Here’s that news story, rewritten from my perspective as Jason:
Faith, Funds, and Flights: Examining Pastors’ International Getaways
Here are the facts we’re looking at:
- Sarai Rivera, a former District 4 Councilor, and her husband, Jose A. Encarnacion, both longtime pastors at Christian Community Church, took two separate international trips in the summer of 2021.
- Social media posts confirmed they traveled to Iceland in June 2021 for their anniversary, with photos showing activities like snowmobiling and cave tours.
- Just one month later, in July 2021, the couple reportedly traveled to Egypt, with Facebook photos depicting them at ancient historical sites.
Why this matters to a small church or family, well, it’s pretty straightforward. Look, for a small church, every dollar counts. Families in our congregations work hard, often making sacrifices to give to the church or just to put food on the table. When leaders, who are meant to set an example, are seen taking multiple international trips like this, it just raises an eyebrow. It makes you wonder about financial priorities and stewardship. Are we putting our resources into ministry and our community, or into personal adventures? It’s about setting a clear example of Christ-like humility and responsible use of resources, especially when people are looking to their leaders for guidance on these very things.
This story was analyzed for Christ P2P. You can read the original reporting here: https://www.telegram.com/story/news/courts/2026/02/25/jose-encarnacion-state-allegations/88825641007/
‘
