementary School to a 900 sq. ft. Club House on California Woods Lane. At this time the pastors organized and implemented key ministries which were instrumental to the future of the church. In September 25th, 1994, Pastor Abner Adorno was elected Senior Pastor of Living Word Church.
1995
In his first year, Pastor Abner shared with the church his vision of acquiring additional property on Wetherbee Road for our future place of worship. Within the first six months of his pastorate we started our first expansion project at the Club House. Later that year our prayers were answered by the acquisition of the five acres on Wetherbee Road.
1996- 1998
In September 22, 1996, we celebrated our ground breaking service and began the construction of our new church building. During the year 1997 the challenge of the construction continued. Meanwhile, Pastor Abner’s father, David Adorno, went to be with the Lord.
During this year Pastor Abner exercised his faith to a greater level, leaves his secular job and starts working full time at the church. He worked hard in the construction of the church while preaching, teaching and counseling the sheep.
In October 31, 1998, we dedicated to the Lord our new worship center!
1999
The year 1999 was one of new beginnings. In May Pastors Abner and Margie receive a precious gift. After a difficult pregnancy, Melody Amaris Adorno was born. Then, in the month of August, Living Word Academy, an educational ministry of Living Word Church is born.
2000 – 2002
In the year 2000 the vision of the church expands to reach not only the Hispanic community, but also the English speaking community. In the month of July Pastor Abner and his then Associate Pastor Rick Tirado start a second service Sunday mornings in English.
The church continued to grow and both the Spanish and English ministries were strengthened by different activities to reach the community. The facilities of the church and the academy undergo some improvements.
In 2001 we sold the first property acquired by the church at New Hampshire Drive.
2003
The church continues growing and the need for pastoral staff was evident. In January, 2003, Pastor Ray Cardona, along with his wife Celeste Yanira and their son Christopher, comes to serve as Music and Media Pastor. In the month of August Pastor Rebecca Pabón, along with her husband Samuel and their daughters Arlene and Ivana, comes to serve as Pastor of Administration and Pastor of Christian Education. We also received a federal grant to educate children from our community about health and nutrition.
2004
In 2004 we purchased the adjacent five acres and 10,000 sq. ft. building to be used as educational facilities. In the month of September Pastor Betty Zaldívar joins the pastoral staff, and in December Pastor Luz Esther Cádiz starts serving as Pastor of Missions.
2005 – 2006
The year 2005 was one of great spiritual and numerical growth. To better serve our children and believing that they are the church of today, Pastors Ralph and Esther Castro and their daughter Elizabeth join the pastoral staff as Children’s Pastors in the month of April. Later God blesses them with a baby boy, Andrew. Also, Alan Adorno starts serving as Intern Youth Pastor. The Youth experiment an extraordinary spiritual and numerical growth.
In 2006 the church building receives a needed makeover with as fresh coat of paint and new carpets. Alan Adorno is installed as Youth Pastor during National Youth Day in the month of April. We also celebrated our 15th year of serving our community for the Glory of God.
2007 – 2008
In the year 2007, a small church that Pastor Ramón J. Rojas and his family started joined the vision of Living Word Church as our Winter Garden Campus. Sometime later, Pastor Carlos Rivera, his wife Lilly and their family joined them in support and direction, understanding that God brought them there for a season to lead the way for its present Pastors, Ralph and Esther Castro, who together with their two children accepted the challenge of the Pastoral call for our Winter Garden Campus. They had been serving in the Children’s Ministry of Living Word for two years, and in their place God added Joshua Tirado to the pastoral team as Children’s Pastor.
There were also renovations made in the Café area and the Children’s area.
The year 2008 came with new challenges with the need of more space to accommodate the different ministries of the church and the purchase of modular buildings that were renovated to be used as administrative offices. It was a year of hard work, but also joy as we saw how God expanded the Ministry for which He called us.
That same year Nora and Javier Mahesse were moved by God to start the “Feed my Children” Food Pantry, a ministry focused in tending to the need for food of families in our community. They responded to the calling and joined the vision of our church to SERVE and to put their Faith in Action. Hundreds Of families in our community and church have been blessed through this ministry.
2009
The year 2009 was a very exciting year with the birth of many new ministries: EQUIP School of Leadership, the Orlando Branch of the Theological Institute of the Assemblies of God, EQUIP Master’s Commission, Faith in Action Outreach and our new Campus in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic.
To meet the growing demand for discipleship Pastor Georgette Rodríguez joined our team in the area of Christian Education.
Our Future
We Dream of Living Word Church as a model of Christian Education that focuses on provoking life changes, not just knowledge.
We Dream of equipping every believer for a significant ministry by helping them discover the gifts and talents God gave them.
We Dream of sending people on short term mission projects to other nations. We dream of starting one new daughter church and/or Christian school every two years.
We Dream of at least 20 acres of land, on which we will build beautiful, yet simple, multi-use facilities, including a larger worship place, a school campus from pre-school years to high school, a retreat center, a counseling and prayer center, a training center for lay ministers and a recreational complex. All of this designed to minister to the total person: spiritually emotionally, physically, and socially.
ALL THESE DREAMS ARE INSPIRED BY GOD!
