Gospel Light Community Church

Senior Pastor Pedro Vazquez and Women’s Network Pastor  Amy Vazquez have been serving as leaders at Gospel Light Community Church for the last thirteen years. Pastor Pedro was ordained as an associate pastor at Gospel Light under the Harvest Fellowship of Churches in 2004. He first came to Gospel Light in 1996. He had taught Pastor Jim’s children at Multicultural Magnet School, in Bridgeport. They have three daughters. Raquel, is a graduate of Gordon College in May, 2007. Marisol is a  nursing student at Southern Connectucut State University, and Laura, is a  student at Albertus Magnus University.

Pastor Pedro and Sister Amy came to know the Lord at the University of Conn. through The Navigators, a world-wide campus ministry in 1978. In 1983, Pastor Pedro was called to Bridgeport, CT from his hometown in Meriden, CT to be a math teacher at Harding High School. He currently works as a math curriculum specialist in the math department. After ten years of child rearing, sister Amy also began to teach in Bridgeport. She is currently a special education teacher at Roosevelt School. Today they both lead different cell groups and also provide leadership in the School of Leaders at Gospel Light.

In July 2009, Pastor Pedro retired from the Bridgeport School System to become Gospel Light’s second Senior Pastor.

In 2007 it became clear that Gospel Light needed a Network for children as well as youth and adults. Our need had grown beyond simple Sunday School and Kids Church. The pastoral team began to prayerfully look for God’s direction in calling a Children’s Network Pastor. In 2008, Michael Mahoney became Gospel Light’s first Children’s Pastor.

Pastor Mike and Sister Jill were both raised in Catholic families. They came to know the Lord after a period of marital trouble. When God restored their marriage, he began to do a new work in their lives. Sister Jill immediately took to the children and began teaching Sunday School. The Mahoney’s then became Cell Leaders, leading a large family cell for several years. Meanwhile, Pastor Mike had joined the worship team, where he has served continually since 2003. Mike and Jill have run various children’s programs, including Halleluia Night and the Children’s Cantata. The Mahoney’s have five children of their own, Michael, Brandon, Shannon, Meghann and Cailynn. Pastor Mike contributes to several online ministry communities and is an active blog writer.

Youth Network Pastor Daniel Miller has been a part of the Gospel Light Family since his birth. Born to church planters James and Andrea Miller (founders of GLCC), he has seen ministry from an internal perspective and has had the privilege of learning from his parents godly example. His call to fulltime vocational ministry was evident to him from young child and it was confirmed by many witnesses. The process to except this call was not as easy and it took time for him to surrender to it. As a teenager he committed his life to God- deciding that come what may; he would follow Jesus anywhere.This journey that he began to embark upon took him to be trained for ministry at Zion Bible College (Haverhill, MA). He received a B.A. in Biblical Studies with a minor concentration in Urban Missions while there.  Those years of preparation also formed him spiritually, as well as focusing his call to specific areas.

In 2009 when the door opened up for him to serve as youth network pastor; through the Holy Spirit’s guidance, he accepted and is currently excited for what God is going to do in this generation of youth. Pastor Daniel also looks forward to planting churches in urban centers and being a missionary overseas in the future.

Founding  Pastor James A. Miller

Pastor James A. Miller is the  Founding Pastor of Gospel Light Community Church. He and Pastor Andrea, his wife and co-laborer in ministry, have four sons, one daughter, one daughter in law and a new grandson. Pastor Miller has been active in ministry since 1977. He started as an assistant to Pastor Martin and Sr. Ethel Bender in the Bronx, NY where he was involved in street evangelism, prison ministry and pastoral ministry in the beginning stages of Joy Fellowship Church. He met and married Andrea while serving there. In March of 1982, they went with their two small sons to plant a church in Bridgeport under the covering of Eastern Mennonite Missions. With God‘s grace, Gospel Light Community Church was birthed shortly afterwards on June 6. Pastor Miller continues to pastor, serve as part of the Leadership Team of Harvest Fellowship of Churches and helps to oversee Gospel Light’s daughter church, Beacon of Light Community Church in Waterbury, CT. He continues to preach in different states and nations wherever and whenever the Lord calls him. In July 2009, Pastor Jim stepped down as Senior Pastor of Gospel Light Community Church, and was commissioned by Harvest Fellowship of Churches as Senior Pastor of Good News Christian Church, a church plant in the Norwood section of the Bronx, New York.