Living Waters Church of God welcomes new pastor
Living Waters Church of God in Wilton has a new pastor. Reverend Victoria Fisher presided at her first service at the local branch of the church which is international, on June 30, and congregation has been growing ever since.
Pastor Fisher and her husband William Fisher relocated to the Saratoga Springs area from Long Island where she was serving as assistant pastor at Calvary
Church of God in St. James, Long Island.
Pastor Fisher has conducted several weekend retreats for women, is certified as a Christian counselor from the American Association of Christian Counselors and has served on mission trips to both Argentina and Japan.
Living Waters Church of God serves in conjunction with an active ministry to Hispanic residents and visitors to the region in its sister congregation Aguas Vivas, or “living waters”, in Spanish. That ministry is led by Alberto Matos.
The Church of God is founded upon the principles of Protestantism, although it is not a traditional follower of any specific leader of the Protestant Reformation. The denomination stands firmly for justification by faith, the priesthood of believers, the authority of the Bible, religious freedom, and the separation of church and state.
It subscribes to the five foundational Christian doctrines: The inerrancy and infallibility of the Bible, the virgin birth and complete deity of Christ, the atoning sacri
fice of Christ’s death for the sins of the world, the literal resurrection of the body, and Christ’s second coming in bodily form to earth.
The following conversation with Pastor Vicki, as she likes to be called and with Alberto Matos touches on the origins of their own calls to faith, the activities within the church and extends an invitation to the community to visit a service, an event or to consider making the church a regular place of worship.
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Pastor Vicki, when did you first realize that you had a calling on your life?
“I realized when I got saved. By that we mean a conscious decision was made to follow Christ and his will for my life. Immediately, God’s grace was just poured out on me. I was young and I continued to have more children, I have five. I waited for them to grow up a little bit and one day the Lord said to me “It’s time for you to go into ministry.
“And I said “Lord, You’re going to have to tell my husband.” Within two days, my husband came to me and he said “Remember when the pastor said you had a calling on your life and that you needed to go into ministry?”
“I said “Yes,” and he said
“It’s time. The Lord has shown me it’s time.” I went forward and got my credentialing in the Church of God, in Cleveland, Tennessee, in 2008.”
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You have a special interest in healing and deliverance prayer, as far as ministries at the church. Although you are new to the church, Aguas Vivas has been active since when?
Matos: “Aguas Vivas started here in May 2010. It’s been here ever since, has expanded and grown, we have many Hispanics in the community and throughout the area.
‘We’ve also partnered with the Race Track Chaplaincy of America, the New York division. We hold services at the race track every Monday evening during the racing season and thereafter, starting in April and ending in late October.”
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The backstretch workers and the Hispanic workers are historically an integral part of life at the track, of providing a significant portion of the labor force at the track. Many stay all year long.
Matos: “We have 31 families from the race track that live in the Saratoga County area that are here year round, we stay in contact with them, many come to our Hispanic services and some come on Sunday to the morning services.”
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It is a diverse congregation, small, but faithful and growing. With Pastor Vicki’s arrival, there are plans underway to increase the various ministries. Would you share what you envision for the future here?
Pastor: “What I envision is that people would grow, becoming more Christ-like and that they can come to place where they can receive an inner healing and personal prayer. We are adding additional rooms on for that purpose.”
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When you say “inner healing,” what are you referring to?
Pastor: “Each one of us has been born into this world that brought on to us difficulties, various traumas, hurts, leaving unforgiveness in the hearts of people. The Lord tells us we need to forgive; sometimes that’s really hard. People need to know He is with them and can show them how to do these things.”
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Seems an important message, now more than ever. The Aguas Vivas services are known for their fellowship meals, and uplifting music in their praise and worship. Tell us about the services in Spanish for those who might want to bring their families.
Matos: “The Spanish services are held on Sunday evening at 6:30 p.m. They follow the same format for worship, with the reading of the scripture and an emphasis on developing a personal relationship with Jesus.
“One of the things that helps fellowship is having meals; people like to eat, they have to eat. So why not do it together? It’s good way of getting to know each other and being accountable to each other as well.”
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Both services are full of uplifting praise and worship music.
Pastor: “The services are Sunday mornings at 10:00 a.m., followed by a time of fellowship with coffee, baked goods and sometimes soup or stews in the Fellowship Hall. We have men and women’s bible studies on Monday nights at 7 p.m., and a fasting and prayer meeting on Wednesday nights at 7 p.m. People can bring their prayer needs and join us.
“Aguas Vivas has their prayer meeting on Thursday nights at 7 p.m. and Friday nights, we have a family Movie Night at 7 p.m. We have a pot luck dinner once a month that’s open to everyone.”
A good opportunity to get to know each other, share each other’s news and prayer needs. What are the plans for the grounds in the future?
“We have 19 acres that we own here. On that property we will be offering a picnic area, a prayer trail that is being cut out, a children’s area, rooms dedicated to healing prayer, and more services and, eventually, a training center.
“Come worship with us, come fellowship, come share the love of Christ with us.”
Matos: “Translation is provided in the evening service. Ven a ver que el Señor es bueno.”
••• Alberto, how did you come to faith in God?
“Basically, what took place was in 2002, I was in the world and did not have a relationship with God at the time. I was in the business of using and selling illegal substances, of drugs. I wound up going to prison, I pled guilty to my charges and went to prison. It was going to be a ten and a half year to life sentence.
“The earliest I could be out was 10 and a half years and the latest, life. Somewhere along the line, a gentleman came to visit the prison and was talking about this Christ guy. I didn’t know who he was, but I went to listen because I heard that the male and female prisoners could come together during this service.
“I went with the intention of being around the women, but God had a different plan as to why I was going there. He had something that he wasn’t selling. He was giving away something I really liked and that was Jesus. Right then and there, probably three weeks later, I asked him more about it and decided to commit my life to following Christ.
“I have this long sentence, but I’m smiling and people think I’m crazy, because I had Jesus within me. Fast forward, long story short, my sentencing got changed and I know it wasn’t the legislature.
“God had an intention and a purpose for my life. In January of 2010, I was released from prison and I wound up moving to a building that was literally next door to the church.
“I pulled into the church parking lot thinking I’d made a mistake, but we know there are no mistakes in God. This was where I was supposed to be. He said “Go in, give it a try.”
“I prayed about wanting to be here. I was supposed to be here and this has been home for me ever since. I’ve been attending this church since February of 2010.”
“What God has done in me and through me has been encouraging and uplifting.
“I definitely would invite anyone. If you have problems, we all come from the same place of needing God in our lives. Welcome; please come. Come.”
••• Living Waters Church of God presents the Christian praise and worship band concert with Seventh Day Slumber on Nov. 2 at 6:30 p.m. Doors open to the public at 6 p.m. There is no charge for admission; offerings are gratefully accepted.