Biography of Pastor Jose Luis E. Lozano
Our Pastor, Jose Luis E. Lozano was born March 12, 1947 in Caltxico, California. This little town lies near the Mexican - United States border in southern California. He is the first son and third child of Telesforo Lozano Martinez and Cruz Escobedo de Lozano. His siblings include two older sisters: Ana Maria and Elizabeth, one younger sister, Eunice and a younger brother, Samuel. Jose Luis spent much time with his father. Like our pastor, his father, Telesforo Lozano was also a Pastor and a founding father of the Apostolic Church in Mexico and in southern California. One can speculate that his father had his influence in his son's life through this example. In 1952, the Lord took our Pastor's father to dwell with him. This left Cruz E. Lozano a widow with five young children. She remained in Mexicali for a few years and then moved to San Diego, California.
It was difficult to grow up without the love and guiding hand of a father but as the Lord had promised, He never left our Pastor's young life or his family's. The Lord had great plans for Young Jose Luis that even he could not imagine and was molding him for that great purpose. At the age of fifteen on May 19, 1962, Jose Luis accepted Christ as his Savior and was baptized that same night at the Apostolic Church at Otay in Chula Vista, California.
This was the beginning of a long and twisting journey that still endures till today. Two years later on March 1, 1964, Jose Luis was set apart for the ministry by his pastor Pedro Hermosillo at the Apostolic Church at Otay. The following year on June 25, 1965 at barely eighteen, he was initiated t o the ministry by a group of bishops at a district convention in Artisia, California. During this period in his life Jose Luis was being molded to be a faithful leader and an example. He was President of the local youth group, Vice-President of the Youth Federation, Secretary of national confederation of Youth, and Sunday school teacher. The Lord did not allow him to be a leader only in the church but also a leader, an example, and a team player in the secular world. He was class president for the 9th and 11th year at Castle Park High School in Chula Vista California. He was involved in Baseball, Basketball, Football and Track. Although he did not know it at the time all these positions and experiences would help him later in his ministry.
After graduating from high school in 1966, Jose Luis obtained his A.A. degree in Accounting from Southwestern College in Chula Vista, Ca. in 1968. Throughout his time in the Air Force, he was able to earn credits at various universities, among them, Pepperdine University, University of Maryland, University of Virginia, and others, finally reaching the required credits at George Mason University to earn his B.S. in Business Administration in Finance and Urban Development. He spent the summer of 1968 in the city of Valencia, Spain, studying at the University of Valencia, under a program sponsored by the University of San Francisco. While in Spain he took time to visit a missionary, via Valencia-Barcelona-Rome-Naples, in the town of Gesualdo, Italy, in the suburbs of Naples in the southern part of Italy. One unique fact about this mission church was that the people met in a building, which was built in the year 1066 A.D. While in Spain, under programs by the University of San Francisco, he was able to visit several cities in Spain and Portugal, among them Sagunto, (between Barcelona and Valencia), which while a Roman city was put on siege by Hannibal, from Carthage in Northern Africa, on his way to conquer Rome in 219 B.C. He was able to visit Alicante, Cordoba, Sevilla, Granada, Salamanca, Madrid, and Lisbon, Portugal. The city he considered the most beautiful was Granada, where in 1492 in the "Alhambra", the ruling kings Ferdinand and Isabella, gave Christopher Columbus the funds to help him make his trips across the Atlantic Ocean. The city of Granada was made famous because the last battle against the Muslin Moors was fought and won there in early 1492. A famous composer, Agustin Lara, wrote a song, "Granada", which mentions lyrics about this battle.
To supplement his income after he started the mission church in Washington, D.C., Jose Luis obtained his Real Estate License as a Salesman in 1976, and his Broker's License in Real Estate in 1979. He still holds his Broker's License active until now.
As required by law, he registered with the Selective Service. At that time, all men between 18-35 could be drafted to serve in the military, (the military draft was discontinued in 1973). During this time, the United States was involved in Vietnam in an armed conflict. Because he was a fulltime student, he was exempt from being drafted to Vietnam. But in a twist of fate that God himself permitted, Jose Luis's car broke down. As a result, he had to work to repair his car and dropped from a full time to a part time student. This allowed him to be eligible for the draft. In November of 1969 he entered the United States Air Force. He was stationed at military bases in San Antonio, TX, Wichita Falls, TX, Los Angles, CA, Okinawa, Japan, and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Jose Luis was chosen by his superiors to work in communication intelligence in his military career. He was learning to be as soldier in two armies.
In March of 1967, while at a revival in Indio, California, he met Magdalena Armijo Steffan. On April 12, 1970 they were married in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. They were transferred in Los Angles, Ca where the first of their three children was born: Maria Magdalena Lozano (Marita) on March 17, 1971. Lat e r Jose Luis was transferred to Okinawa Japan while his wife stayed in Juarez with her family.
His only son, and namesake, was born in El Paso, TX: Jose Luis Lozano (Joe) on April 2, 1972. A year later the family was transferred to the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. where the third and last daughter was born Damaris Ludim Lozano on September 11, 1974. On June 4, 1973 the United States Air Force ordered Jose Luis Lozano to report to the Pentagon for a period of six months. During this time the Lozano Family attended the United Pentecostal Church in Clinton, Maryland where Herbert Reynolds was Pastor. Brother Robert Ramirez, Secretary o f Evangelism, member of the Executive Board of the Apostolic Assembly in California asked our now pastor to take care of a small mission, which started as a Brazilian mission, while they searched for a replacement. It is here that the Lord drastically changed the lives of the Lozano family. On May 11, 1974, Jose Luis and his wife were installed as temporary pastors of the Washington Apostolic Church in Washington, D.C. The names of the first members were: Francisca Jurado, Ruth Da Silva, Luisa Ferreira, Carmela Hernandez, and Melquiades Hernandez. Later Betty and Gladys Tascon joined the small family.
To date after over 35 years in the ministry, our Pastor continues to serve our Lord. The church that started with only five members now stands with over 400 members. From this church, five other church were started with people who had a vision like their pastor to see the word of God be preached to every living creature: Juan Fortino and family to Miami, Florida, Alvaro Aldana and family to Florida, Carlos Duran and Family to Bolivia where two churches have been started, and Jorge De La Cruz to Charlotte, North Carolina. The church continues to grow in spiritual maturity as well as in number. Soon we will be breaking ground for a new church that will eventually accommodate over 1,000 members. The number of ministries in the church also continues to grow because of the vision God has given our Pastor. It is amazing that our God saw a great potential in a little boy born on March 12, 1947 in Calexico, California named Jose Luis E. Lozano.
It is sufficient to say that in a world that seeks fame and fortune on earth, our Pastor Jose Luis E. Lozano seeks his treasure and crown in heaven where there is no corruption and the Almighty dwells. His ministry has touched many in the Washington Metropolitan area these odd 22 years. It is his personal belief that God has placed him in a position of great responsibility for the souls that Jesus Christ died on the cross for. He feels this burden as an important one since he has a great love for those souls and continues to help, guide, and support all those who desire to seek a personal relationship with the Lord our God.
Being a pastor entails sacrifice, many hours in prayer, fasting, dealing in spiritual warfare, hours of study in the bible, and being an example to all those around him, our Pastor has felt this calling and is willing to fulfill these requirements. His strength to face every day lies in our Lord and in these verses: "We walk by faith and not by sight." (2nd Corinthians) and “May God bless him and give him the strength and wisdom to carryon His work.” (Philippians 6:6-20) As it is benefitting, our Pastor's favorite verse is found in Philippians 3:14, "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."