Join us for our 27/37 Anniversary Weekend. From November 8-10 we will celebrate 37 years as a ministry and 27 years as a church.
Friday, November 8, at 7:30 PM we will have a special service with guest speaker Rev. Dr. David Ireland, of Christ Church.
Our Friday night service will be the kick off of our anniversary weekend. Dr. David Ireland will be our keynote speaker. Following a time of worship, he will be sharing from his vast experience as a pastor, academic, coach and consultant. He regularly ministers prophetically and we are believing that God will use him in a powerful way to bring a word in season to Abounding Grace.
Saturday, November 9, at 11:00 AM we will have an Ordination and Consecration Service and luncheon.
During this service two new Deacons will be consecrated. Additionally, Deacon Jonathan Del Rio will be elevated and consecrated as an Elder and Elder Christian F. Monzón will be ordained and installed as Pastor of Education. Following our service, there will be a luncheon to allow for fellowship and to celebrate what God is doing at AGM.
Sunday, November 10, at 11 AM will be our Worship Experience with a special word from our Lead Pastor Louis Carlo.
Our Sunday worship experience will be the culminating service of our 27/37 Anniversary Weekend. Our Lead Pastor, Rev. Louis Carlo, will be casting vision and sharing a message regarding where he is sensing God leading Abounding Grace in this season of ministry.
Dr. David Ireland is founder and senior pastor of Christ Church, a 9,000-member multisite congregation in North Jersey representing over 70 nationalities. Former diversity consultant to the National Basketball Association, Dr. Ireland has led chapel services for the New York Giants, New York Jets, and at the U.S. Pentagon. Ireland has traveled to more than 75 nations and built a reputation of teaching culturally relevant messages that inspire and empower his global audiences. He is a well-respected columnist contributing to such media outlets like Fox News, Huffington Post, and Patheos. Dr. Ireland is the author of over 20 books including Raising a Child Who Prays. Ireland has appeared on numerous TV and radio shows including The Dr. Phil Show, The CBS Evening News, The 700 Club, and Focus on the Family. Through his community development corporation, he offers a home for victims of domestic violence.
The Rev. Ireland holds an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering (Fairleigh Dickinson University), a graduate degree in civil engineering (Stevens Institute of Technology), a master’s degree in theology (Alliance Theological Seminary). He has an earned Ph.D. in organizational leadership (Regent University) and completed post-doctoral work at the University of Pennsylvania, and is a candidate for a graduate degree in social innovation from the University of Cambridge in England. Dr. Ireland was recently appointed as a member of the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Faith-Based Initiatives. He serves on the boards of Nyack College and Alliance Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Dr. Marlinda Ireland, have been married since 1984 and have two adult daughters and a son-in-law.
Christian F. Monzón was born on the Lower East Side (LES) of Manhattan, where he lived for the first ten years of his childhood. As a youngster, he had the opportunity to assist his Uncle Henry on Metro Assembly of God’s Yogi Bear Sunday School outreach trucks, which brought safe games and activities, along with The Word, to children and families in some of Brooklyn’s most challenged, and challenging, neighborhoods.
At the age of ten, he moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he and his father became active members of Victory World Outreach (formerly Victory Chapel), immersing themselves in church life. Through his membership on the drama team, sound ministry, and outreach teams, as well as regular attendance at youth ministry events, the church quickly became his second home.
Upon his return to the Lower East Side (LES) in 2001, he met and married his beautiful wife, Jennifer, a New York Dept. of Education licensed Early Childhood Education/Special Education teacher; together, they are the proud parents of a smart, beautiful, fun, and funny daughter. In addition to a spirited and passionate son. They currently reside, work and serve their local church, Abounding Grace Ministries, in the LES.
With the support of his family, he is concluding his graduate studies in Urban Ministry and Counseling from Nyack Alliance Theological Seminary, pursuing a master’s of Professional Studies. He has received a B.A. in Sociology, a B.A. in Religious Studies, respectively, from Brooklyn College (CUNY) and an A.A. in Liberal Arts from the Borough of Manhattan Community College (CUNY). During his time at Brooklyn College he had the distinct honor of being invited to become a member of Alpha Kappa Delta, the international honor society for the discipline of Sociology.
As a member of Abounding Grace Ministries (AGM) for over fifteen years, He has been on the drama team; taught children’s Sunday School; served in the Apple’s Core Coffee House Homeless Ministry; served as an organizer and teacher at the Generation X-Cel summer program (a project run in partnership with Kids with a Promise/The Bowery Mission); served as the Assistant Director of Adult Christian Education, overseeing the Firm Foundation Discipleship Classes; have served as Executive Director of Adult Christian Education; and currently serves as the interim overseer of the Media Ministry. He has also served as a Deacon and is currently serving as an Elder in his faith community. In March 2012, he renewed his commitment to AGM, by accepting the call to join the staff as the church’s Communications Director and in 2017 he transitioned to Operations Assistant, a role in which he currently still has. In November of 2019, he will be Ordained and function as the Pastor of Education at Abounding Grace Ministries.
Christian is currently a part of the 2019-2021 cohort studying church planting and revitalization with Redeemer City to City, Rev. Dr. Tim Keller’s international church-planting network. Additionally, he is an alumnus of the Philos Project’s Philos Leadership Institute, serves on the Board of More than Ball, and serves as a volunteer Chaplain with the New York State Chaplain Task Force.
Jonathan gave his heart to Lord as a little boy during a devotional time with his family. While family Bible study was a common thing, as a six year old he determined that he wanted to receive the gift of salvation that his parents regularly told him about. He wanted his own relationship with Jesus, his Savior.
Together with his family, he has worked in inner city ministry since childhood, and has dedicated his life to serving children and youth since the age of sixteen. In 1996, Jonathan co-founded and eventually directed Generation Xcel, where he developed summer camps and after school programs while tutoring, coaching baseball and basketball, and leading outreach projects and retreats. He served as the youth pastor at Abounding Grace Ministries from 2004 – 2011, and began teaching middle school math for the Department of Education in New York City in 2006. Jonathan’s community and educational leadership inspired the launch of Thrive Collective, which today provides arts, music, and mentoring programs and other services in over 100 public schools citywide.
As a son of pastors, Jonathan has learned the importance of service and love and seeks to incorporate that in all aspects of his life. Most importantly, Jonathan is a husband and a father to four amazing children, two daughters and two sons.
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