Guillemo Maldonado:
A POWERFUL, GROWING CHURCH
Pastor G. Maldonado is called by God to establish the Kingdom of God at the local, national, and international level. He believes the purpose of his life is to set up the God’s Kingdom in Miami, U.S., and throughout the world, specifically to evangelize, affirm, disciple, and send. Also, he feels his call is activate people in the supernatural with signs and wonders. His specific mission is to win 12% of the population in Miami for Christ. Currently his church, King Jesus InternationalMinistry/Ministerio Internacional El Rey Jesus, is one of the largest bilingual churches with about 15,000 members, which includes church plants in the U.S. and in 30 countries around the world. After having a predominantly Hispanic church, three years ago, God told Pastor Maldonado to have a multiracial church. Now, the church is about 60-70% Hispanic and the rest is other ethnicities.
Even more remarkable than the growth of the church are the documented miracles of the Holy Spirit, which Pastor Maldonado says is “normal.”
Over the past three years the church has experienced very unusual manifestations of the supernatural, like fingers growing back, hair growing back, and flesh coming back. The church loves healings and the supernatural things God is doing. These supernatural events also happen regularly in the 4,000 Houses of Peace (home groups) that the church has. Church members are also active in bringing the supernatural power of God into the community. People from the church go into malls and cast out demons and experience miracles in the streets. Pastor Maldonado says the young people in the church are doing it and have boldness. One example of these miracles happened in a grocery store. A woman was in a motorized wheelchair at a Publix supermarket in Miami. A member from the church saw her and just said, “In the name of Jesus, get up!” The woman tried to start her wheelchair but it wouldn’t start. She was getting late for her next appointment so she stood up and tried to move her wheelchair. She didn’t realize that she had started walking.
MODERN MIRACLES
A man crippled by polio attended one of Pastor Maldonado’s crusades in California. He was a pastor who had preached against miracles for twelve years because he did not believe in them. Without telling his congregation, he went to the crusade. Pastor Maldonado asked why he came up to the platform with a cane. He said since he was four-years-old he suffered from polio. As a result, his left leg was paralyzed and all the tissues and muscles in his leg had dried up. His leg was very thin, about three fingers thick, and he was not able to move it or walk on it. During the service, he began to feel his leg get thicker and that something was growing inside. From his knee on down he felt his leg begin to “fill up.” As he shared with the group what happened, he cried out for God to finish the work. Then he felt the rest of his leg from his knee up start to fill up. From this point he was able to move his leg and everyone at the crusade was able to witness he was healed.
A few months ago a man visited the church and accepted Jesus. The man had undergone two cataract surgeries in his right eye. As a result of the surgeries the retina detached and a macular hole was formed. This caused him to lose the liquid in his eye, which caused blindness. He was already blind in his left eye. The following week he attended the new believer’s class. While the leaders were praying for the sick, the man fell to the floor under the power of the Holy Spirit. When he was able to sit up, he began to scream because he was able to see. His sight in his right eye was 100% restored. His doctor has done several tests after his sight was restored. The doctor and his colleagues are amazed over the results due to the fact that patients who have macular holes rarely regain their eyesight.
SUBSTITUTIONS FOR THE POWER OF GOD
People are hungry for the supernatural and they can experience it. Pastor Maldonado says in America we have come to despise the experience of God and exchanged it with other things. We have replaced the Power of God in the Church by: 1) Theology - the substitute for a true knowledge and experience of God. It can lack the inspiration from the Holy Spirit 2) Entertainment in the church replaces power. We would rather be “entertained” at church than have an experience with God. 3) Psychology/Psychiatrists have replaced discernment – Pastors send people to psychologists/psychiatrists instead of helping people discern the voice of the Lord 4) Reason, logic, and a carnal mind have substituted living by faith. If we don’t have the supernatural, we have religion. Pastor Maldonado asks, “How can we do the work of God without The Power?”
People can walk in the supernatural power of God by faith, God’s anointing, and God’s glory – these are what Pastor Maldonado calls the three dimensions of the supernatural.
PASTOR MALDONADO’S TESTIMONY
Pastor Maldonado is originally from Honduras and came to the U.S. when he was very young. In 1986, he received Jesus and met his wife. When he came to the Lord, he had a passion for signs and wonders of God. He didn’t see any evidence of it but he kept pressing in. He knew people who moved in the supernatural, but not in a powerful way. About two years later he was called to be a pastor. Then, for nine years he was an evangelist in Latin America.
His first encounter with God’s supernatural power was around 1996. He began house meetings in his home with a small group of people. At one of these meetings, he had a visitation from God. Pastor Maldonado was praying and he heard an audible voice, “I have called you to bring My supernatural power to this generation.” After this encounter, Pastor Maldonado didn’t see the manifestation of the Holy Spirit power right away. Years passed and he grew in the power of God.
As for the house meetings, what started as 12 people grew to 40 in three months. They could no longer meet in Pastor Maldonado’s home. They took a step of faith and moved to a new location. The group met with challenges, but kept growing and having to change locations to accommodate the growth. By 1998, the congregation grew to 650 members and kept growing. Pastor Maldonado received prophecies from Cindy Jacobs and Cathy Lechner through the next stages of the church’s growth. In December 2000, Cathy Lechner had a prophecy about land God would give the church close to the entrance of the city of Miami. They found a prime lot by the Tamiami Airport, which was near the entrance of the city, and purchased it. Almost a year later Cathy Lechner had another prophecy – it was time to start building on the land debt-free. By 2004, the congregation had 8,000 active weekly members and continued to grow. It grew to the point that hundreds of people had to be turned away during services because they were filled to capacity. As the ministry continued to grow, it was reorganized. They began to realize the goal of reaching the city of Miami by establishing other King Jesus churches. Today, the construction on the building has been completed debt-free. The church continues to grow and do the work that God started. They now have a new dream of constructing a stadium or arena debt-free with the capacity of over 20,000 people.
