Reverend Gildardo Acosta was born in Mizantla, Veracruz, in October of 1936 to Mateo Acosta and Francisca Bello. He grew up traveling between Mizantla and Xalapa, Veracruz, and worked various jobs and trades. He accepted the Lord as his Savior and dedicated his life to His service by attending the Church of the Nazarene Seminary in San Antonio, Texas, from 1967 to 1971, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Divinity and Theology. He served as the Pastor of the Iglesia del Nazareno in Xalapa, Veracruz, where he met and married Elizabeth Escudero in 1973. Soon after, they moved to Posa Rica, Veracruz, where they served the Lord together ministering the gospel within the Latin American Church of the Nazarene. The Lord eventually guided them to Mexico City, Mexico, and Laredo and McAllen, TX, where he completed his pastoral career by retiring in June 2017. After his retirement he continued to serve the Lord and preach the gospel by visiting the sick, leading bible studies, mentoring local pastors, and planning and developing a mission in his hometown of Mizantla, Veracruz. Reverend Gildardo Acosta was married to the late Elizabeth Acosta (January 2018). He leaves behind three children: Carlos Acosta and his wife Sarah, of Fayetteville, NC; Gerson Acosta and his wife Julia, of Dallas, TX; and Janette Martinez and her husband David, of McAllen, TX, and five grandchildren Zachary, Matthew, Sophia, Levi, and Nora.
