"The Last Letter - Part 3: Continuing the Journey"

I went to visit Agnes recently.  She is very weak. She has lost so much weight that she almost doesn't look like herself anymore.  She continues to keep the faith even though she has had to walk through other valleys besides her health. Her brother died a couple of weeks ago. Please continue to pray for her.

- Part 3 of a series featuring a letter written by one of Pastor Ann's best friends who is a stage 4 cancer patient. - 

(Hebrews 12:1-2) "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.   Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith."

As we continue on in our journey of faith, we must fight against any hindrances and sins that seek to invade our life.  We need to fight to keep our eyes fixed on Christ and not on the hindrances, sins and temptations that Satan puts in front of us.  Now this is not nearly as easy as it sounds.  This is why it is a fight.  It is difficult and requires that we strive and contend.

“Finishing Well” not only requires fighting the good fight, but also requires “finishing” the work God has given you to do. Paul said, “I have finished the race.” Does that mean just getting to the end and dying? No. In Acts 20:23-24, he gives further explanation “I consider my life worth nothing to me if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me. The task of testifying to the Gospel of God’s grace."

Pastor Ann Ulibarri leads Women's Ministries at Family Worship Center in Albuquerque, NM.

"The Final Letter" Part 2

I still remember the day I found out that my precious friend, Agnes, called me and said that the cancer had spread throughout her body.  Stunned, I asked her how she was doing emotionally after receiving the diagnosis.  She said, "Ann, I'm in a win-win situation.  If I live, I win and if I die, I win. I will see Jesus!"  I was still reeling from her diagnosis, trying to process it, feeling the weight over the words "cancer spread throughout my body." I was not emotionally prepared for her "win-win" statement. Agnes is not the kind of woman who speaks frivolously. When she says something, she means it with every fiber of her being.


It has been about two years since that phone call. Here is part two of the message she wrote to her local church:




"I want to encourage you that no matter how you have been doing on this journey of life, there is still time to finish well. And for those who have been running the race well, maintain your focus, because you don't want to slip up now and finish poorly.


One of the greatest Biblical examples of finishing well in the journey of life is the Apostle Paul.  Paul did not start out so well.  He was a persecutor of the first Christians.  He was even there at the stoning of Stephen, giving his approval. But the Lord gave him the opportunity for a fresh start.  He then took the next steps of faith and he continued on the journey.  He stood firm when things did not seem fair and he finished well.  His last act of life on planet Earth was one of faithfulness even as he faced execution from a Roman soldier.  He finished well.


Paul, nearing execution, was concerned for others to come to salvation.  How is it that Paul is able to face knowing his end was coming, yet he confronted the end of his race, the end of his journey of life and still be focused on winning others to Christ?  It is because Paul is focused on the eternal, not the temporary.  If we are going to finish well, we need to keep our focus on eternity as well.  Keeping our focus on the eternal is what is going to enable us to do the other things that are required for finishing well.


What other things are required to finish well? First, Fighting the Good Fight.  Notice this does not say fight each other, but fight the good fight.  What is fighting the good fight?  Hebrews describes fighting the good fight as running with perseverance."


Part three of Agnes's final letter to her church will be continued.  I want us to take each part and really digest what is being said.  Remember the last words someone shares are imbued with all their life and soul.

Pastor Ann Ulibarri

The Last Letter - Pt.1

One thing in life is certain: You and I will all die one day. There is nothing we can do about that. So, in a sense, we are all "dying." We have all heard of people who live well. They give to others, have a positive attitude, and trust God every day. How many times have you heard a story about someone who is "dying" well? What if you knew that you had six months, two months, one month to live? How would you or I handle that? How about when your body starts shutting down and writhing in pain? When your hair begins to fall out? How would you and I handle that? Would we trust God? Could we still be joyful and hopeful?

I am witness today of this happening in one of my best friends. Agnes, a woman who I have known for over thirty years. Recently, she was asked to share a message with her local church. She was so weak and frail that she decided to write it out instead and have someone read it to the congregation. Over the next few days, I will be sharing the text of that message.

Agnes's body is in the brutal final stages of cancer. She has been told that she can go at anytime. She, and her husband, Johnny, were a vital part of our ministry in a tiny rural village in northern New Mexico. They were amazing armor bearers for us as we pastored our first church. They were there for us during the good times and the rough times. They were always there to encourage us to keep on going.  We began leading that church when we were just twenty-six years old.  They are a little older than us and  were still willing to respect the spiritual authority of their young pastors.

Steve and I have kept a strong bond with Johnny and Agnes even though we moved to Albuquerque. We have spent many of our wedding anniversaries with them. I can go on and on about our sweet friendship and fellowship with them. I feel that this message will encourage you because even though she is walking through the valley of the shadow of death, she is determined to "finish strong." 

"Life's Journey" - Pt. 1

Hebrews 11:10

". . . for he waited for a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God."

2 Timothy 4:7-8

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.  Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that day, and not to me only but also to all who love His appearing."

In this life, we may enter many races to win many different kinds of crowns, medals, or prizes, but it is only those who are serious and will work hard who will win anything.

How is it that we can finish the journey of life well? 

Finishing well requires:

• Fighting the good fight
• Finishing your work
• Faithfulness in Christ

Throughout the Bible we find people of God who began well and finished poorly, who were running well but stumbled along the way, and those who may have began badly but finished well. We need to maintain our focus if we are going to finish well...

Pastor Ann Ulibarri and her husband, Steve, oversee the ministries of Family Worship Center in Albuquerque, NM. Ann leads the women's ministries at FWC.

What To Do When You've Lost Your Job

Losing your job is beyond stressful, it can be frightening and depressing. According to some sources, 7.9 million people have been laid off in this recession. Regardless of how dire economic forecasts may be, God is in control of the affairs of Earth. "Many are the plans of a man's heart but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." (Prov. 19.21) Your financial future does not depend on the latest employment report.

"Enjoy prosperity while you can, but when hard times strike, realize that both come from God. Remember that nothing is certain in this life." (Ecc. 7.14)

When you've lost your job you must be willing to examine the place of pain. Why were you laid off or fired? Take the losing of favor seriously. What was the reason? Was it incompetence? Were you unwilling to learn new skills? Were you more of a problem than a solution to a problem for your boss? Were you hard to get along with? Or was the Lord moving you into a different place? Be brutally honest with yourself about this.

Next, realize that your new "job" is to find a job. Find a place your difference is needed. Find a problem that you can solve for an employer or by starting your own business. You were created to solve a problem. Discovering what value you bring to the world and the place that you are to practice your craft is your task.


Ask God for direction and help. If you don't ask, you won't receive.

When you find the "place" God sends you, you need to be prepared. God will not "give" you a job. He provides an opportunity but you have to be ready.

When you get an interview, here are four things you need to say to your prospective new employer:

1. You will never have to give me an instruction twice. I have a system I use to make sure I remember what you tell me.

2. I am a completer. I finish what I start.

3. I am agreeable. I am positive and happy person and can get along with anyone in any situation.

4. I am easy to correct. I know you have a certain way of doing things here and I will learn to do them your way.

The Lord Jesus said "Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you." This doesn't mean you need to go feed the poor in Africa or become a pastor. It means you should submit to the government, the laws, the policies, and the principles of God. Jesus is saying He wants you to stop running your life and do things His way. He says "seek" His lordship. When you do this, He'll take care of the rest.

You Don't Have to Be Perfect

In Mark 1:40-45, we read of a leper approaching Jesus and begging to be made clean. He was one of the outcasts - rejected by society and probably his family, too. But he dared to try. He heard of One who could change that.  He said to Jesus: "If you want to, You can make me whole! If you care enough, will you cleanse me?" He knew Jesus had the power to cleanse him.

Jesus did something that must have sent a shock wave through the crowd. He not only cared but He touched an unclean leper. Jesus full of compassion, touched and healed him! That "touch" is the vital part of this encounter. His touch not only released God's power but it conveyed for all to see that he - a leper and social reject - was accepted.

The leper was made whole both internally and physically. He was no longer rejected but fully accepted. It changed his life, just as it will yours and mine. No one can feel the "accepting" touch of God and remain the same. It is in the power of His acceptance that frees us from rejection. So just like the leper, we don't have to be perfect to be accepted.

Pastor Doris Sanchez

Pastor Doris Sanchez is an Administrator and Small Group Pastor at Family Worship Center in Albuquerque, NM.

Tips for Dads

As all of you dads have discovered, there is no school for being a father – you learn as you go. Having a child makes you a sperm donor, not necessarily a dad. It takes more than biological participation or bloodline to make you a father. In the same way, being male is a matter of birth, being a man is a matter of choice – becoming like Christ is what makes you a man.

1.     Dads Must Learn How to Serve (Matt. 23.11)

You cannot be selfish as a father. “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many.” A dad does not lord his authority over his family, he sacrifices for their good. He puts himself last.

2.     Dads Must Protect Their Families (John 17.15)

From ancient times, the role of a Father in the home was that of a protector from physical threats. The Biblical role expands the role of protector to protection from spiritual threats to the vitality of the family. These include outside influences such as friends and media that might be harmful. A faithful protector and guard, a Father never abandons his family – he is there for them. If a man wants to have a secure wife and children, he will never leave them – he will show up for them consistently.

3.     Dads Provide for Their Families (Matt. 6.24-35)

God has called Dads to provide support and security. A Godly father provides emotional support through a willingness to listen and not just give answers or criticize. He provides financially by increasing his skills to maximize income and by being a wise steward of his family’s resources. How many of us as men spend money foolishly on toys and gadgets instead of putting our families first?

4.     Dads are Willing to Be Mr. Mom

This took me a long time to learn as a man but it has produced more direct value in my marriage than a thousand sermons and spiritual books. Read that again. Learning to do what mom does around the house – dishes, laundry, cooking, sweeping, mopping, picking up – will instantly change the dynamics of your home. Many of us are from the “old school” of masculinity. Where our identity was wrapped up in our job, title, and machismo. The Lord Jesus breaks that image and gives you a new one – be a partner with your wife in the home by being Mr. Mom. I dare you to try this.

5.     Dads Spend Time With Their Kids

You’ve heard the saying that it’s not about “quantity” of time but “quality” of time that matters. It’s rubbish. Both matter equally. You can’t just show up for birthdays and weddings and call it even. How do your kids know you love them? Love is spelled T-I-M-E. That’s the most precious asset you have. At your funeral, your kids won’t be talking about the XBOX or iPod you bought them. They will be talking about the times spent together playing and being silly.

Don’t be afraid to tear up the grass while playing with your kids. You are raising kids, not grass.

6.     Dads Show Physical Affection (Titus 3.2)

Dads, if you don’t give your children physical affection – kisses, hugs, caresses, hold their hands – someone else will. Your children need physical affection every day. Read that again. It is like a need for food, water, and air.

Physical touch is a love language. You have the choice to wield this power of touch for good or evil, to nurture or to abuse.

7.     Dads Set Boundaries for Their Kids

Children will make mistakes and they will fail. That is guaranteed. Your role, as a father, is to help create a healthy structure for them to grow in. Your children need boundaries. They need to know what to do – what is right and what is wrong. Some things, they learn through experience. But if they have to learn everything by experience, they will get hurt permanently.

Use God’s rules as your own. They are the values for your home. Rules are different. Things like how loud music is played, curfews, age at which kids are permitted to drive are rules. They change over time. They should be based on values. Ask God for wisdom in this. Values are: lying, cheating, honoring your father and mother, treating others in the way they want to be treated, etc.

When enforcing the rules and values in the house, be firm and fair. Don’t lose your temper. If you are angry, take a moment to cool off before disciplining your children. Know yourself. Don’t be overbearing, controlling, or abusive.

8.     Dads Should Encourage Their Kids (1 Thess. 5.14, Matt. 3)

Proverbs instructs, “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.” Learn your child’s strengths and weaknesses. What are her gifts and talents?

Encourage their gifts, even if their gifts are different than yours. Read that again. As Dads, we tend to get disinterested if our children are different than us or how we were as kids. We don’t understand them, so we disengage. God wants you to encourage their gifts not your gifts in them. Remember, God has a plan for their lives, a purpose and destiny beyond what you see. Your children are not your own. God has trusted you with them and you will stand before Him one day to answer for what you did with that trust.

Encourage your kids in public. God did. He said, “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.” Tell them you love them. Give them confidence and believe in them. Always show that you value the uniqueness of WHO they are more than WHAT they do or don’t do.

9.     A Dad Must Love and Respect His Children’s Mother

Abraham Lincoln said, “The greatest gift a father can give his children is to love their mother.” If you are not married to their mother, you must still honor her. Never belittle their mother – jokes at her expense, say she’s dumb or ditzy, call her old or ugly.

10. A Dad Must Love and Obey God

A father must set the example in caring what God thinks more than anyone else. He must make Jesus Lord of his life and that of his home. When you are wrong, admit it. Ask forgiveness. Don’t let pride dominate your life. Humble yourself and be real before your kids. Let your kids what the Lord Jesus is like through your life. Laugh at your mistakes and don’t be so serious.

11.  A Dad Teaches His Family to Love God and Have Fun Doing It

Teach your children about God. Don’t depend on the church to do it. It’s your job to read the Bible to them. Pray with them. Lead them to Jesus. Make sure they know the Gospel. Tell them in your own way not like the Pastor. Don’t assume they know and understand it. Give them books they can understand to learn about the Lord Jesus. Be honest with them. If you don’t understand something, that’s ok. Tell them you don’t understand or you don’t know.

If you’re not excited about the things of God – church, the Bible, prayer, worship – why would they be? There should be joy and fun in serving Jesus. They will do what you do not what you say.

12.  Dads Don’t Lead Out of Fear But Out of Faith

None of us are perfect as Dads. We all make mistakes. We must trust God when we don’t know what to do. We need His wisdom in guidance. Our work must be done in prayer. Pray for your kids and trust God to answer. Don’t lean on your own understanding – trust God. Ask Him for help. Pray for your kids everyday about everything.

Your kids want you to be their hero. Be a man of faith. Don’t be afraid of the day in which we live. God will guide you and your children through it victoriously. Your family will not only survive but thrive.

Pastor Steve Ulibarri is the Senior Pastor at Family Worship Center in Albuquerque, NM.

The Warrior is a Child

As I have been in prayer lately, it seems as though my prayers have been focused on our babies and small children here in the church. I have seen God's hand pull so many of our babies and small children through challenges and trauma that has threatened their very lives.

When I reflect on this trend, my thoughts go straight to God with this question: "God are you trying to tell us something?" Why are the most vulnerable among us going through so much?

Then I feel as though God is saying, "Do you not see how dependent these little lives are on Me?  I have put a tenacity and fight in them to survive this life.” They fight untill the victory comes! They know only that their Creator will not leave them alone in their struggle for their life. It doesn't matter how small they are, they have enough strength to make it.

This realization brought me to my knees in praise and thanksgiving to God. I then began to feel disappointment in myself - I should have known this. I should know that my Maker did not create me to leave me. Of course He loves me and has purpose for me.

Why is it that when we grow up and become adults, we lose our fight to survive our circumstances? Why is it so easy for us to quit? Come on family of God, let us fight for our lives! Let there rise a holy tenacity to live this life that God has given us. Where else will we go we go but to Him? 

There is a song and slide show that captures my heart on this. I hope it will move you like it moved me. Click here: The Warrior is a Child

Pastor Doris Sanchez

"The Warrior is a Child" by Pastor Doris Sanchez. Doris is an administrator and leads small group and counseling ministries at Family Worship Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Premiere Girlfriends Overnight Event @ Elegante Hotel - Sign Up Today

"Girlfriends" our first overnight stay will be on June 10/11 (Fri./Sat) at the "Elegante Hotel."  You need to sign up asap so we can reserve a block of rooms. Sign up at the Information Desk.

Breaking Through #2: Have You Ever Been Run Over By A Car?

Pastor Steve spent his early childhood in Ribera, New Mexico. If you have spent your entire life in New Mexico and just thought "Where is that?" it is a tiny town in rural Northern New Mexico with a population, if you include all the surrounding villages, of about three thousand people.  Steve grew up on a farm. He was the second oldest of seven children.

Steve's childhood was filled with early mornings doing chores on the farm and afternoons playing basketball in the backyard with his uncle. Those backyard battles, where they would pretend they were Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, would become epic and even as they moved away from each other later in life, they continued to play competitively into their sixth and seventh decade.

Looking back on that time of his life, Pastor Steve remembers a simple way of life that was wholesome and good. Even though his family was "poor" in material possessions, he doesn't remember wanting for anything. Although he does remember falling asleep under a car he was using as shade from the heat of the New Mexico sun at over seven thousand feet in altitude there in Ribera and being awakened by the  vehicle's tire going over his stomach. A member of his family decided to take the car but had no idea that it was being used as Steve's oasis.

Steve remembers having a tire mark across his abdomen and chest but was never taken to a hospital. The nearest medical facility was twenty-five miles away, in Las Vegas. He was shaken up but appeared, outwardly at least, to be OK. If there was internal bleeding or damage, it was never known.

How many times in our lives have we had our lives spared? What tragedies have been averted? Coincidence?  Luck?  God's hand was there - He rescued you. He was watching you and kept you. Why? What purpose does He have for your life?  Have you ever asked Him? 

Breaking Through: Part 1

So many of us today relate to feeling lost and alone. With all of our technology to keep us connected, networked, and linked as a community, our feelings of isolation and loneliness remain.  Pastor Steve is no exception. His mother was put into a mental institution and his father sent him away.  He grew up without a father or mother, without a family who loved and cared for him.

Pastor Steve's life is not insulated from the brutality of modern life.  His experience is essentially the same as millions of people in our society. Maybe your own life experience hasn't been as dramatic as his but the end result is the same - feeling unwanted, abandoned, and unable to find your way.

Today, Pastor Steve is the pastor of a thriving church. Every year, groups of average New Mexicans, will depart for life-changing adventures to Central Africa and the Middle East to bring humanitarian aid to the poor and training materials, training, and encouragement to church leaders who operate without any ministry training and very few resources.  Sometime this month, he will meet in his home with a group of ten volunteers whom he mentors and trains for spiritual leadership.  They, in turn, mentor other leaders in the church who inspire others in their spiritual journey.  

Pastor Steve encourages his own spiritual "sons" and "daughters"  as they give advice to a single mother, counsel a young married couple who are working through the trauma of an affair, go to the county jail to visit a twenty-two year old man accused of drug trafficking, and grieve with a sixty-five year old woman who has just lost her husband to a heart attack.  They all look to him for inspiration and guidance.  Most of them have been in those shoes before and Pastor Steve was there to walk them through their own "Valley of the Shadow of Death." 

Pastor Steve, the orphan, the outcast, the loner from a tiny town in Northern New Mexico that no one has heard of is now a spiritual father to hundreds today and thousands over the past thirty years. He now provides hope and healing  despite a past filled with pain and despair. Every week, he is being used to provide a spiritual oasis in a modern wasteland.

Over the next few months, "Breaking Through" will recount Pastor's life story. This story, his story will be recounted here with the prayer that it will give you hope - faith to know you are not alone and that whatever you are facing, however lost you may feel, you can find your way again.

From the heart...

Family Worship Center is launching a new tool to stay connected with you - a blog.  In this blog we will be able to share with you, in greater detail than is possible through other social media outlets, what's happening in the FWC community, answers to prayer, words of encouragement, and more. The blog will allow you to comment and add your thoughts to the discussion or even ask questions.  We want your feedback.

So here we go... to a new level...