Update on Jalonga Church, Dominican Republic

Posted by Matt in Heart

In the summer of 2011, I went with a team from HOPE Church to the Dominican Republic.  Among other things, we went to build a church.

The people in the community of Jalonga (pronounced Ha-LONG-Gah), had basically been kicked out of their church.  There were about 50 people that were meeting in a tin building about the size of my dining room.  And in spite of being dark and oven-like inside, it was still their church – until the landlord of the property on which the little building sat decided he wanted his land for something else.  That’s totally within his rights, no harm no foul.  But it left the little body of believers in Jalonga without a place to meet.

Two folks from HOPE were down on a trip when they visited Jalonga and found out that the church had been displaced.  By the end of the afternoon, they had bought a piece of land right at the heart of the community (not far on the outskirts like the previous site).  And that’s where the team I was on built the church in 2011.

Guess what!  The church is GROWING!  They now have about 80 people every service.  They have already outgrown the building we put up in July.  In mid-January, a team from Pennsylvania will be adding another 12 feet to the building, and will extend the roof on the side to accommodate folks who will stand outside.

I asked what is at the heart of the growth.  Apparently, there is a joy in the hearts of the believers there that is contagious.  There is a sense of pride in that little community, and an excitement that God loves them.  They are appreciative of what they have been given, meager as it is.

One of the ways this is evident is how clean the property is.  Not to be disparaging, but generally speaking in the D.R., there is trash everywhere.  The site where we built the church building had litter everywhere.  Now, the plot is well-manicured and clean.

In addition to the joy, the church there has been actively reaching out to their neighbors, offering classes for the children, providing food to those in need, etc.

It’s hard to know all the goings-on in the hearts of the people without spending much more time there than I was able to last week.  But the growth is real, and remarkable.  And it feels great to be a small part of the way God is moving in the people of the D.R.

Church at Jalonga

Inside - Electricity, furniture and decorations

Pastor Llano - turning off the lights by hand

They added bamboo poles and a plastic tarp to cover folks standing outside during the service. Also notice how clean the grounds are.

Lights in the church. And there is a powered speaker, too.