Church in City Isolated by Miles of Desert Experiences Outpouring of God’s Faithfulness

Waynette Mohr and her husband, Dennis, settled in California City, California, a city isolated by miles of desert on all sides, after many years of traveling and living in several different countries. Dennis retired from the Air Force as a test pilot 26 years ago, and a few years later began attending New Life Assembly of God.

Mohr had grown up in a Pentecostal household and felt called into the ministry in early adulthood. But due to her husband’s job and other life circumstances, the time for formal ministry had not yet come.

But when the Mohr family started attending New Life, Waynette took note of the pastor’s recent graduation from the Berean School of the Bible and felt like she should take the step to enroll as well. After taking a few courses, she knew she was pursuing something God was wanting her to do. With her husband supporting her, Mohr obtained her credentials with the Assemblies of God in 2015.

While she continued to pursue ordination, which she obtained in 2019, Mohr became the associate pastor at New Life. Her role continued to grow after the lead pastor was diagnosed with a brain tumor and was forced to retire the same year Mohr was ordained.

The church board began to seek the Lord for next steps, and it seemed that asking Mohr to candidate for the position of lead pastor was a natural forward move. Just as Mohr was elected to the role, the country was brought to a halt by the COVID-19 pandemic. New Life was no exception and, in 2020, the church found itself unable to meet in person for several months.

“During that time, the board and I decided to take a look at the church’s mortgage which totaled around $90,000,” Mohr states. “We all agreed that we needed to work towards paying down the principle.”

Early in the summer of that year, Mohr walked into the office and noticed an envelope that had been placed on her desk. When she opened it up, there was a check for $20,000 and a note that said to use the money towards the mortgage.

“We were blown away,” she says.

The generosity of the donor catapulted the church towards becoming debt free and, in 2022, New Life Assembly of God made its final mortgage payment.

Rich Guerra, district superintendent of the SoCal Network, states that the church’s mortgage had been a burden for a number of years but through the hard work and faithfulness of Mohr’s leadership, the loan was paid off.

However, a year later, the church’s on-property fire hydrant was vandalized, and the damage caused a complete wash out of their gravel parking lot. Having only been debt free for a year, leadership was devastated to hear the insurance company say that they would not be covering the $15,000 worth of damage.

“We were, of course, disappointed but we knew it was God’s parking lot and we decided to trust Him to provide whatever we needed to get things repaired,” she says.

For four weeks, the church board and staff prayed for the Lord to provide. Then without warning, Mohr received a phone call from the insurance company saying that they had re-examined the claim and they had changed their mind; they would cover the cost of damages.

“We are small church but God has done great things,” says Mohr. “God keeps reminding us again and again that it’s not about how many people are here, it’s about the people who are here and what God is going to do.”

God has continued to provide for New Life Assembly, allowing them to feed 120 families every month through a food distribution program in partnership with a local food bank. He has also united them with other churches in the area, allowing this city of 13,000, to see cooperative efforts from the body of Christ for community events such as Easter sunrise services and trunk-or-treat events.

“It’s been one thing after another and He has proven Himself so faithful,” she states.