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Meet Pastor Henry
Bermudo (Con't)
In 1975 Henry suffered from a number
of psychosomatic illnesses. He had a large
quantity
of medicines, and he supplemented these medicines with frequent use of
alcohol. Almost immediately after giving his
heart to God, Henry knew he no longer needed these
medications. One day, shortly following that
fateful morning breakfast, Henry gathered up all the
medications (along with all his "worldly" books),
put them in a plastic bag, and threw them away.
In the following months, the bowling
alley became a place of regular fellowship with his
friend. Over time the two friends planned to
go into ministry together, but his friend
subsequently decided to return to the Philippines,
and nothing came of their plans.
Pastor Henry Bermudo
It was in 1994 when Henry heard a
radio sermon by Charles Stanley on Christians being
in the Lord's army. Henry felt a strong
tugging that God was telling him that he was not in
the battle, but lingering behind the lines. He
was sure that God was calling him to preach, and he
immediately yielded to this call.
Over the past ten years, Pastor
Henry has been involved in six churches, which have
been primarily "house churches," gatherings in homes
rather than church buildings.
Pastor Henry encourages "Quality
Believers"
Pastor Henry's vision for the Living
Hope Bible Church, as well as that of all of his
ministry opportunities, is to develop "quality
believers". "I'm not interested in the
quantity of people who attend our services, I'm
interested in the number who will seriously pick up
their cross and follow the Lord," says Pastor Henry.
Pastor Henry hopes one day to return
to the Philippines to open a missionary school.
In the meantime, he is involved in starting a "foot
ministry" of going out into the cities and simply
talking to people on the street, telling them about
the love of God.
In early 2004, Pastor Henry lost his
job when the company he was working for downsized.
Instead of immediately trying to find another job,
he decided to trust the Lord for his provision so
that he could devote more time to ministry.
"It's tough sometimes, but the Lord
has met all of our needs, many times at the last
minute. But, He always comes through."
What a difference from the man who
at one time put all his hope and trust in the "power
of the paycheck."
Pastor Henry lives in Sacramento,
California with his wife of 27 years, Carmelita and
their two sons; Ariben (26) and Joseph (22).
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In 1975 Pastor Henry was
involved in a weekly bowling league. One of
his friends who was on the team began sharing God's
love with Henry. Henry welcomed the
opportunity to debate his world view. Every
time his friend would talk about God's power, Henry
countered with an argument that he felt was
convincing. Again and again he would tell his
friend, "You rely on the same thing as I do, the
'power of the paycheck'." He would tell his
friend that they could not provide for themselves if
it were not for the "power of the paycheck."
