God has blessed Free Will Baptists with a large and growing work in Mexico, but the work has not always been easy.

The Blessing in Mexico

by Thomas L. Marberry

God has blessed Free Will Baptists with a large and growing work in Mexico, but the work has not always been easy. The churches in Mexico have faced problems of persecution from without and strife and conflict from within. In spite of these difficulties, the work has continued to develop. In good times and in bad, Mexican Free Will Baptists have continued to plant new churches, win converts, train their young people, and advance the work of God in their country. Free Will Baptists around the world owe a great debt of gratitude to the men and women of the Free Will Baptist churches in Mexico for their faithfulness and commitment to Christ.

 

The Country                  

Mexico is the second largest country in Latin America behind Brazil. It has a land area of 761,605 square miles or twice the size of the State of Texas. The population is approximately 106 million people, about one-third of the population of the United States. Spanish is the official language. In fact, Mexico is the largest Spanish-speaking country in the world, but there are approximately 50 tribal dialects spoken in addition to Spanish. Mexican Free Will Baptists are actively sharing the gospel with several of these tribal groups. On any given Sunday Mexican Free Will Baptists will worship in Spanish and at least three tribal dialects.

Mexico is traditionally Roman Catholic; today almost 90% of the people classify themselves as Roman Catholic. However, the constitution guarantees religious freedom, and Protestantism is growing rapidly in many areas. When the first protestant missionaries went to Mexico in the 19th century, they faced serious opposition. Several early missionaries and native believers were killed because of their faith. The situation is much better today. Protestants still face opposition from their society (often from friends and family), but there is no longer any official persecution. In most areas of the country it is now possible to purchase property and build protestant church buildings.

 

Free Will Baptist History

The first Free Will Baptist worship service in Mexico was held in Monterrey on the Sunday after Christmas in 1958. Those early efforts led to the founding of the Rose of Sharon Free Will Baptist Church in Monterrey, in the state of Nuevo Leon. That church still continues today under the capable leadership of Rev. Hilarino González.

Within a few years other churches had begun in the states of Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas. Two of the oldest churches still operating today are El Buen Pastor Free Will Baptist Church located in the high desert of Nuevo Leon in the tiny village of El Canelito. Several of our early leaders in Mexico came out of this church.

The second is the Eben-Ezer Free Will Baptist Church located in the city of Altamira in the southern part of the state of Tamaulipas. This church was also founded during the early days and remains one of the larger churches in Mexico. Rev. Lazaro De La Rosa has served as pastor of this fine congregation for many years.

Since the earliest days, a close working relationship has existed between Free Will Baptists in Mexico and those in the United States. The churches in Mexico have worked in cooperation with the Home Missions Department because that department has the responsibility for planting new churches in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Home missionaries who served in Mexico during the early period included James Timmons, Arthur Billows, Jerry Barron, Dave Cochrane, Harvey Aguirre, and Jim Williams. Rev. Jerry Barron continues to serve as an associate missionary at this time.

Rev. James Munsey served as coordinator of the work in Mexico for several years. He made significant contributions to developing new churches and founding the seminary in Reynosa. Rev. Fred Jones served as President of the Bible Institute in Altamira for 10 years. He helped to train several of the leaders in our Mexican churches.

The Home Missions Department has never assigned a large number of U.S. missionaries to serve in Mexico, sending only one or two American couples at a time. These missionaries have concentrated their time and efforts in training Mexican Free Will Baptists. This strategy of emphasizing teaching and training has been successful. Most Free Will Baptist churches in Mexico were not started by missionaries from the United States but by the Mexicans themselves.

 

The Current Situation

Since the founding in 1958, the Free Will Baptist work in Mexico has grown and continues to grow. Two associations now belong to the National Association. According to the latest figures, these associations include 54 organized churches and 29 missions. Some are located in large metropolitan areas such as Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey.

Approximately 30 million people live in Greater Mexico City, and Free Will Baptists have four churches in that area. Rev. José Rendon has pastored the church in Netzahualcóyotl for many years. This church has an active outreach program and has recently baptized six new converts.

Churches are also located in smaller cities such as Altamira, Ciudad Victoria, and Reynosa. A number are located in small towns and rural areas. Some (like the church in Tecacahuaco, Hidalgo) are located in isolated mountain villages. The goal of Mexican Free Will Baptists is to share the gospel with everyone without regard to their economic status, geographical location, or language.

Worship services in Mexican churches are similar to services in the United States, yet there are some significant differences. The most obvious difference is language. Most of our churches worship in Spanish, although several worship in native dialects. In most areas of Mexico, the main worship service is not Sunday morning but Sunday evening. A typical worship service lasts about two hours. Mexican services often involve more singing, fellowship, and testimonies than are normally found in services in the United States. District and state meetings are generally well attended. Simply put, Mexican Free Will Baptists enjoy being together!

 

Young People

Mexico is a young country; 31% of the population is under age 15. Our churches are young as well. People in their teens and twenties often form the largest groups in our churches. Youth camps and youth retreats are held on a regular basis. There are always activities for the youth at state and national meetings. Young people from one church will often make mission trips to help establish new congregations or help build church buildings.

The Free Will Baptists of Mexico operate two educational institutions to provide training for young people. A Bible Institute operates on a beautiful six-acre campus near Altamira in the southern part of the state of Tamaulipas. The Bible Institute graduated two students in May and five last December. They began the fall semester with approximately 18 students.

The Seminary of the Cross in Reynosa, just across the border from McAllen, Texas, primarily serves the churches in northern Mexico. They had 10 students last semester; one student, Mariana Garcia Sotelo, graduated in May. Both the Bible institute and the seminary have auditoriums where ladies meetings, youth retreats, pastor’s conferences, and associational meetings are held on a regular basis.



Pastors

God has blessed the work in Mexico with a group of very dedicated and committed pastors. Without their leadership the work could never have developed as it has. Few churches have the financial resources to support a pastor and his family full-time. Most Mexican pastors also have some type of secular employment; a few receive some financial assistance from churches and individuals in the United States. Our pastors are leading existing churches and founding new churches often at great sacrifice to themselves. They truly give their all to the work.

Both associations in Mexico host annual pastor’s conferences that give our pastors the opportunity to receive additional training and to enjoy fellowship with other pastors. These conferences are expensive but very necessary. Mexico is a huge country, and churches are often hundreds of miles apart. These conferences are often the only opportunities pastors have to come together, help, and encourage one another.

 

Women’s Ministry

Women are a great source of strength and stability for the churches in Mexico. They give freely of their time and energy to develop our churches. Women’s retreats and conferences are a regular feature of the Mexican work. The ladies held a National Women’s Retreat on the Altamira campus April 8-10.

A highlight of the women’s ministry occurred in November of 2007 when seven ladies from Texas traveled to Monterrey to host a women’s retreat for the ladies from Mexico. Between 100 and 125 ladies participated in the various events, and several husbands went along to help care for the children. It was a very special time of fellowship between the ladies from Texas and the ladies from Mexico.

 

Missions

Free Will Baptists in Mexico are committed to planting and developing new churches. Several new churches start every year, and there are too many mission churches to discuss all of them. However, let me mention a few.

A new church is being developed on the campus of the Bible Institute in Altamira under the leadership of Rev. Felix Escobar. Rev. Julio Garcia recently graduated from the Bible Institute in Altamira, and he is going to his home state of Guanajuato to begin a new church.

 

Two recent graduates of the Seminary in Reynosa, Manuel Alvarez Garcia and Jose Gorgonio Cabrera Valencia, are both starting mission churches in the state of Vera Cruz. They are working now to purchase property and build church buildings.

 

Rev. Santiago Regalado Ramirez is a veteran Free Will Baptist pastor in Mexico. For a number of years he led Templo La Hermosa Free Will Baptist Church in the city of Guadalupe, Nuevo Leon, where he enjoyed a very successful ministry.

He felt the leadership of the Lord to leave this well-established work and begin a new mission in the city of Benito Juarez, one of the fastest-growing cities in that region. They have already built their first building and are trying to purchase adjoining property for future expansion.

 

Mexican Free Will Baptists recently began their first mission work in the Yucatan Peninsula in the southernmost part of the country. This will open an entirely new area of ministry for Free Will Baptists. Very few Bible-preaching churches exist in that region of Mexico.

 

Children’s Home

Free Will Baptists in Mexico recently launched a new area of ministry. In cooperation with Harvest Child Care Ministries of Virginia, they have opened a home for children in the city of Tuxtepec in the state of Oaxaca. One of the poorest areas of Mexico, many children survive on the streets with no real home. Yet with help from churches and individuals in the United States, 32 of these boys and girls now have a stable home with food to eat, clothes to wear, and a caring staff. They have the opportunity to hear about Jesus and to become believers. They also have the opportunity to go to school and prepare themselves for the future.

 

Into the Future

God is doing something very special in Mexico, this country with which we share a 2,000-mile border. In many ways, Mexico is very different from the United States. The language and culture are quite different and often difficult for us to understand.

Yet it cannot be denied that the Spirit of God is working in a special way in the midst of circumstances that are often difficult and trying. Pray regularly for the Free Will Baptists of Mexico as they look to the future, to the blessings God has in store for them.

 

About the Writer: Dr. Thomas Marberry is vice president of academic affairs at Hillsdale Free Will Baptist College. He served as president of El Seminario Biblico La Cruz (Bible Seminary of the Cross) in Reynosa, Mexico, for nearly a decade. He and his wife Wilma attend Grace FWB Church in Oklahoma City, OK, where they are involved in Hispanic ministry.