The family behind the ministry
Meet John & Francine Vazquez.
John and Francine Vazquez have been married for 31 years. They are parents of 6 children and grandparents to 14 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren.
Our story, in Francine’s words
We are board members of The Jericho Project, a street ministry started 29 years ago by our pastor, Rafael Cruz Jr. For the last 21 years, we have been the music ministry. We travel all over Youngstown and outside our city to high-crime areas, bringing the church to those who do not go to church. We start with music to draw them to us, feed them, and then feed the Word of God to their souls.
9 years ago, the Lord spoke to me, Francine, to start a ministry on Facebook. When I told my husband, John, what the Lord told me to do, John said, “He told you to start the ministry!” I told John it was going to be a family ministry. That’s when The Vazquez Family Ministry was born.
We started doing the Facebook broadcast once or twice a week, then several times a week, then once every day. Now we do 2 broadcasts a day, in which we read the Gospel and then a commentary on the verse. We would also give encouraging words to those on our page.
At times, we would let the Lord guide us and speak from the heart. The Lord has found favor in His ministry because we are just the vessels spreading His Words. We venture out to other ministries and provide music with our own equipment, which we purchased for The Vazquez Family Ministry. Our Lord has given us boldness, joy, and grace every time we minister to the streets.
We are a powerful trio: me, Francine, John, and our son, Manuel, who provides the singing and rapping as part of the ministry. We continue to be blessed as we bless others. We will continue our mission as long as our Lord uses us. We are here to do His will, humbly and obediently.
