Andrew and Aimee Lemus are from southern California. Andrew is the son of Edward and Diana and was raised in a non-Christian home. He became a Christian on July 21st 2003 after hearing the gospel over the internet from a preacher in Long Island, New York. Aimee is the daughter of Steve and Debbie Biffle and was raised in a Christian home. Aimee was baptized into Christ April 8th, 2004.
Andrew and Aimee met in 2003 at the Magnolia Center church of Christ in Riverside California. Seeing the com
mon passion of studying God’s word they engaged in numerous Bible studies. As a result of their studies Aimee decided to make Jesus Christ Lord of her life and put Him on in baptism.
Andrew proposed to Aimee on August 20th, 2004 and they were married six months later on February 12th 2005. Due to their strong desire to serve God they decided to enroll at the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver where they both received an exceptional Christian education from extraordinary men and women. Andrew and Aimee both went through the full time program and each spent over 900 hours in the classroom during their two years at Bear Valley. Andrew received a Bachelor’s in Biblical studies and Aimee received a Bachelor’s in Theology.
While they were enrolled at the Bear Valley Bible Institute they were approached with the proposition to work with a domestic mission work in Conifer, Colorado. Andrew and Aimee made the decision while at Bear Valley to participate in mission work both foreign and domestic. Since their conversion both have participated in both domestic and foreign campaigns. They have responded to the great commission by taking the gospel to the states of Washington, Tennessee, California, and the countries of Mexico, Tanzania, and Italy. It is Andrew and Aimee’s greatest desire to serve the Lord as much as they are capable.
On January 7th 2007 the Conifer church of Christ met together for the first time at the Mountain Resource Center in Conifer, CO. At this first meeting fifteen Christians met together with a strong desire and passion to serve the Lord in the small but growing mountain community.
Having agreed to participate in the domestic mission in Conifer, Colorado Andrew and Aimee had to raise support. It was during this time, perhaps providentially, that the Broken Arrow church of Christ contacted Bear Valley with the desire to fully support a domestic missionary in a domestic work. After a few meetings the two parties agreed to partner up to take on the work in Conifer. Following graduation from Bear Valley the Lemus’ spent six months in Broken Arrow where they worked with and got to know the church in Broken Arrow. It was also during this time that Andrew received some additional training in how to work with the church as a minister and domestic missionary.
In February of 2008 the Lemus’ moved back to Colorado, purchased a home, and began their new work. Over the past three years the Conifer church of Christ has gone from 15 members to over 30. While still meeting at the Mountain Resource Center the church has been given a piece of property and is in the process of trying to build a church building.
Andrew has been trying his best to do the Lord’s work. Along with his duties to preach, teach, and minister to the needs of the church in Conifer Andrew has helped establish the church in the Community. He has created and designed a website for the local congregation (conifercoc.com), has started a blog , has created and designed a church bulletin, has designed and created an email that goes out to the church and community every week, and has volunteered in the local school district. Andrew has also facilitated two youth group campaigns to Conifer for the Broken Arrow church of Christ.
Like Andrew, Aimee has played a large part in edifying the Lord’s church. She started and taught the Ladies’ Bible class at the Conifer church as well as the children’s classes. She has been asked to speak and lead singing at various Ladies Days and retreats by surrounding congregations. Recently, Aimee has become an administrator and contributor to the blog “Come Fill Your Cup”. This has given her the opportunity to write for Christian women. Her most recent series was called “How to Study the Bible: Introduction to Biblical Exegesis”.
The Lord has blessed Andrew and Aimee with two beautiful children, Andrew Mark Jr. and Annabella Rose. Andrew will be three years old on September 15th and Annabella will be one year old on September 24th.
The Lemus’ have spent five years away from their home in southern California doing the Lord’s work and have the desire to return where they believe many possibilities await them. With five years of experience under their belt they see themselves as ready to take on the task of working in and around their old stomping grounds. It is at this point that the Lemus’ have set their sights on southern California and are beginning their transition to work with the Norco church of Christ.
The City of Norco
The city of Norco is best described as “City Living In A Rural Atmosphere.” Norco, California is a unique community that sits approximately fifty miles south east of Los Angeles, thirty miles East of Anaheim, and in Western Riverside County.
Norco, which got its name for being North of Corona, is a city that occupies approximately 25 square miles. The population of this community is approximately 25 thousand people with the median age being thirty six years old. The community of Norco is made up of mostly young families with only 6.6% of the community over the age of 65. The annual median household income for this community is approximately $84,000.
The cities that are neighbors to Norco are Riverside, and Corona. These two cities combined have a population of over 350,000. The freeway system that runs through Norco, Corona, and Riverside make these three communities feel more like one larger community with the boarders of the three being hard to distinguish.
While it might be hard to distinguish where the boarders of these three towns are, it is easy to recognize how different the heart of Norco is compared to its surrounding communities. Coined as “HorseTown USA,” Norco is known for being an Equestrian community. Instead of sidewalks, the community has horse trails. Instead of a parking spot by the front door, many local businesses have a hitching post. Norco has over 70 miles of riding trails, an annual rodeo, and is in the process of building new equestrian facilities called Silverlakes Equestrian & Sports Park. Norco is a unique community that resides in the midst of a fast paced, growing, and populated civilization.
Norco has also put its place on the map with its various events, schools, and points of interest. Norco holds an annual fair at Ingalls Park which attracts both the city of Norco and its surrounding communities. Norco high school is similar to many high schools that you would find in the South with a thriving football program that brings in thousands of fans to watch the Friday night football game. One of Norco’s proud graduates is Heisman Trophy candidate and now Minnesota Viking Toby Gerhart. Norco also possesses three important facilities, the U.S. Naval Warfare Assessment Division, the California Rehabilitation Center, and the Riverside community College, Norco Campus.
There are approximately 30 churches in the city of Norco that with the presence of prevalent denominations along with many interdenominational churches. There are currently two churches of Christ in Norco, one of which is non-institutional. While there is a broad scope of denominations, the interdenominational churches have the largest attendance. Calvary Chapel, Harvest, and Crossroads are the three larger interdenominational churches in this area.
Norco is accurately described as “City Living In A Rural Atmosphere.” With so many ways to get involved in the community, to reach out to people, and to bring soles to Christ, it is an awesome location for a body of Christians to worship, grow spiritually, and grow numerically.
The Norco church of Christ
In September of 2010 Andrew and Aimee Lemus made the decision to begin their transition out of the work in Conifer, CO and to a work in southern California. It was their desire to return to southern California to a community that they were familiar with, close to family, and to a situation that might help their spiritual growth. Since Andrew was from Norco, California they decided to contact the Norco church of Christ to see if there was any interest in bringing in a younger family to help the church grow. Perhaps by the providence of God, it was during this same time that the Norco church of Christ was looking for ways to reach out into the community. After the Lemus’ had sent their resumes, information about their ambitions, and visited the church, the Norco church of Christ decided to bring them in to help the Lord’s work in Norco. Apart from any unforeseen circumstances, the Lemus’ and the Norco church of Christ have committed to a three year partnership.
Andrew and Aimee will be going into the work in Norco with some primary responsibilities. These responsibilities include creating a church website, starting a weekly email, playing a large role in the children and youth ministry, and reaching out to the community with the gospel. The ministry of Andrew and Aimee will have a strong emphasis on young adults and families in Norco and surrounding communities. Since the majority of the church in Norco is above the age of fifty it is the desire of the church to attract and bring in younger adults and families.
Andrew will also share the responsibility of preaching at least twice a month and teaching Bible classes as needed. The Norco church of Christ has a membership of forty two and has two preachers in place. The main pulpit preacher, Mike Ball, teaches full time at a local elementary school and Robert Simpkins is handicapped and is on disability. These two men will serve as mentors to Andrew as he works with the church in Norco. These preachers will be a reliable source for Andrew to lean on, receive guidance, and instruction as he works in Norco.
Sadly, like so many churches of Christ in America, the Norco church of Christ is struggling to attract the next generation of souls. The church saw the writing on the wall and recognized that they needed to take action if they wanted to pursue godliness in such a rebellious society. It is their belief that by adding the Lemus’ to the ministry team at Norco that some rebuilding can begin. It is their vision, like so many other churches, to have a thriving, vibrant, active, and sound body of the Lord’s people. It is their hope that the Lemus’ can serve them and help make this vision come true.
Due to the size of the Norco church of Christ they are unable to fully support the Lemus’ in this endeavor but have agreed to provide approximately seventy five percent of their needed support. That has left the Lemus’ with the need to raise the other twenty five percent of their income. All support, both spiritual and physical would be appreciated for this exciting endeavor. The church of Christ in Norco appreciates your efforts to further the Lord’s church.
If you would like to receive more information about the Lord’s work in Norco and how to support the Lemus’ in this endeavor please contact us at drew24p@aol.com. We appreciate your consideration.
