Carlos Vera spent the majority of his life dismissing religion. Born into a non-practicing Catholic family, he was never exposed to Christian beliefs.
“I thought [Christianity] was so poor because I believed in other things, like something bigger than us, but I never thought it was God or Jesus or anything like that,” said Vera.
Vera grew up with three sisters.
When asked to describe her brother, Angelica Vera called him a dreamer and a leader.
“When he was little, he would jump off the roofs and pretend to be a cowboy,” she said. “My mom and dad had to buy him the guns, hats, and everything so he could live his dream.”
While she didn’t know what her brother would do with his life, she knew Vera would be in a leadership role.
“He has always had a thing for being a leader. In high school, he would take extra classes and teach groups of people about metaphysics and parapsychology. So I thought he would do something with that,” she said.
But he chose something completely unexpected.
Journey to Canada
At 22-years-old in 1979, Vera decided to leave Chile and come to Canada to look for work.
“There was no future for me in Chile,” said Vera.
He was completely alone not knowing the language, culture or people.
After arriving in Canada, he was placed in a hotel room in Toronto. Stuck and at risk of deportation, he remembered that a friend back in Chile had given him a number to call if he had any issues.
He made that phone call and found Ruth Reyes on the other end—his now wife. Ruth Vera came from a Christian family and offered to take him in on one condition.
“They told me that they were going to help me, but I had to go to church every Sunday with them. So I agreed and I started going to church just because of that,” said Vera.
Spiritual awakening
It wasn’t long after that when Vera had a spiritual experience that would change his life forever.
“The pastor at that time was preaching from the pulpit and I felt like everything that he was talking about was about me,” said Vera.
From there he became an active church member. Teaching Sunday school, working with the youth group, playing guitar for the praise and worship team and even starting a Christian rock band.
But Vera felt that God was calling him to do more.
In search of answers, Vera and his wife took a trip to Guatemala in December 1993. There, he attended a church service where an American woman, who he had never met, was preaching.
During her sermon, she approached Vera and his wife and told them they would start a ministry in Canada. As she spoke, the couple found themselves lying on the church floor, overtaken with a spiritual encounter.
“I will never forget about that experience because I felt that was the time when God directly called us to do something,” said Vera.
When he returned to Canada, he spoke with his pastor and explained that he would be leaving the church to start his ministry — which consists of teaching others what the bible says in hopes of bringing people closer to God.
New beginnings
Just two weeks after returning from his trip, his plan to start a ministry was in motion.
On Jan. 3, 1994, instead of attending their regular Sunday service, Vera, his wife, his daughter and a friend set up a room for the very first meeting of what would become “Amor en Accion,” his ministry located in Calgary.
The name translates to Love in Action, emphasizing their belief in teaching through love.
He hoped to create an inviting space for everyone that strays away from traditional religious practices. Focusing on the teachings of Jesus and basing it all on freedom rather than judgment.
“People like to come to our church because we love them, we help them, and that’s the way I believe church has to be,” said Vera.
His church follows the Anabaptist doctrine which focuses primarily on the baptism of adults rather than children, studying the bible for yourself and using the bible to fight authority rather than violence.
Sticking to beliefs
Vera has worked closely with an abundance of pastors to help grow his ministry—one of which is Roberto Arancibia.
Starting their journey together nearly 20 years ago, Arancibia is one of his closest partners.
“He’s a role model in every sense of the word,” said Arancibia.
Before working with Vera, Arancibia was struggling with addiction and self-worth.
“I was kind of wandering through life without much meaning or direction,” said Arancibia.
Vera’s belief that people are capable of change is what redirected Arancibia’s path.
“[Vera] always says ‘I would rather trust everyone and be happy than trust no one and be bitter’ and he trusted me and gave me a second chance,” said Arancibia.
Vera’s dedication and the sacrifices he’s made to keep his ministry afloat continue to inspire the people around him.
Now, with churches across the world including Venezuela, Colombia, Chile, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Canada, Vera hopes to continue planting churches and growing his ministry.
“We made an impact on a lot of people, I think over 1,000 people have been through our churches and our ministry,” said Vera. “I work every day because I know God really works on people.”