Apostle Guillermo Maldonado pastors King Jesus International Ministry, a pentecostal church of 20,000 in Miami, has spoken in 50 countries and recently won the Spanish Evangelical Press Association’s (SEPA) award for best original book in Spanish at Expolit 2013 (May 2-5 in Miami) for La Gloria de Dios (Whitaker House, 2012). La Gloria de Dios (The Glory of God) and Como Caminar en el Poder Sobrenatural de Dios (How to Walk in the Supernatural Power of God, Whitaker House, 2012) were also in the running for SEPA’s Book of the Year award. Maldonado talks with PW about his ministry, the Christian Spanish church, and the power of God.
What was your thinking behind writing The Glory of God?
First it was the guidance and leading of the Spirit, but also because of the lack of knowledge of the glory of God in the body of Christ. Second, because of the end times we’re living in. Earth and creation started with glory, and the end will be Jesus coming back to the glory of the Church.
There is something I’ve seen in the body of Christ: lots of information but not a lot of revelation. There is lots of natural knowledge—research, statistics—and I think God is the God of the “know.” But when he gives revelation, a portion of the mind of God brings it into the now.
What makes your book different?
God never asks us to do anything he hasn’t done—sacrifice, pray, fast. And everything in my book is something I’ve walked and activated and trained people in 50 countries to do. The things I share in the book are things you don’t often see: the experience of God. And testimonies are the experiences.
How did your ministry begin?
I was called by God 20-some years ago with a visitation. As I prayed, the presence of God filled my room. His presence fell on me and I started weeping and crying. I heard his voice say, “I have called you to bring my supernatural power to this generation.” I was on the floor for two hours, then I heard the voice again but this time inside me telling me the same thing.
We started with a very small Spanish church in Miami with 12 members 15 years ago. Now, with the mother and daughter churches, there are 20,000 [members]. Whatever you read in The Glory of God is what is happening in the churches. I’ve been traveling extensively for the last four years doing leadership training, preaching and miracle crusades across the world.
What do you mean by “supernatural?”
The supernatural means all things that pertain to the Spirit of God, such as miracles, signs, wonders, healings, and gifts of the Spirit. These are rare in the church today. People come now to be trained in the supernatural.
How is the supernatural influencing the Spanish Christian church today?
About 27,000 people get saved in Latin America each day, and the main ingredient is the supernatural. Thousands get saved, delivered and transformed, and that explains the growth of the Spanish church in Latin America and in the United States. There are 48 million Spanish speakers in the U.S.
How is the Spanish Christian church in the U.S. changing today?
I am teaching people to exercise their rights because there was a negative mentality in the Christian Spanish community to stay out of politics. My message is to educate them to pray for those in authority and to exercise their right to vote. God is also raising up strong leaders, so the trend is more involvement in politics. Also, there had been no mega Spanish churches in America. Now there is a rising number of mega Spanish churches impacting their communities. We are seeing the supernatural miracles, signs and wonders happening.
We are living in a generation where young people are saying, “Show me God.” They don’t want to just talk about God; these young people are on fire. They are going to jails, malls, hospitals, abortion clinics, and street corners and are seeing people being healed. Young people are tired of [seeing] just the appearance of God but not the power of God.
What are you working on now?
I have more books in the works, and The Kingdom of Power: How to Demonstrate It Here and Now (El Reino de Poder Cómo Demostrarlo Aquí y Ahora) was released this month by Whitaker House. Books are my legacy.
