El Rey Jesús, anglicized as King Jesus Ministry, is a Christian Apostolic and Prophetic church located in Miami, Florida with a general attendance between 15,000 and 20,000 individuals per week. According to Christian News Report, the church is the largest Hispanic church in the United States. While the church has long been known as El Rey Jesús, as the church continues to reach out to a multicultural region, the anglicized name of King Jesus Ministry is becoming known throughout the Miami area.
The founders of the church are Apostle Guillermo Maldonado and his wife, Prophetess Ana Maldonado. Maldonado arrived in Miami from Central America, while his wife, Ana, arrived from South America. After nine years of traveling and preaching throughout Central and South America, Maldonado believed that God had called him to establish a ministry in Miami, as a central base, in order to expand the Gospel to the nations of the world.
See List Of Books By Pastor Guillermo Maldonado
In June 1996, the Maldonado family started the church in the living room of their home with 12 members.
Maldonado believes that he has been given a mandate by God to carry out a specific mission in south Florida. His goal is to convert 12 percent of the population in Miami to the Christian faith. He believes that his life is set apart to establish the Kingdom of God in Miami, the United States, and throughout the world. His specific mission includes working to evangelize and affirm the community and disciple church members, while preparing them to use their new found faith to in turn, reach out and perpetuate the process of continued evangelization of south Florida and the city of Miami.
Pastor Maldonado’s wife, Ana, is considered a prophet by church members at the local, national, and international level. Ana Maldonado serves the church and community, through intercession and spiritual warfare. Apostle Maldonado has authored books on the kingdom of God, anointing, and healing in various areas of an individual’s life; while his wife has authored books on prayer, worship, and spiritual warfare.
Church growth
Within three months, the small congregation in the Maldonado home grew from 12 to 40 people. They could no longer fit in the living room, necessitating a move to a small neighborhood building. Almost immediately after moving, it became clear to the members that the small building could no longer accommodate the growing congregation. With over 150 people attending the church, a remodeling projection was undertaken, requiring the pastors to temporarily hold services in a banquet hall, since the city, for safety purposes, would not allow remodeling in the midst of regularly scheduled public gatherings.
The banquet hall became a transitional stage in which the faith of the pastors and the church members were tested. The trials served to challenge them to seek God at deeper levels and to care for the people throughout the community who had waited on God for answers to their daily struggles and trials of life.
Church development and construction continued to grow at a steady pace. The increasing congregants quickly outgrew their location when attendance surpassed 250 people. By 1998, the membership grew to over 650 people and four services on Sunday. Over the next ten years, the church membership continued to grow exponentially.
In 2010, El Rey Jesús has the capacity to reach 7,000 individuals during each service, with general attendance exceeding 15,000 per week. While the majority of the congregants are Hispanic, the church is transitioning into a multicultural, bi-lingual church, offering services in both English and Spanish.
El Rey Jesús goal is to reach the nations of the world by using every means of communication possible, including Internet, radio, television, missionary trips, and by offering missions and evangelistic training for church members, thereby sending them out to continue the ministry of the Church in other areas of the world. To that end, the church has developed affiliated (or daughter) churches based in Naples, Florida; Cape Coral, Florida; Hialeah, Florida; Pequeña Habana, Florida; Orlando, Florida; Marietta, Georgia; Astoria, New York; and Broward, Florida.
