Home Missions reaches out to the rapidly-expanding Spanish-speaking population in North America.

Spanish Expansion

by Larry Powell

The Free Will Baptist Hispanic Ministry in the United States is a rapidly-growing segment of our movement. It is no wonder because the field is indeed ready to harvest. According to census information, approximately 40 million Spanish-speaking people from many countries of the world have come to live in our cities. Several religious denominations report that the growth of the Hispanic church is the “leading edge of growth” in their present day movement.

Every day and everywhere we find thousands of Spanish speakers working in the various industries serving hometown USA. They labor in construction, agriculture, medical services, banking, and in our educational system. They are the new face of business in our cities. The buying power of the U.S. Hispanic market is reportedly more than 228 billion dollars per year.

Because of this tremendous influx into our country, Free Will Baptist state leaders have organized outreach ministries to the Spanish-speaking community—people hungry for the gospel and Christian fellowship. These missionaries are not starting a single church but multiple churches in nearby towns and cities. Many pastors work through Spanish-speaking laymen to open their churches for Bible study during the week, on Saturday evenings, and Sunday afternoons. We estimate that Free Will Baptist church planters have won many of their own people to Christ through this quickly-expanding ministry.

The driving force behind the movement in North America is the Gwen Hendrix Free Will Baptist Hispanic Seminary in Inman, South Carolina. The seminary and its satellites have graduated 103 graduates who are hard at work in churches and missions across the United States. Most students who attend the seminary are unable to pay for tuition, housing, and food. If you would like to help with this ministry, please send your designated gift to the Home Missions Department, and we will forward the total amount to the school. Together we can win the Spanish-speaking people that God has allowed us to encounter here in America.

About the Writer: Larry Powell is general director of the Home Missions Department. Learn more about the ministry of Home Missions at www.homemissions.net.

Graduated to a New Mission

By Pam Hackett

Walking into the auditorium of First Free Will Baptist Church in Inman, South Carolina, for a graduation ceremony was something I had done many times before. I had the privilege to teach for 20 years at Inman Christian Academy and participated in many graduations. But on this graduation day, I represented Women Nationally Active for Christ, accepting recognition for providing needed items from the WNAC Provision Closet to students at Gwen Hendrix Free Will Baptist Hispanic Bible Institute.

As I took my place in the pew, my mind flooded with memories. I recalled previous graduations and proud moments of many of my former students. For years, Gwen Hendrix—the institute is appropriately named in her memory—and I directed musicals for graduation programs. I missed seeing her familiar face at the piano, but was thankful to see Earl Hendrix take his place on the platform in preparation for the service.

Larry Powell, director of the Home Missions Department, was the key speaker for the ceremony. He challenged the graduates to be the salt of the world, flavoring it for God. He charged them to live pure lives in a sinful world and reminded them of the great task to spread the gospel (Matthew 5:13).

This graduation was quite different from other graduations I had attended in the auditorium. I could sense the intense burden of the students as they realized the magnitude of responsibility being placed on their shoulders. The need to train more Hispanics to minister in America is greater now than ever before. The United States ranks second in the world in Hispanic population.

The students were deeply thankful for the educational opportunities provided for them by the Institute. They were grateful for their redemption from the bondage of Roman Catholicism. They were earnest in their desire to be a part of the Great Commission, to share the gospel to those who desperately need freedom from the bonds of false religion.

Since opening its doors in 2004, the institute has had the privilege of seeing 103 students graduate. These young men and women are laboring faithfully in Mexico, El Salvador, Peru, Columbia, Chile, Guatemala, Costa Rico, Puerto Rico, and in churches across America.

Please remember to pray for this ministry and consider how God might use you to send out laborers into the fields ready for harvest. The work ahead is great, and we need your help in reaching the Spanish-speaking community.

About the Writer: Pam Hackett and her husband Tim live in Spartanburg, SC, where he pastors Fairview FWB Church. Pam is a member of the Women Nationally Active for Christ Executive Committee and has worked for many years on the WAC local level.