Joel Acevedo

July 5, 2023 1:24 pm Stacey Diack

Joel and Gladys were born in Chile. At the age of twelve, Joel went to live with a missionary family, Walter and Mary Cross. It was during these difficult years that he heard the Gospel and came to know Christ. Joel and Gladys met on the mission field and were married in January of 1989. In 1997, the couple went to Paraguay to plant a church, sent by a local Presbyterian church in Chile. In Asunción, they planted a growing church, a ministry that, after six years, was transferred to the local session. Joel subsequently pastored Gracia y Paz under APC (2004-2017) and recently led the Hispanic ministry for five and a half years under Briarwood PCA in Birmingham, Alabama (2018-2023 – Briarwood Español). Joel earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Theology at the Reformed Theological Seminary in Paraguay and a Master’s Degree in the USA. Gladys is a 2nd-grade teacher who worked at Word of Life Christian Academy in Springfield, VA for 10 years. This fall, she will be returning to work there again.