Pastor to ‘plant’ seeds for new church Saturday

Pastor Eneyas Freitas has a vision for Maricopa: The Wells, a multipurpose space with a stage and multimedia capability for artistic expression – community theater, dance, musical performances, children’s festivals, senior citizen events, art gallery – and, most importantly, a space where people can gather to worship.

Originally from Brazil, Freitas has lived in the United States for 16 years, most recently in Milwaukee where for seven years he worked on “church planting,” a process that results in a new (local) Christian church being established.

“I have been serving the Presbyterian Church for the last 16 years here in the U.S.,” Freitas said. “As an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church, I have different ministry opportunities and one them is church planting. The Presbytery de Cristo, located in Tucson, realized there was no Presbyterian Church in Maricopa.”

Maricopa attracted him, he added, because it is a fairly new town and is still growing despite the economic crisis and housing-market meltdown.

“The Presbytery De Cristo formed a search team to find a church planter and, from 50 planters, they offered me this ministry opportunity. Though I could have said ‘No,’ my family and I felt that we should come to Maricopa” he said.

In June, Freitas and his family moved to Maricopa and bought a home at The Lakes. On Saturday, from 4 to 5 p.m., they will hold a community outreach event at Honeycutt Coffee where they will serve refreshments, display crafts and have a puppet show for children.

“We are in our first steps of sharing the vision of The Wells. The event on Jan. 12 is to share our vision and mission. Our goal is to have people disconnected from church who might want to know more about our vision and mission and, perhaps, join our team.”

Freitas said The Wells’ name has two symbolic references: First, from the 1800s when Maricopa was known as Maricopa Wells; second, from John 4:2-26, in which Jesus meets a Samitarian woman, gives her water and says “…whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

“Our vision is for The Wells to be a nonthreatening environment where the un-churched, de-churched, and believers can experience and extend to others God’s radical hospitality,” Freitas said. “The Wells is to be the well of the 21st century Maricopa. Like the well in Jesus’ story, it will be a place that serves a community, where connections are made, and where divine encounters and life transformation happens. Our goal is not compete (with other churches) but to complete so that our community can grow and improve.”