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Blessed Obedience
By Joey Amezquita
I was born in Villa Palmeras (Shanghai), Santurce, a barrio in Puerto Rico, the second of four children. Like many housing projects, it is mired with social problems associated with chronic, multigenerational poverty.
Breaking Free from Poverty
Wanting a better life for his family, my dad joined the U.S. Army. (As citizens of the United States, Puerto Ricans have participated in every major U.S. military engagement since 1899.) This afforded us a much safer, middle-class lifestyle than we would have had if we had stayed in Villa Palmeras, but we moved a lot. My dad’s first orders were to Maryland. From there we would move to Fort Lewis in Washington state; then to Long Island, New York; then Fort Dix, New Jersey; and then to the Strassburg Kaserne base in Idar-Oberstein, a city in southwest Germany.
I loved Germany. Even though I was only nine years old when we moved there in December of 1984, I remember how breathtakingly beautiful it was. Instead of living in the barracks, we lived in a gorgeous, four-story house. We would play outside in the snow and run throughout the house’s secret passages that former occupants had used to hide Jews.
After twelve years of service to his country, my dad decided to leave the military in 1987 and relocate our family to Florida. Leaving Germany was tough. I was eleven years old and had to leave behind a strong core group of friends.
We would play outside in the snow and run throughout the house’s secret passages that former occupants had used to hide Jews.
I started working in law enforcement at the ripe old age of 19! Even though I was somewhat of a “class clown” growing up and a ringleader for good or mischief among my siblings and friends, my dream had always been to become a police officer to help the community. At that time my dad was working in probation and parole, and he and my high school sweetheart, Christina, encouraged me to pursue my dream.
I was employed August 15, 1995, as a corrections officer by the Polk Correctional Institution, a state prison for men located in Polk City, Florida. The inmates assigned to Polk Correctional Institution were male and had been sentenced for a period of anywhere from one year and a day up to a lifetime. The inmates at the work camp where I worked had less than five years left on their sentences before they would be allowed to go home.
Since I resided in Brandon, Florida, an hour away from the Polk Correctional Institution, I decided to transfer to the Orient Road Jail with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in Tampa, and on November 3, 1997, I began my new assignment working the night shift at the Orient Road Jail. In January of 2000, I transferred to Morgan Street Jail and continued working on the night shift. Morgan Street housed federal inmates and approximately 50 county jail inmates.
Breaking Free from Sin
In June of 2001 my life changed forever. Although my dad was a loving father, he did not have a relationship with Jesus and had not modeled a godly lifestyle for me. I had been raised knowing there was a God, but I was missing a relationship with Him. I had a fear of dying and of the unknown.
Christina invited me to special services at a church called Tabernacle of the Faith of Tampa (Tabernaculo La Fe de Tampa). Two weeks earlier, her co-worker, Kathy, had invited Christina to the church and unbeknownst to me, Christina had given her life to Jesus Christ. She now had eternal life.
I agreed to attend the service and found myself setting foot into Tabernaculo La Fe. As I sat down in the pew and listened to Pastor Tejara preach, I felt as if he were looking right at me. When Pastor Tejara said that I was a sinner and hell bound, that if I were to die that day, I would be separated from God forever and spend the rest of eternity tormented in hell, I was so scared. I did not want to go to hell forever.
At that moment, Pastor Tejara asked anyone in the audience who wanted to give their heart and life to Jesus to raise their hands. I was nervous but also felt a peace I had never experienced before come over me. I raised my hand, repented of my sins, and accepted Jesus Christ into my heart as Lord and Savior. Christina and I were the first people in our families to give our hearts to the Lord. I bought my first Bible and started reading God’s Word and attending Bible study with Christina.
When I would get an assignment, I would pray on the way, asking the Lord to send His angels down and to help me be slow to speak and slow to anger and to give me supernatural peace.
Christina and I had been together since April of 1994, and the Holy Spirit began to deal with us about getting married. My good friend and co-worker Ed, who was a Christian, encouraged us to go to the courthouse and get married out of obedience to God’s Word. We made the decision not to wait any longer, and on February 22, 2002, Christina and I went downtown to the courthouse in Tampa and got married. This was the second most important decision in my life.
God honored and blessed our obedience to get married. When I started reading the Bible, the Word of God came alive and I felt such excitement, joy, peace, and fulfillment. I had never really loved to read before, but now I couldn’t wait to read God’s Word. I loved it so much. The Bible is the blueprint for life. Everything is in the Word of God: advice on finances, marriage, children, depression, sin, prophets, and godly living.
The more I read God’s Word, the more my faith increased. I no longer had a fear of the unknown and dying. I had an awesome supernatural peace and joy. I would pray before going into work. Often I would go into a cell with 30 inmates who had been convicted of murder and other violent crimes, and a peace would come over me.
Once one of the inmates, trying to intimidate me, asked, “If the door were to ‘accidentally’ close behind you and you were stuck in here with us, would you be scared?”
I boldly replied, “No, I would not be scared because I have an angel assigned to me and God will protect me and not let any harm come to me.” I quoted Isaiah 54:17: “No weapon that is formed against you will prosper” (NASB 1994). I told the inmate I didn’t have to physically fight him because God will fight all my battles. I let him know that I fear God not man, finished the cell search, and exited the cell.
Breaking Free of Barrenness
I started applying what I was learning from the Bible into my everyday life with my marriage as well as with my job. It was awesome. Years ago the doctors had told Christina she could not have children. Nonetheless, in 2003 my wife gave me great news: she was pregnant! We were overjoyed! I believe the Lord blessed us with this miracle by allowing her to have children because we were in right standing with God.
About this time, I was reading 2 Kings 22:1 and learned about this young eight-year-old king named Josiah. King Josiah, whose name means “the Lord will support you,” was one of the very few kings in the Old Testament that did what God asked him to do without hesitating. I love his story, so I wanted to name my son Josiah. However, my wife wanted Josiah to be his middle name, not his first name. Well, my mamma didn’t raise no fool, so we named our son Justin Josiah. (Happy wife, happy life!) In December of 2005 the Lord blessed us with a beautiful little girl we named Jayla. In February of 2009 the Lord blessed us with another beautiful girl we named Julia.
My wife used to worry about me, but I said, “Don’t worry; just pray,” and she did. She prayed for His protection over me. I prayed as well. When I would get an assignment, I would pray on the way, asking the Lord to send His angels down and to help me be slow to speak and slow to anger and to give me supernatural peace. I would come into a situation with the authority of God, and inmates could sense I was a Christian. One inmate from Cuba told me he knew I was going to be a pastor someday.
In 2003 the Morgan Street Jail closed, so I started working in the Falkenburg Road Jail Housing Unit 11. I am a “people person,” and the more I started reading the Bible the more I realized how easy it was to proclaim the Gospel (the Good News) to the inmates in the pods even though I had to be creative in my approach.
Breaking Free to Fruitfulness
Policy did not allow us to hold hands and pray with the inmates, but the inmates were allowed to have a Bible. I would have a few of them come up to my desk and open their Bibles to John 3:3-18, the passage about being born again and receiving eternal life. Then I would have the inmates turn to Ephesians 2:8, where it says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – not by works, so that no one can boast” and also Romans 10:9: “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” I wanted them to experience the written Word of God. One time there were five inmates around my desk with their Bibles open. I then proceeded to do an altar call right there in the pod, and all five inmates gave their lives to Christ. Praise God! I encouraged them to continue to read the Word of God and to sign up for non-denominational church services.
My family came to faith in Christ as well. In 2002, Christina and I were blessed to lead her younger sister Zenia to the Lord, who transformed her from a shy, young girl into a young woman who unashamedly uses her amazing talents to lead worship. In 2005 I had the privilege of witnessing my dad give his life to Christ at a men’s Promise Keepers crusade. My mother was a little more hesitant, not sure if my dad’s conversion was sincere. But in 2007, as she battled stage four breast cancer, she accepted Christ as her Savior as well. In fact, she would experience dreams and visions from God. She had a dream about Hurricane Maria before it devastated the northeastern Caribbean in 2017. She asked the Lord to keep it from happening, but He told her it had to happen because His people had turned away from Him. My mother also led other family members to the Lord.
We are able to proclaim the Gospel to many defendants and have led several of them to repent of their sins and accept Christ into their hearts.
Today I am one of two bailiffs working in the courthouse in the misdemeanor division. My partner, Deputy Wright, is also a strong Christian, a woman of faith. Every morning before we start morning court, we pray God’s blood of protection over the courthouse and the staff. We make sure to set a godly atmosphere in the courtroom. We are able to proclaim the Gospel to many defendants and have led several of them to repent of their sins and accept Christ into their hearts. I am thankful to God that He used my 26 years of working in law enforcement/corrections to share the Gospel.
In September of 2019, Christina’s sister Zenia and her husband, Carlos, began attending a Bible study led by Calbert and Beverly Mark, pastors of Open Bible Prayer Chapel in Wesley Chapel. The study so powerfully energized Zenia’s faith and that of her husband that they told my wife and me we had to come check it out. The Marks took our faith to another level. Soon our whole family, including my mother-in-law, Carmen, and Christina’s other sister, Yaritza, were attending the study. Christina’s friend Kathy started coming as well! Now Christina and I are planning to make another change in our lives, as I work toward becoming a licensed minister with Open Bible.
Calbert and Beverly Mark are native Trinidadians. Sent out from Trinidad as missionaries more than 27 years ago, the Marks established twelve pioneer works in Venezuela and were instrumental in planting churches in Trinidad and Colombia. Calbert still serves as the field director for Open Bible Churches in Venezuela. I was amazed that God would send a Trinidadian couple serving as missionaries in Venezuela to Wesley Chapel, Florida, to pour into our family, but He did just that!
About the Author
Having worked in law enforcement for 26 years, Joey Amezquita is a bailiff for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department in Tampa, Florida. He is a committed member and Sunday School teacher at Open Bible Prayer Chapel in Wesley Chapel, Florida, pastored by Calbert Mark. Joey and his wife, Christina, have three children.
On August 1, 2026, three fast-moving wildfires swept across the Spokane area, fueled by a frightening combination of high winds and dangerously dry conditions. The Old Trails, Autumn Lane, and Fairview fires, collectively managed as the Spokane Complex, damaged or destroyed hundreds of homes and other structures and forced thousands to evacuate.
Seven Open Bible and Open Bible-affiliated churches serve communities throughout the Spokane area, and all were affected in some way by the fires. Three, however, found themselves in the immediate path of the most destructive blaze, the Old Trails Fire. Turning Point Church and Foundation Church were placed under a Level 3 evacuation, displacing members of their church families, while Riverside Real Life Church lost its building entirely. Pastors from Turning Point and Riverside share what they witnessed as fire swept through their communities and how, amid tremendous loss, they saw God provide through the generosity, prayers, and practical care of the Church.
From Melissa Stelly,
Executive Pastor of
Turning Point Open Bible Church:
The pillar of angry smoke on the horizon immediately filled me with dread as I drove to the grocery store. High winds drove the flames across parched land so fast that one firefighter marveled that he couldn’t have outrun it, even if he tried. Hundreds of people desperately fled their neighborhoods, clogging the few roads out as flames appeared in their rearview mirrors. There were heartbreaking stories of people calling family members to say goodbye because they didn’t think they would escape in time
And yet, not a life was taken.
And yet, not a life was taken.
Our church was placed under a level 3 evacuation, and many of our people were displaced from their homes, either losing them completely to the flames or due to toxins that bathed their houses from the burning around them. Immediately, our church family responded with calls and emails, offering their homes to those impacted, along with gift cards, money, clothing, and even animal care. Spokane leaders met at the local high school, inviting faith leaders, non-profits, educators, and government to join together to streamline resources, establish a relief system, and collaborate. Since then, Spokane churches have recognized a deficit in crisis response and are organizing a network of churches to spearhead emergency and crisis response in our city.
I am proud of our church body’s immediate mobilization, which gave generously and put faith into action by meeting needs, opening homes, and volunteering at shelters and outreaches. One woman in our church, who lost her home to the flames, tearfully shared how overwhelmed she was by the support she received. The church family gave her stacks of gift cards, bought her clothes, generously gave to the church to meet her financial needs, and called her constantly to pray with her.
As a pastor, I witnessed this verse in action: “To equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Ephesians 4:12 NIV).
From Kelly Armstrong,
Lead Pastor of
Riverside Real Life Church:
Our church, Riverside Real Life Church, and the entire surrounding neighborhood were destroyed by the Old Trails Fire that hit the Spokane community. Because of our location at the center of the damage, hundreds of people who call Riverside their church were displaced from their homes, at least temporarily. Praise God, most were able to return after one to two weeks; the number of homes lost in our congregation was in single digits. Many homes in the neighborhood my family lives in were destroyed, but thankfully, our home was spared, and we returned home after nine days.
The response of our community and beyond has been amazing. I’ve been contacted by hundreds of pastors and churches from all across the country and most significantly, from all across the Open Bible family. I am convinced that the prayer on our behalf has made a difference as God has opened one door after another. On September 6th, we had our first Sunday service since the fires at a middle school near where the church building was located. We came together, standing room only, to reconnect, worship God, and envision the future.
There are significant complications, but they are not barriers for Him.
Through the generosity of churches all over the country, we’ve been able to give significant financial assistance to families and individuals who’ve lost their homes, restart our small group system, launch a mobile Sunday service that we can be proud of, and continue our mission to “Reach the World for Jesus.”
I’m full of gratitude to every person and church who’ve supported through care, finances, and prayer. When church leaders ask how they can pray, I tell them, “Please pray for God’s favor in the rebuilding process. There are significant complications, but they are not barriers for Him.”
Thank you, Open Bible friends and family. I couldn’t be more grateful for your care and support; it has meant the world to me.
In the midst of tragedy, God’s goodness and glory were evident. As Pastor Melissa Stelly said when sharing her story, “The Lord preserved, the Lord provided, and the Lord used His Church to serve.” But nothing expresses God’s grace over Spokane better than Isaiah 61:3:
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
Isaiah 61:3 (NIV)
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
About the Author
Hannah Bemis currently serves as the editor and director of Message of the Open Bible. She always wanted to do too many things when she grew up, and God has been kind enough to let her do most of them in different seasons. Those seasons have included raising little ones at home, teaching, writing, and staff pastoring, with Hannah’s most recent adventure being planting and pastoring College Street Church in Newberg, Oregon, with her husband, Jordan. After Jesus and all her favorite people, she spends the remainder of her passion on pizza and dark chocolate in equal measure.
I am proud to have been a credentialed minister with Open Bible Churches for over four decades. What a privilege to have served in a variety of contexts across our wonderful family of several hundred congregations in the US, along with several thousand globally. Over those decades, God has gradually expanded my understanding of what it means to belong to His Church.
I’ve enjoyed the enriching experience of embracing so many of the distinctives of what makes Open Bible, well, Open Bible: our unwavering commitment to Scripture as the inspired, authoritative Word of God; our resolve to plant and sustain healthy, vibrant local churches; our passion for the fullness and gifts of the Holy Spirit operating in our daily lives; and so much more.
And yet, with the beauty of these ecclesial distinctives so evident in our movement, I believe I have come to realize that what we share together as our core values and practices are not completely unique to us. As a matter of fact, when we take a step back and consider just who is a part of the Body of Christ, we can discover that we have much in common with our brothers and sisters across the US and around the world. It took one unexpected friendship to deepen my understanding of what it means to belong not only to Open Bible Churches, but to the Church.
A humbling experience for me has been to receive grace and love from others who are different than me even before I was prepared to offer the same to them. One example for me comes from my years as a participant in the International Catholic-Pentecostal Dialogue. This ongoing annual conversation was begun in the 1970s by David du Plessis, the Pentecostal known as “Mr. Pentecost,” and Father Kilian McDonnell, a Catholic theologian, and continues to this day. When I attended a session of this Dialogue for the first time in 1993, I was so focused on my disagreement with Catholic doctrines and practices that I was not in a place to show much hospitality. But over the next several decades I got to know the Catholic co-chair, Father Kilian, quite well. I was amazed at how well he knew Pentecostals like me, how much he wanted to learn more, and how much he cared for us. He was respectful, honest, and compassionate. We didn’t agree on everything, obviously. But he became a mentor to me, showing me how to treat others who were different than I was. And we became friends. He passed away last year at the age of 100, and I was honored to attend his memorial service. That experience changed how I think about the global Church.
The following numbers paint a remarkable picture of the global family that shares our evangelical, Pentecostal, and charismatic faith. According to the 2026 Status of Global Christianity report, more than 1.1 billion Christians around the world identify as Evangelical, Pentecostal, or Charismatic. Of those, approximately 676 million are Pentecostal or Charismatic believers.
That global family is wonderfully diverse, including classical Pentecostal denominations like Open Bible Churches, independent charismatic networks, Catholic Charismatics, and charismatic believers within many Protestant traditions (Anglican, Methodist, etc.).
So why do these numbers matter? They remind us that we are part of something much larger than ourselves. We are not alone, and we are certainly not “small.” Along with our evangelical, Pentecostal, and charismatic brothers and sisters around the world, we are a fierce contingent in the Lord’s army. It’s both humbling and encouraging to remember that we belong to the CHURCH in all its vastness.
But that doesn’t mean we have to give up our wonderful heritage, culture, and beauty that make us Open Bible Churches. We have something to contribute to the rest of the Church. I’m reminded of the prophetic word delivered a few decades ago at one of our conventions: “Open Bible Churches is a vital organ in the Body of Christ!” That statement has never been more true.
“Open Bible Churches is not ‘the Church.’
Open Bible Churches is part of the Church
— a wonderful part,
but a part.”
And yet, we also do not want to be guilty of isolation or sectarianism. Open Bible Churches is not “the Church.” Open Bible Churches is part of the Church. A wonderful part, but a part. So, it is healthy for us to remember our brothers and sisters in other denominations and networks, to pray for them, and even to cooperate with them in community and regional initiatives so that together we may faithfully steward our callings and responsibilities to advance the Kingdom of God on the earth.
One of the most important ways we can grow in unity as believers is to start by acknowledging and valuing diversity in the Body of Christ. God didn’t make us all the same. Unity is not uniformity. The old adage still rings true: “in essentials, unity; in non-essentials, diversity; and in all things, charity.” May we agree to disagree with one another with clarity, respect, and most of all love. We can embrace grace and truth at the same time, and indeed we are called to it.
No doubt you know some followers of Jesus in your community (and probably in your own family) who do not belong to Open Bible Churches. The invitation for us all is to love them, to be grateful for all that we share with them, and to offer some space (and some grace) for our differences. This is not easy. In fact, it is hard work. Remember the words of the apostle Paul: “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:1-3 NIV). If maintaining unity was easy, Paul wouldn’t have needed to admonish us to “make every effort” to do so.
Jesus reminds us that unity isn’t just for our benefit: it’s one of the clearest testimonies to a watching world.
But if we are willing to pay the price of seeing God’s big Church, and loving it the way He does, we’ll be more Christlike, and we’ll participate in being an answer to one of the last prayers Jesus prayed before He went to the cross on our behalf: “…that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (John 17:22-23 NIV). Jesus reminds us that unity isn’t just for our benefit: it’s one of the clearest testimonies to a watching world.
Together, let’s allow the Lord to give us eyes to see the breadth and beauty of His Church, recognizing and loving our brothers and sisters in Christ in such an obvious way that we actually become answers to the prayer of Jesus in John 17. Amen?
Here are a few resources that explore some of these issues related to Christian Unity:
That They May Be One – Podcast
That They May Be One – Film
PCCNA Christian Unity Commission
Forum for Unity
International Charismatic Consultation
Global Christian Forum
About the Author
David Cole has been a credentialed minister with Open Bible Churches since 1984. He is currently Professor of Historical Theology at The King’s University in Southlake, Texas. He is also involved in a variety of initiatives related to his calling to encourage the pursuit of unity among believers in Jesus, and to that end currently serves as chair of the Christian Unity Commission with the Pentecostal/
Charismatic Churches of North America. He and his wife, Julie, are parents of four, grandparents of ten, and are currently located in Newberg, Oregon, where they attend College Street Church.
I woke up unable to speak. A breathing tube filled my throat. Machines surrounded my hospital bed. I was confused, intubated, and lying in an ICU room with no memory of how I got there. But strangely, I was not afraid. In the middle of the chaos, God gave me an unexplainable peace.
I motioned desperately for paper and pencil so I could ask two questions: What happened? And where is George?
My son’s father explained that I had been in a serious car accident. The car was completely destroyed. I had been found trapped beneath the steering wheel with severe facial injuries.
That morning — January 22, 2026 — had started like any other Thursday. I got ready for work, buckled my 18-month-old son George into his car seat, and pulled out of the driveway expecting an ordinary day.
It became anything but ordinary.
My neighbor, who had left home at the same time I did, later explained what happened. We were both driving around fifteen miles per hour when the car I was driving suddenly lost control. I still do not know why, and I have no memory of the moment itself.
By the grace of God, George was almost completely untouched.
The car hit a cement light pole, crossed into oncoming traffic, and was struck head-on by another vehicle. Both vehicles spun, and the car I was driving slammed into another cement light pole.
By the grace of God, George was almost completely untouched.
The back windshield shattered directly above him, yet the glass never harmed him because of the position his car seat landed in. The entire back left side of the car was crushed inward, but George had been seated on the back right side. Even now, I can only thank God for His protection.
I was taken by ambulance to the hospital and admitted into the Trauma ICU. Doctors told my family that I had suffered severe head trauma resulting in a brain bleed. I was also bleeding internally in my abdominal area, and they began preparing my family for the possible loss of my pregnancy.
… the doctors did not know the God my family and I serve — and how merciful He is.
But the doctors did not know the God my family and I serve — and how merciful He is.
My family immediately began to pray. Members of my church, Open Bible Church of Homestead, began arriving at the hospital, and soon an entire army of people was interceding for me.
During those first two days, I drifted in and out of consciousness and remember very little. But one moment remains clear in my mind: I heard the song “I Surrender” by Hillsong Worship playing in my hospital room. The lyrics, “Like a rushing wind, Jesus breathe within, Lord have Your way, Lord have Your way in me,” stayed with me and brought a deep sense of comfort in the middle of everything happening around me. In that moment, those words became my prayer as I quietly prayed, “I leave this in Your hands.”
After three days in the ICU, I was successfully extubated and began making remarkable progress. Ultrasounds showed a happy, active baby, and the bleeding had stopped.
On the fourth day, I was transferred out of the ICU into intermediate care before eventually moving to the medical-surgical floor. Doctors then began preparing me for maxillofacial surgery to reconstruct my face after multiple fractures.
On January 30, I underwent an eight-hour surgery. By God’s grace, the procedure was successful, and another ultrasound afterward showed my unborn baby remained active and healthy. On February 3, I was finally discharged and able to return home.
Since then, my recovery has gone smoothly. I am now twenty-eight weeks pregnant and waiting expectantly for the arrival of my baby. Through every frightening moment, God gave me strength and peace, and I never doubted His mercy.
Today, I am a living testimony of His grace.
About the Author
Thammy Castro is a behavior technician living in Miami and a soon-to-be mother of two. In her free time, she enjoys traveling with her family. She is a member of Open Bible Church of Homestead, where her parents, Jose and Maria Castro, serve as pastors.