The Pillar Series: Chris & Sabrina Sosa

This blog post is part of a series dedicated to honoring godly men and women in our lives. For this post, I had the opportunity to speak with my youth leaders, Bro. & Sis. Sosa from Revival Life Church.

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How long have you been the youth leaders at RLC?

Bro. & Sis. Sosa: Since January 22, 2023

Do you have any book recommendations?

Bro. Sosa: The first one that I do recommend is A Tale of Three Kings by Gene Edwards, also Make Your Bed by William H. McRaven, Hinds Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard. E.M. Bounds has very good books on prayer: The Necessity of Prayer, and Purpose in Prayer. There is another called, The Bait of Satan by John Bevere. These are books that have heavily influenced my life.

What is your favorite scripture/book of the Bible and why?

Sis. Sosa: Isaiah 43:2, “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.” This scripture has gotten me through a lot of places in my life. Also Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”

 

Bro. Sosa: My favorite book of the Bible is Luke. He brings a totally different perspective to the Gospels. From the other Gospels point of views, Matthew, Mark, and John, they received a firsthand experience. What’s amazing to me is that Luke receives it after everything has happened. And you’re getting different points of views from these characters, someone had to tell him these stories. It wasn’t as if Jesus was right there telling him, nor did he experience them firsthand but different people are telling him their experiences. It’s like a big testimony compiled into one book. There’s a Focus on the Family series on Luke and that is what started my interest to dive deeper into the book of Luke and has since curated my love for it. (Luke Audio Series- https://store.focusonthefamily.com/radio-theatre-the-life-of-jesus-digital/)

 

My favorite chapter of the Bible is Psalm 27. I can remember ever since I was a kid there is one portion that has stuck with me. People read the beginning of the chapter, “The Lord is my light and my salvation,” and it’s read so casually. But the thing that has meant so much to me over the years is, “The Lord is MY.” Those four words have resonated with me, it’s a personal relationship. Verse four has been what has kept me and it has been my promise to Him, “One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple.” This is my motivation. If everything else fails, if I never get called deeper into the ministry, I am fine with it. If God removes me from ministry altogether it’s fine because my desire is simply to know Him. Everything else is a blessing but my first desire ever since I was a kid is to know Him.

What is the greatest lesson you have learned in life so far?

Sis. Sosa: It’s trusting in the Lord. I still have to continue trusting in Him, it’s an ongoing lesson and it is such a great one. Because in the end I have noticed that God has provided in every way. To trust and know that He is faithful always. There are a lot of lessons I have learned but this one is one of the greatest. It even got me through school when I did not want to continue the path I was on. But in the end, I saw everything fall into place.

 

Bro. Sosa: As a couple, our greatest lesson, being able to walk through it together, is to trust in the Lord. I went through something recently and somebody made a comment that I, in following with my pastor and the will of God, would regret my decision. If you had asked me four or five years ago, I may have thought that person was right. Up until that point God had been and is still dealing with us on a place of ultimate trust in Him. And it was the most amazing, self-assuring, Holy Ghost feeling that I had come over me to where I could look that individual straight in the eyes and tell him, “No, I will not.” Because when God is in it, it’s going to be okay. No matter how daunting it looks, when God puts it in motion, and tells us His will, it’s up to us to trust Him. Again, going back to Psalm 27, I told that individual, “MY God will provide for us, MY God will take care of us. This is His will and His plan, and you may say I will regret it, but I know for a fact I will not because this is what my God wants.” This has helped us so much. Even now as youth leaders, there are things that come up and we have to go back to simply trusting that He will work all things together for the good. And of course, prayer helps too!

How do you balance your relationship with God, your family life, and your ministry?

Bro. Sosa: Obviously it is an adjustment when you get married right? Before we got married, I was already extremely busy and my wife was extremely busy. Now you have two lives coming together, and with the responsibility of certain things, you don’t just give up. The most amazing thing for me was when we got married it was not about dropping responsibilities, we sat down and looked at everything. You know it’s God’s will and God’s fit when you both have the same common goal first, and that is whatever God needs us to do. Our relationship with God is the most important. I remember after we got married, we would go to the church daily to pray. It was our moment, we made time to go together and that happened for a good while. That was our foundation, our cornerstone, it’s about His kingdom first and the other things come secondary. So yes, we have to find time to go on dates to stay connected, and communication is key in all things. But we understand that this is not my ministry, it’s OUR ministry. God called us together.

 

Sis. Sosa: Let me piggyback haha. Well, we have a baby too so finding that time to spend all together. Sometimes at work when nobody is there for the first hour, I use that time to pray. We may not get to go together in the mornings now, but we make the time. It all works out.

 

Bro. Sosa: We took Ellie, our daughter, for a walk on the trail the other day. It wasn’t planned. We are still figuring it out. It is always a work in progress, always a constant reflection of how can we still give what needs to be given but also make sure everything is balanced.

What is the best piece of advice/wisdom that you were given by an elder in your life?

Sis. Sosa: When I graduated from Truth Tabernacle Christian School, Elder Morton preached on, “Don’t Sell Your Saddle.” And I still have the saddle. The preaching was about not selling yourself to the world. And he talked about how we need to always live for God and to make that commitment with God to not sell our lives to the world. Also, years ago, when I was in 5th or 6th grade, Bro. Michael Brown taught for devotion at TTCS. I remember that day saying I was always going to live for God, no matter what. I made that promise, that covenant to God as a child.

 

Bro. Sosa: There’s four pieces of advice that come to mind. These have all helped shape me and I constantly remind myself of them almost every day.

1. Obviously, number one is Elder Morton’s message on, “Just Let it Unfold.”
2. Elder Gregg wrote a book, “Man in the Shadows,” years ago and that book has been so instrumental for me as far as my ministry. I always pray that I don’t want to be the man of God that is looking to be at the forefront. And what I mean by that is relevant, or trying to be famous, or a celebrity. There is nothing wrong with giving honor and double honor and respecting the ministry, but I don’t want to be that type of man. Right now, my focus is how can I help my local church. I am content with being behind the scenes. It is God who exalts and who abases.
3. Another piece of advice is by Elder Gregg, “Time heals everything.” We’ve heard Elder Morton use the phrase, “Time will tell,” and time proves things. If the Lord tarries time will continue to prove a lot of things.
4. As a young teenager this next piece of advice helped me so much. I firmly believe it is the reason I am here today. It was Elder Hyler at Donkey Rock in an altar service. He was praying for me and began to pray with me and told me. “Son you must always go deeper.” And that day was so monumental, because that is what it’s all about. You won’t have a true substance if you don’t know how to pray and connect and talk with God. If your connection with God is not there, everything else is pointless.

These four pieces have been monumental in my life personally.

What do you believe is the greatest need in the Apostolic church today?

Bro. & Sis. Sosa: I have talked with a couple of people, and it is a revival of the spirit of prayer. If there is no prayer there is no anointing, if there is no anointing then what? Without prayer everything is just a show. The scary thing to us is that it used to be lights and smoke being a sign of having to compensate for no anointing. Now there is no smoke or lights but yet we are finding a lack of anointing and a lack of consecration. We see this in not only young people but adults, even preachers. This is affecting Pentecost as a whole. How can we get by without putting in the hard work? It shouldn’t be hard, but people view it as so. That is getting on your knees and humbling yourself, spending time with God even when we don’t want to. Because that is the only way strongholds will be broken and victories will be won. That is the only way souls will feel a drawing. I understand God leads, drives, and draws but it is going to take prayer in these last days. Even more so.

How did you find the will of God in your life? (For career, marriage, future, etc.) And how should we navigate through that?

Bro. Sosa: I will be completely honest with you. For me, there have been things that happened in my childhood, to where I knew certain directions. And as a teenager I began to fight them. But as life begins to unfold, sometimes you get glimpses and directions and feelings, and this is why the spirit of prayer is so important. Each of those instances in my life happened either in prayer or right after prayer. Mind you, I was a kid and people try to find the will of God by strictly going to their Pastor. And you’re supposed to seek counsel and talk to your man of God. Talk to elders in your church that you can trust. But if you don’t pray before any of that it teaches you to be a lazy Christian. Also, you’ll always question it in the background because you’re not praying about it. You didn’t seek God for yourself. It’s like you want to start something from scratch but you don’t want to put in the work. You want the end goal, without the work. 1 Corinthians 9:26-27 says, “I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” Another translation says I don’t run as if I’m lazy.

The will of God is not a mystical thing, sometimes it’s very clear. If you’re prayed up and prayed through, you will feel that gut check. If you’re looking at big life decisions, then pray and seek counsel. It comes down to prayer. And if you have that uneasy feeling, don’t force it. If it’s not working out, then don’t force it. If your pastor doesn’t feel right about the decision, then you have to trust him. It’s just the will of God. And it is not always as clear-cut as people would like it. When you trust God and you’re walking with God and your man of God, doors will begin to open, and you just have to walk through them. Sometimes the doors will open, and we don’t even feel to do that specific thing, but your pastor feels good about it, and it is the call of God to do something. Elder Morton always says, “The present duty is the will of God.” Don’t get hung up on trying to live 10 or 15 years from now.

 

Sis. Sosa: It was different too, career wise. I went to school for nursing and now I am a school nurse. For the longest time I did not want to do nursing, but the doors opened up easily. For nursing I didn’t get in the time I wanted to get in. I remember praying about it because everything had opened up so easily, and then I received a letter that I would start the program in January. So, things opened up and it all comes down to prayer. And talk to your pastor. Find those people that you trust in your life.

Any advice for the young people reading this blog? What wisdom or advice would you give to your younger self?

Bro. Sosa: People may feel that bitterness is a thing that happens when you’re older, but for me it was quite the oppposite. As a kid, I let bitterness and animosity set in. I was raised in a preacher’s home, and everything revolved about the church. And now that is my life today, everything does revolve around the church. But as a kid, I had a different viewpoint, I did not want my life to look like my parents’ when I got older. If I could go back to my younger self I would say, “Don’t let bitterness invade your life.” To the young people I would say, “You know exactly where you’re at, what you’re dealing with in your life specifically. And if it is anything that will cause a wedge between you and God, you and your family, you and your man of God, or your church, you have to purpose in your mind to get it out, to cut if off. There are so many things that young people are struggling with nowadays and it comes down to you being honest with yourself and recognizing it. If it is causing division or a breach, causing you to not hunger after or desire the things of God, then you need to be honest and remove those things from your life.”

 

Sis. Sosa: As a youth leader, we have seen young people make mistakes and it takes them a while to get up from them. I would like to tell the young people, “You’re going to make mistakes, it might take you time to recover, but God is never going to leave you, He will always love you. So get back up. Don’t sit in your mistake. It doesn’t matter how big or small the mistake, just get back up.”

Any advice for other youth leaders out there?

Bro. Sosa: It would be to get an understanding for the role of a youth leader, and what we are supposed to be. At the end of the day, we have to understand that the pastor is the pastor. In the foyer of Truth Tabernacle there is a big mural honoring Elder Morton titled, “The Bridge Builder.” Our job as youth leaders is to simply build a bridge. We’re there to be a conduit. We need to reach out to the young people; help build up the faith of the young people. Obviously, they need a desire but it’s up to us to help foster that culture of desire. It’s up to us to foster that culture of prayer, of winning the lost, of miracles, signs, and wonders. Let the pastor be the pastor and we need to go in there and help the young people get on their feet to realize what God has called them to do. We are their biggest cheerleaders; we are the ones who will help them when their down.

Also, the rules of how we conduct ourselves (the guidelines, the principles, the standards) are extremely important. It should never be questioned. It is not our job to rewrite them. With young people if you continue to give them rules and they have no relationship with God, they won’t understand. And in some cases, they will begin to resent why we dress a certain way, why we don’t do certain things, etc. The scripture says in John 16:13, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.”

And it’s the same with new converts, new young people who visit. We don’t pull out a thick manual of what we do/don’t do. Our first job is to connect them with Jesus. Not only show them in scripture but show them by example. If they don’t see you praying in the altar, what makes you think they’ll want to go pray in the altar. Youth leaders are examples in a lot of areas. And prayer is key in all things. You need strength? Pray! You feel tired? Pray! You feel like giving up? Pray! Because God will be right there with you.

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This interview was conducted a few weeks ago, and I apologize for the delay in getting it posted. But I truly am grateful that Bro. Chris Sosa and Sis. Sabrina Sosa agreed to do this post for the Pillar Series. I have know them for years and they have been amazing friends to me. Our youth group at Revival Life Church is very blessed to have them as our youth leaders. I just want to personally say that I am thankful for their burden for the young people, and for all of their time and effort that has gone into planning youth services and events. I love and appreciate you guys and you are always in my prayers!

Thank you all for reading! God bless you 😁