“Let me tell you about Luis Ortega” by George Reddin

Sometime in the mid 1980s, Paul Bearfield and I stopped at the Center of Life Church in Houston, Texas, on our way to Mexico. During a snack time in the Fellowship Hall, a very young, Hispanic lad asked me to sign his Bible, and I in turn asked him to sign mine. Years later at Lifeword, I happened to look at that small Bible and I asked myself, “Could it be?” I went to Luis’ office with my Bible open. He grinned and nodded his head. “I remember when you came to my church” he said as we both stared in amazement at the four letters printed in my Bible—LUIS.

At the age of 3, Luis became the ‘bread winner’ of his family, when his dad moved to Houston to find work, and left his family in a lean-to shed in a primitive village in the mountains of Mexico. Luis would go out and hunt rabbits with his slingshot to put food on their table. Three years later his dad moved the family to Houston, and Luis, his mother and brother were recruited to ride the church bus to Center of Life Church, where Paul Robinson was pastor. Eventually, Luis and his family were saved and became faithful workers. His dad has been one of our pastors of a Hispanic church in the Dallas area for many years now.

Luis surrendered to preach and after finishing high school attended Central Baptist College in Conway. As soon as Luis graduated from CBC, Lifeword hired him to assist the Program Director and Luis soon found himself in charge of all Lifeword Spanish programming. He has become a busy and beloved member of the Lifeword staff. In addition to assisting Rick Russell in the oversight of production in 36 languages, Luis also serves as an IT specialists to the departments of the BMA of America. He is a dear friend with a big heart, always ready to help when called upon. He is pastor of the Hispanic congregation of the Antioch Baptist Church in Conway, where his wife and four lovely children are actively involved. And in his spare time… you will enjoy making him your friend today.

From Luis Ortega—

Hi Friends at Temple Baptist,

I pray that you are doing well. I want to thank you for your friendship. I know you are already investing in missions, but as a friend, I want to give you another opportunity to give, in case no one asked you wink emoticon. Lifeword is dedicated to communicating the gospel of Jesus Christ through mass media to every living soul upon the earth. The purpose of Lifeword Media Ministries is to assist local churches of the BMA to provide Christ-centered quality programming through media to produce disciples of Jesus Christ in order to fulfill the Great Commission. Lifeword turned 50 this year and is proclaiming God’s word in 36 languages in more than 40 formats. Will you consider giving $10, $25, $50, $100, $200 or any figure in between? May the Lord richly bless your sacrificial giving. And if you can’t give, would you pray with me that many souls will come to Christ and be discipled? Thank you.

Give Here: https://app.mobilecause.com/vf/LIFEWORD/LuisOrtega

Luis