Built by God: 43 Years of Faithfulness
Héctor & Pilar Ortiz
Q: How many years of marriage do you share, and did you both know the Lord at the beginning of your relationship?
A: Hector and I started dating right after we got off the ark with Noah and his family. 😂
We got married in 1982, so we will have been married 43 years in December. I met Hector the same year I met the Lord—spring of 1980, during my sophomore year of high school. I was taking baby steps toward God, and Hector was in a dead sprint running away from God!
We dated for two fun, eventful years and then entered into a rocky, “no fun” marriage. Jesus was not at the center. We were unequally yoked, and the struggle to become one was impossible with two very different and independent personalities.
I often tell couples that we can’t both lead. The Bible is very clear: there is an order, and when we are misaligned, the blessings don’t flow.
Three years in, I was pregnant with our second child, and Hector finally decided he was ready to get baptized in water. Our church didn’t have a baptismal, so we would go to Carlsbad and have baptismal services there. My dad dipped Hector in the water, and Hector died!
The man who came up out of the Pecos River that day was not the man I married. He has been sitting next to me in church ever since. He quit smoking, dipping, chewing, cussing, and drinking.
I wish I could say I was the model Christian wife, but my sins were just hidden. The anger, resentment, and bitterness toward my husband were just below the surface, ready to come spewing out at the sound of him coming through the front door.
But when Hector immediately took up the priestly duties of the home and we began aligning ourselves with God’s plans and purposes for our lives, everything changed.
A couple of years before, God had given me a vision of Hector in a suit teaching at the front of our little church. I discredited it as a wishful daydream. But a couple of months after he was baptized, there he was—just as I had seen him in that vision.
Q: What are some common misconceptions people have about serving in church leadership?
A: A common misconception I have found is that those of us in leadership are delegators and simply supervise. The reality is that we are servants, and we should model “servant-hearted” leadership by volunteering more than anyone, serving in more roles, and seeking God daily so we are ready to lead in season and out of season.
Another misconception is that leadership is a small, exclusive group. That is actually the last thing we want to be. What we should desire is to raise up more people into leadership by duplicating ourselves over and over for the advancement of the Kingdom.
A small group leading a congregation will cap the growth of that congregation. At Freedom Church, there are so many young people in our congregation, and it is exciting to see them growing spiritually so we can hand them the baton and watch them take ministry farther than we did by adding their own giftings and talents.
The Holy Spirit is dynamic. It is He who keeps ministry fresh. Change is a good thing when we are being led by the Spirit of God.
Q: When you felt like you were done serving in the church, what did God present to you that essentially brought you back into serving?
A: A few years ago, we were reevaluating where we were spiritually, which I think is a good practice, and we knew we needed something to refocus our lives on Jesus.
We were now empty nesters, and the hardships of life and the long spiritual battle of raising children had drained us both. Hector stepped away from church leadership after serving for over 20 years, during which we had navigated the church through crisis and some very difficult seasons. It had all taken a toll on us, and we needed to now deal with the battle of addiction in one of our children.
That led us to taking an 8-week course on deliverance. For eight weeks, we drove to Mid-Cities Church in Midland, TX, every Sunday—and boy, was it worth it!
With the help of that class, we were able to push back the enemy and retake territory we never should have given up. The Holy Spirit brought deliverance to our family and restored the joy of our salvation!
We realized deliverance ministry was so needed in the body of Christ right now, so we trained to teach the class and help others receive deliverance for themselves, their families, and future generations. This is the class, “Free Indeed,” that we lead at Freedom Church.
Q: How did Hector shift from being in church leadership in the past to now Pilar serving in leadership?
A: Hector has always been the strong leader in the home (much to my chagrin at times). His cultural upbringing placed a strong emphasis on the husband/father leadership role. I also came from that family structure, and I have a great appreciation for it.
Hector expected the family to be submitted to him as he is submitted to the Lord. He understands times and seasons and knew it was God calling me to step up.
He really encouraged me to step into the leadership role when Pastor David, who was the pastor here at the time, approached me about it. I originally told him no.
I had watched Hector carry the weight of responsibility of church leadership. I saw the tension with different personalities on the board and the struggle to make decisions in unity. I honestly wanted no part of it.
But Pastor David and Hector eventually persuaded me. My thought was, “I’ll do it for a year and then step down.”
But God gave me the best group of men to work with. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to serve with Josue and Pastor Brian. We became the committee to hire a new pastor and were instrumental in bringing the Veazeys on.
We were just instrumental—it was actually the hand of God that brought Pastor Cameron and Pastor Sarah to us.
Q: How do you discern God’s direction when making major decisions as a couple?
A: Peace. When we don’t have peace, we don’t move.
Hector has never been led by emotions or personal desires. He does what is good for the family in spite of the will of the family at times.
God says if anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask. I have learned to wait on Hector to get wisdom from God (as much as I would like to go ahead with what I know needs to be done). This way, we are all in agreement.
If I get out of alignment, I come out of the covering and out of unity with my husband—and thus, God. That is not where I want to find myself and not what I want to model for my kids and grandkids. Our decisions affect our future generations.
