Iglesia de Cristo de Jicaro Gordo

Hours for Services
• Sunday 9:30 AM
• Wednesday 4 PM
• Friday 4 PM

Jicaro Gordo is a small community 20 minutes west of Catacamas by motorcycle, or 1 hour by bicycle. Sunday attendance is generally 20 adults, with another 15-20 children in the one classroom building. Javier Perez, the congregation's preacher since February, sees the children as an evangelistic goal. He believes that activities such as church-hosted soccer teams and matches, and children's movie nights aimed at evangelism, will draw young people in the age group of 10 years old through the teens, and that this age group is the future of the church. Rather than evangelizing the adults, he wants to start with those that will very soon be parents so that the family can begin their Christian walk together as a family.

Though the Jicaro Gordo congregation has only 20 members, they are all active Christians and have big plans for the future of their church. They have a large property and would like to build more classroom buildings to begin a community training facility which would teach vocational trades to people in all of the 5 surrounding communities. The dream encompasses tailoring, mechanics, carpentry, computers and a ceramic shop making bathroom fixtures. It would benefit the communities of Jicaro Gordo, El Destino, El Naranjal, Cofradia and Guayavito. The church would like to begin the training project with a tailoring shop in the one existing classroom and then add other buildings as funds become available. But they would need 3 treadle sewing machines to begin and each of the machines cost 2,150 in lempiras, or just under $115 each. $345 keeps them from beginning their dream.

Nine new Christians have been baptized this year and 2 of them are men that have already matured enough to assist in the work of service and evangelism - in a church that has previously been predominantly women. The church at Jicaro Gordo is supported by the East Brainerd church of Christ in Chattanooga, Tennessee and has worship services for both adults and children at 9am on Sunday mornings. Other regular weekly activities include: Monday-6pm discipleship class, Tuesday-6pm evangelistic home bible studies throughout the communities, Wednesday-4pm general worship, Thursday-4pm women's meeting, Friday-4pm church-wide meeting, Saturday-4pm youth group meeting.

During the month of August the church had an area-wide evangelistic campaign with door-to-door visits Monday-Saturday from 9am-5pm, a children's movie at the church building at 6pm on Monday, an adult evangelistic movie at the church building on Tuesday at 6pm, and group evangelistic bible studies at the church building on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 6pm.

Javier Perez completed biblical studies at Instituto Biblico de Centro America in Progresso, Honduras, last year at the same time his foster son, (see BICA at Local Links) Mardoqueo, age 18 completed the same studies. His wife, 3 children and Mardoqueo all live with him in Jicaro Gordo next to the church building.