Pura Vida Church : Restoring Hope One person, one family, one community at a time!
Mission: Plant biblical and culturally relevant churches in the coastal communities of Costa Rica
and beyond.
Why Costa Rica Coastal Communities? Local and international tourism, foreign influence, and money have impacted many coastal communities in a negative way, creating “sin cities” where prostitution, drugs, violence, and human trafficking are the norm.
“I can put food on the table for my family because of Pura Vida Church.”
“God had become irrelevant in my life, but because of the love I experienced at Pura Vida Church, I am walking with Him again.”
Pura Vida Church yearns to see lives transformed for eternity, and understands that part of eternity is the life that a transformed person will spend on earth. Pura Vida’s presence in coastal communities that are ridden with cycles of abuse, drugs, poverty, and prostitution brings life where previous church planting has passed by, typically due to small populations that are unable to sustain a traditional church. The ministry of Pura Vida Church is to care not only for the spiritual growth of the individual, but also the physical and emotional person as well. Not only does Pura Vida Church help restore people’s relationship with their Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ as other churches in Costa Rica do, it also assists individuals, families and communities to improve their physical well being through counseling, job training, microfinance, tutoring, scholarships, medical assistance, emergency aid and work opportunities. Through these ministries many people have come to see the love of God in tangible ways.
Key Strategies
- Sustainable church planting (4 churches in 6 years)
- Discipleship and leadership training
- Uno + Afterschool Tutoring and Enrichment (Esterillos, Parrita, and Jaco)
- “Kid’s Club” Bible program (Esterillos and Parrita)
- PVC Juvenille youth group for ages 8-14 (Esterillos)
- Culturally-relevant outreach partnership with Christian Surfers and Vida Raiz
- Fostering teen boys with holistic discipleship program
- Scholarship fund to help students stay in school from elementary through high school graduation and beyond
- Developing a model to inspire church plants by other leaders in Latin America (6 churches inspired by Pura Vida model)
Pura Vida Church is a church planting movement, not simply a humanitarian ministry; when you support Pura Vida church; you are supporting the work of church planting and the spiritual transformation of individuals that in turn, through the body of the local church, produce relevant humanitarian aid in the local community. You can be involved in seeing the vision of seeing hope restored through the transforming power of Jesus in Costa Rica.
Give: We are currently underfunded by $15,000 for this year, so we are asking that you prayerfully consider giving an end of the year donation of $100 to help us finish this year. https://give.fmcusa.org/leon
If you have not already made a commitment for 2016 you can do that here https://give.fmcusa.org/leon even if you are unable to give at this time. And we ask that those who are currently giving to us on a regular basis increase that gift by 10% for 2016. If everyone currently supporting us does that we will be fully funded for next year! Or send your Checks made payable to Free Methodist World Missions designated to “Leon-MSA” and mailed to: Free Methodist World Missions – 700 N. High School Rd – Indianapolis, IN – 46214
Pray: To keep up to date with our current prayer requests, events, needs and news about the ministry sign up for regular newsletters at: http://puravidachurch.wpengine.com/connect/ get-updates/