The foundation of King Jesus International Ministry is based on God's Word, prayer, and worship. Apostle Guillermo Maldonado received God's calling to begin a ministry of this unimaginable size through prayer and the confirmation received from Apostle Ronald Short and other prophets and apostles whom we honor for their wisdom. Although it started with 12 people, God had already planted in his heart the vision of multitude and nations. In June 1996, Dr. Guillermo Maldonado and his wife, Prophet Ana Maldonado, began meeting with this small group in the living room of their home; it was there that the first wheel of growth for the vision started to turn. That humble beginning testifies that God gives dreams, but for those dreams to become a reality, we must be disciplined, consistent, and perseverant.
From the beginning of their ministry, with great effort and sacrifice, Apostle Guillermo and Prophet Ana Maldonado, set all their personal plans aside and paid the price of establishing this ministry with their finances, time, home, and children. Both faithfully sought the Holy Spirit's guidance through prayer while they cared for their home, jobs, and as they led the people in their charge to their destiny.
The First Temple on 40th Street
In only three months, the fruit of their efforts quickly grew from 12 to 40 people; they could no longer fit in the living room of their home. Consequently, they decided to take a step of faith and moved the congregation to a new place located on 84th Avenue and 40th Street. They faced strong opposition; however, the more difficulties we faced the more this congregation grew in faith and membership, in addition to faithful and loyal sentinels that are still with us today.
The Transition
Almost immediately after moving, the new place could no longer accommodate the growing congregation. We had to build additional space. With 150 people and the remodeling in full force, we had to temporarily move into a banquet hall--the city did not allow us to remodel and hold services at the same time. This fact is important because we want it to serve as testimony to those who are on the verge of giving up due to the difficulties that will inevitably arise. Regardless of the obstacles, we might have to face, if God gives us a vision and clear goals, they must make the necessary adjustments without ever losing our desired objective.
The banquet hall became a transitional stage in which they were tested and trained because unknowingly, they would soon be moving again. God's anointing grew each day; it served to challenge us to seek Him at deeper levels and to care for the people who desperately waited for new manifestations of our heavenly Father.
The Growth Explosion
The new location with a capacity for 250 people quickly became too small to accommodate the continuously growing congregation. By mid-1997, we had over 260 active members. A year later, the membership had grown to 650--four services on Sunday were not enough to meet the spiritual needs of the people that continued to grow exponentially. In 1999, Prophet Cindy Jacobs prophesied to Apostle Guillermo Maldonado during a service for pastors and leaders held at La Catedral del Pueblo. God spoke and said that He was about to give him a Jewish Synagogue which would be filled with people who would receive the Lord in that place. At His word, they went looking for the synagogue and found it located on 9353 SW 152 Avenue, in Kendall. There, they declared God's word and decreed that the land they were standing on was theirs.
The Second Temple at Kendall
On December 10, 1999, they purchased the synagogue with 1,500 people capacity at a cost of three million dollars. They were still enjoying this new and unthinkable purchase when, on December 2000, Prophet Cathy Lechner prophesized to Dr. Guillermo Maldonado that God would give him a parcel of land close to the entrance of the city; this is the area around the Tamiami airport. Together with his wife and a few of his leaders, Apostle Guillermo Maldonado began to look for the land according to the description given by this and other prophets. Finally, he found a large lot, near a man-made lake, in front of the airport, at the entrance of the city. When he interviewed with the owner of the lot, he discovered the lot had been on the market for 20 years, and although it was prime real estate and its owner had tried to sell it on six different occasions, the sales had always failed to go through; this meant that King Jesus was buyer number seven which is God's number for perfection. They purchased the land for 2.8 million dollars, and today, over eight years later, its value is over eight times its original purchase price.
The Construction of the Tamiami Temple
On October 2001, Prophet Cathy Lechner delivered yet another prophetic word to Apostle Guillermo Maldonado. She indicated it was time to begin construction with God's specific instruction to build it debt-free. On June 1, 2004, with the prophetic word supporting us, we began this faith journey. The congregation continued to grow more each service which made the transition to the next level inevitable. We grew to the point that six worship services plus a youth service were not enough to accommodate the people or meet their needs. Over 8,000 active members filled the temple each week. Hundreds of people each Thursday or Sunday had to be turned away because there was literally no more parking or seating space in the temple, the rooms, or the overflow.
During that time, God gave Apostle Guillermo Maldonado a verse on which he could base his faith for the construction of the temple debt-free. This verse kept him strong during the construction phase; he acted upon it and God showed His support and approval in powerful ways.
"The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry..." -1 Kings 17.16
According to God's Word
According to the bank, the construction would require 15 million dollars. Today, the temple of God's dreams is a reality. We built it debt-free because God provided everything we needed to complete the project. Every time a check had to be written, the money was there. Every time we had to pay a bill, the people's support was strong. Miraculously, we paid every debt because God is a covenant God who faithfully keeps His promises.
As the ministry grew and was reorganized, we began to take the city by establishing King Jesus Ministry daughter churches. In doing this, they have paved the way for the fulfillment of the calling in several of our spiritual children in whom we believed and sowed in.
A Dream Come True
With each testimony on healing, provision, finances, restored families, and more, the dream became a reality. As each department was strengthened and our membership grew, the spiritual growth experienced by the people became a picturesque miracle before our eyes. Humanly speaking, it was madness to think we could build this new temple debt-free. However, when God speaks, confirms, and stands by His word, the man of God simply obeys and acts upon it. When everything was in place to obtain the bank loan, Apostle Guillermo Maldonado heard God's voice and obediently stopped the transaction. He dared to build debt-free. The faith of the people has been tested to the limits from the first day we purchased the lot, but they are victorious because they have experienced countless blessings as they planted their faith-seeds. The Lord kept His promise; His provision has always been with the church.
Everyone who planted faith-seeds and entered into covenant for the construction of the temple is blessed; they will be eternally blessed and rewarded a hundred-fold because their seed landed on fertile ground!
God's House: 100,000 square feet with a 7,000 people capacity, at a final cost of 18 million dollars; in today's market, it is worth well over 30 million dollars. This is a House of Prayer and a Tabernacle of Worship; an oasis in the city sustained by God's glory where we will experience amazing testimonies of God's manifested presence. God is real!
This is only the beginning of what God is doing in and through the church, because soon, a new and bigger dream will come to pass: the construction of a stadium or arena with the capacity for over 20,000 people.
"At this special time in our history, we want to honor them: Thank you for your endless support because it gave us the strength and joy to know that our efforts were not in vain! Today, we also honor those who understood the principle of honor, submission, and spiritual covering; those who took their inheritance by force, regardless of the obstacles; those who stood firm and faithful through the storm." -King Jesus Ministry Family
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