From Fort Bragg to Weaver Street
Capilla Cristo Redentor sits on Weaver Street in Spring Lake, North Carolina, a small town just outside Fort Liberty (formerly Fort Bragg). The congregation traces its beginnings to 1980, when founding pastor Ricardo Preciado was stationed at the post and began holding Spanish-language services in a military chapel. After two years, the young Hispanic congregation moved into the facilities of Living Waters Assembly of God in Spring Lake. In 1985 the work relocated to a property on Weaver Street. In August 1990, Pastors Francisco and Lucrecia Soltrén took the helm with a vision to extend the gospel, and in 2002 the church dedicated a new sanctuary on the same property with seating for about four hundred people. Pastors Jose A. Maldonado and Nancy Maldonado now shepherd the church.
The Sixteen Fundamental Truths
Capilla Cristo Redentor belongs to the Assemblies of God fellowship and affirms the denomination's sixteen Fundamental Truths. The church teaches that the Bible is the inspired, infallible Word of God and the rule of faith and conduct. It confesses one true God revealed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and affirms that the Lord Jesus Christ is fully God, eternally existent, born of the Virgin Mary, sinless in life, crucified as a substitute for fallen humanity, raised in power, and exalted at the right hand of God.
Believers, the church teaches, are saved by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit and are justified by faith, with the outward evidence of salvation being a life of righteousness and true holiness. Two ordinances, water baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper, are commanded by Christ and observed as a public profession of faith and a memorial of his death.
Distinctively Pentecostal commitments follow. The church teaches that every believer should seek the baptism in the Holy Spirit, that the initial physical evidence is speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance, and that entire sanctification is the will of God for every Christian. Other articles cover divine healing as part of the gospel, the imminent return of Christ, the millennial reign, the final judgment, and the new heavens and new earth.
A Week at Capilla Cristo Redentor
Sunday is the heart of the week. The Servicio Evangelístico begins at 10:00 a.m. and gathers the entire congregation. On Tuesday evenings at 7:30 p.m. the church holds Estudios Bíblicos, with youth, Royal Rangers, and adult groups meeting at the same hour and separating by age for Bible study. Wednesday mornings at 9:30 a.m. bring the Servicio de Oración, a time set aside for prayer. All services are in Spanish.
Children's Ministries: Royal Rangers, Misioneritas, and BGMC
Three coordinated programs reach children from preschool through elementary grades. Royal Rangers, the Assemblies of God missions and discipleship program for boys, meets Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in two units: Ranger Kids for ages five to eight and Discovery Rangers for ages nine to twelve. Activities blend Bible teaching with hands-on challenges that build character and leadership.
The Misioneritas program, the parallel girls' ministry, divides into four clubs by age and school grade. The Arcoiris club welcomes boys and girls three and four years old with animal-themed stories and activities. The Margaritas club serves those in kindergarten. The Rosas club covers first and second grade with a discovery-box approach to learning. The Estrellas club reaches girls in third through fifth grade and explores four worlds - basic Christian doctrine, missions and evangelism, character development, and hands-on activities.
BGMC, the children's missions giving program of the Assemblies of God, teaches boys and girls about the needs of missionaries in the United States and around the world and channels their response into mission support. The church notes that eighty-five percent of Assemblies of God missionaries sensed their call between the ages of nine and thirteen.
The general Children's Ministry (Niños) centers on worship, special offerings, and testimonies, with children leading dramas, singing, and sharing what the Lord is doing in their lives. The stated goal is to see every child filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, worshiping, teaching, and ministering the Word.
Youth on Tuesday Nights
Young people ages twelve and up meet on Tuesday evenings at 7:30 p.m. for shared praise and then separate by age for Bible study. Throughout the year the youth take part in camp, retreats, day outings, visits to other churches, and community service projects. Ecclesiastes 12:1 frames the ministry: "Remember your Creator in the days of your youth."
Marriage, Men, and Women
Vilmarie and Javier Morales lead the Marriage Ministry (Ministerio de Matrimonios). Its purpose is to reach and strengthen marriages so that whole families can be healed, restored, and built up by the practical application of God's Word. The ministry teaches that marriage is one of the most sacred commitments of the Christian faith, that a healthy marriage rests on the grace of God, and that couples grow as they follow the lessons Jesus taught.
The Men's Ministry (Ministerio de Hombres) encourages men in their daily walk with God, family life, personal struggles, and relationships with those around them, grounding its work in Mark 12:30, to love the Lord with all the heart, soul, mind, and strength.
The Women's Ministry (Ministerio de Damas) gathers the women of the church for parallel fellowship and growth.
Visiting Capilla Cristo Redentor
The church is located at 205 Weaver Street in Spring Lake, North Carolina. Visitors can reach the office at (910) 436-1556 or write to capillacr@msn.com to leave comments or prayer requests. The congregation invites families to come as they are, to join in worship, study the Word together, and find Christian fellowship across every age and stage.