cross (cultural) training

Take a closer look at the Gwen Hendrix Hispanic Bible Institute.

by David Newton

For more information about the FWB Home Missions Department (now North American Ministries), please visit www.FWBNAM.com..

How many times have you heard the phrase, “investing for eternity?” It has been said so often that we’ve grown calloused to the thought. However, when we give to the Lord’s work, we truly are investing for eternity, an eternity that is certain for every man, woman, boy, and girl on earth.

The eternal destination of the Hispanic population depends largely on someone being willing to go and share the good news that Jesus is their only hope of Heaven. Most of us are satisfied that our closest friends—the ones we share time with at church—are on their way to Heaven. Why should we worry about people we have never met? We can’t even speak their language.

It is time for the living church of God to wake up to the reality that billions of souls live their lives here on earth, only to slip out into eternity lost, without a clear understanding of what Christ did for them. That is not the case for most Americans. In His sovereignty, God has given us His Word in our own language. We know what He has done. We sing of His vast love and His awesome gift of grace. We must remember “to know is to owe.” Because we have experienced God’s grace and love, we owe much to our lost and dying world.

While we all want our churches to be actively involved in reaching their own English-speaking communities, we also want them to reach out to the world. The investment of time, prayer, and finances do impact eternity.

While many Hispanic people come in contact with God’s Word, the message is often tainted. They see priests and popes perform religious rituals, assuring them of God’s forgiveness and a place in Heaven, but the rituals are often just a façade. The Hispanic world needs willing servants who will reach Spanish-speaking communities with the gospel of Christ in their own language.

At the Gwen Hendrix Hispanic Bible Institute, we see these willing servants each term—men and women who have left all to follow God’s call to take the gospel to the world. Their hearts burn with a desire to reach others, young and old, with the honest, loving message of God and His plan for their lives. This is the heartbeat of students who enroll at the Institute.

But this ministry does not come without cost. Books, utilities, housing, and food all add to the cost of running a quality program. Yet no cost is too great to train men and women who will reach others with the gospel and train them to reach others as well. The cycle of the Great Commission is being fulfilled.

While we all want our churches to be actively involved in reaching their own English-speaking communities, we also want them to reach out to the world. The investment of time, prayer, and finances do impact eternity. The fact is, 29 of the 33 graduates of the Institute are currently involved in full-time ministry. Church planters, associates, evangelists, and youth workers have come through the institute and left with one common goal—to win souls.

That’s a 92.5% return on your investment in the Gwen Hendrix Hispanic Bible Institute. Try getting that kind of return in your bank’s savings program. Only in God’s economy do we find such a plentiful harvest! Will you prayerfully consider joining the Institute as we reach the Hispanic community for Christ? Will you invest in the eternity of men, women, and children by making it possible for each to hear the message of Jesus’ love and be saved? The time is short, but we can start today. The need is great, but God is greater.

David Newton is a member of the First Free Will Baptist Church in Inman, SC. He teaches math at Inman Christian Academy, writes for the Spartanburg Herald-Journal, and serves as promotional assistant for the Gwen Hendrix Hispanic Bible Institute.