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Our church, Iglesia Pentecostal: La Luz Del Mundo, is a Spanish-speaking Assembly of God congregation founded in 1944 to serve the spiritual needs of the large Hispanic population in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. In 1945 we bought our present building that used to be The New England Congregational Church.
The New England Congregational Church was organized on March 18, 1851, by a group meeting in the house of Edwin N. Colt on North Fourth Street. The guiding spirit behind this new congregation was, no doubt, Thomas K. Beecher (1824-1900) based on a more personal and optimistic vision of the deity, one which paid greater attention to the individual needs of congregants. Although the original interior was lost in a fire of 1894, the gallery was retained in the remodelling by the noted architectural firm of J.B. Snook & Sons.
A long time later, 1937, "The Light of the World" Pentecostal church began in the home of Armando Oliver, who, apart from its creator, was the first pastor of the same, at his home in Grand St. Later they moved to 412 Bedford Ave, later to 336 Bedford Avenue and in February of 1945 they acquired the building located at South 9th Street, Brooklyn, NY, which is the current location of the church.
Membership in our church remained strong through the 1960s and into the 1970s. During the late 1970's the membership of the congregation began to notice cracks in the ceiling over the main sanctuary. We discovered one of the roof trusses had failed due to water damage from a leaking roof. The truss was no longer supporting the roof and ceiling. To safeguard the people, shoring was erected to brace the roof and the congregation moved into the chapel near the main entrance for Sunday worship. Due to the condition of the building and the changing demographics of the neighborhood membership fell dramaticlly.
As an effort to raise funds for construction, we received some small donations from neighboring churches, tried selling candies and chocolates door to-door. We raised money, but not enough to make significant headway. Finally, we sold the church parsonage, which provided us with significant capital, although depriving us of a valuable asset.
Shortly thereafter, we elected a new pastor, the Reverend Victor Reyes. His positive attitude and assertive style renewed congregation's hope and galvanized our fundraising efforts. Reverend Reyes believed in the continued existence of our congregation and the restoration of our temple.
As a result, our fundraising techniques changed. We became assertive-more confident-and we began to organize our efforts into a concerted and coordinated campaign rather than a series of unrelated activities.The restoration program has had a powerful effect on our congregation. The community now sees us as an active and dynamic presence in the neighborhood, and not as a decaying congregation in a ruinous building.
Membership is climbing and typical Sunday attendance has increased to about 150. We are holding services and Sunday school classes in both English and Spanish in order to accommodate the new English-speaking members of the congregation. Every weekend people come through our doors for physical and spiritual nourishment. We have reactivated the Royal Rangers the Girl Ministry former called Missionettes. People in the neighborhood now realized that “La Luz Del Mundo” is alive and well, once more letting people know that God is able to work miracles in our lives.