Tucked into the hills above Chile’s rugged coastline, a small Nazarene church is quietly making a big difference in their community.

“Sometimes all you need is one person to change the world,” says Pastor Lorena Noé.

Lorena knows how true this statement is. She and her husband, René, are co-pastors of the Valparaíso Church of the Nazarene. For more than 10 years, this small congregation has opened its doors each day to welcome two groups: adults living with special needs and children and teens in need of alternative education. Together, the programs are known as Mirada de Amor, or “Look of Love.”

“The church isn’t just known because of our singing and worship, but because we are making a change,” she explains.

The school, an alternative education program, offers classes for students who have struggled in the city’s traditional public schools. Each morning, children ages 3–18 stream through the gate, eagerly chatting as they settle into small classrooms housed within the church’s campus to begin their academic work. A fenced courtyard provides space for physical education and recreation. The main worship room is utilized for weekly chapel services. Throughout the morning, students socialize and learn together in small, tight-knit groups. Then, early in the afternoon, parents come to the gate and students line up for dismissal, and soon the staff is preparing for their next group of guests.

The adults who arrive for the afternoon program bring the same energy. For these attendees, Valparaíso Church is a home away from home. Enrichment activities—like therapeutic care, physical education, arts and crafts, and dancing—help fill the hours with purpose and joy. For their parents, it’s a place where their adult children can experience belonging, true acceptance, and community. The afternoon program now draws more than 40 adults.

“The beautiful thing is that God is glorified, because we are a small church that is sustaining something really, really huge,” says Lorena.

Funding two daily ministries hasn’t always been easy. At the beginning, the vision required a great deal of personal sacrifice. Over time, Pastors Lorena and René worked hard to develop community relationships and sponsorships that sustain a large percentage of daily operating costs. Much of the church’s facility was built through Work and Witness volunteer labor. Nazarene Compassionate Ministries’ child sponsorship program—which includes not just children but also young adults with special needs—connects caring sponsors with the individual young adults at Mirada de Amor, ensuring that a family’s financial need is not a barrier to attendance.

“This is the vision of the church,” explains Lorena. “People ask, how is this possible? I don’t have an answer—I just know it is happening.”

The church has developed a unique educational model that is paying off for the students. Many enter the program frustrated or apathetic about learning. For most, they were unable to stay in their previous schools. But once enrolled, and after some time passes, their attitudes begin to shift.

“We see how the children gradually develop motivation,” shares Lorena. “They’re able to study on their own, and they’re seeking to learn.”

The leadership team is convinced that their model helps students and adults with special needs discover potential they might not otherwise reach. Discrimination, exclusion, poverty, and learning struggles are often burdens that attendees carry into the program. Lorena has seen Mirada de Amor help lift those burdens.

“Within the marginalized, you have people who are not able to access quality education,” she states. “All children have the right to quality education. All children have the right to access education that allows them to grow to be good men and women. This is our banner in our ministry.”

The model for the afternoon program has spread. A church member moved to Brazil and replicated the project. Now, there are 10 Mirada de Amor programs for adults with special needs in that country, demonstrating the high demand for a ministry that uplifts and encourages this population.

“This is about dignity and having opportunities,” says Lorena.

Recognizing the dignity of children and young adults with special needs—a segment of the population often overlooked—is how this church chooses to love its neighbors. From the outside, the building is just one of many on their city street. It’s nondescript other than the cross on one wall, and a church sign at the end of the property. But behind the gate and inside the doors, this small congregation is leaving an indelible mark.

Lorena is convinced they aren’t the only small church capable of this kind of ministry.

“There’s a reason we are a small church, and we will continue being a small church—and God is doing great things through this small church,” she explains. “Wouldn’t it be amazing if small churches could believe what God could do through them, and how God can impact their communities?”

Mirada de Amor can be found on social media here.

Learn more about Mirada de Amor in a story from NCM Magazine here.

Are you interested in sponsor a young adult with special needs from Chile? Visit our website and in the drop-down menus, select “Chile” and “Supportive Education.” Any young adults in need of a sponsor from Mirada de Amor will appear there, and you can click through to begin a sponsorship relationship.