January 5, 2000
Hispanic Baptists urged
to 'rise up' as missions force
___By Jenny Rogers
___SBC International Mission Board
___ROCKVILLE, Va. (BP)--It's time for Southern Baptists to take stock of the tremendous contribution Hispanics are making in the world of missions--and for Hispanic Baptists to "rise up" and use their cultural gifts in missions around the world, a missionary to Latin America told Hispanic Baptist leaders.
___"When I see what God is doing among the Hispanics, I realize ... we are not here in the United States because of political or economic situations. We are here because God has a plan to reach a lost world," said Jason Carlisle, a missionary to Uruguay who was raised in Latin America and now helps mobilize Hispanics for world missions.
RUDY SANCHEZ (left), chairman of the Executive Board of the Baptist General Convention of Texas--recently elected the first Hispanic in that position--voices a prayer of blessing for 121 Southern Baptist missionaries who had just completed seven weeks of orientation before leaving for the field. Sanchez was one of 29 Hispanic Baptist leaders who participated in a dialogue with International Mission Board leaders in December. (BP photo by Roy Burroughs)
___Carlisle addressed 29 Hispanic Baptist leaders who met with International Mission Board staff, including President Jerry Rankin, for a dialogue at the board's Missionary Learning Center in Rockville, Va., Dec. 9-10.
___Participants came from states with large Hispanic populations like California, Florida and Texas, as well as from smaller Hispanic pockets in states like Pennsylvania and Alabama.
___The dialogue acknowledged the dramatically increasing significance of Hispanics in the United States.
___The Latino population in the United States has grown 38 percent since 1990, while the overall population has increased a mere 9 percent, according to Newsweek magazine. By 2005, Hispanics are projected to be the largest minority in the country--representing nearly a quarter of the total population.
___By harnessing God's gift of Hispanics at home, both North American and international missions will benefit, Carlisle said.
___"The United States is in a spiritual crisis ... . We're falling apart. Hispanics have something to give the United States. We have to rise up," Carlisle said. "If we use kingdom principles, we make the powers of darkness tremble."
___The program included presentations by IMB staff, question-and-answer periods and an extended dialogue with Rankin.
___Participants also heard testimonies from Benjamin and Barbara Herrera, recently appointed missionaries to Mexico, and Olga Nava, missionary in residence and adjunct professor at Hispanic Baptist Theological School in San Antonio.
___More than 50 Hispanic Southern Baptist missionaries currently serve in 25 countries around the world.
___About half serve in Latin countries like Argentina and Mexico, but the IMB's regional leaders say missionaries like Pablo Zorzoli, International Service Corps worker in France, and Joe and Gloria DeLeon in Russia are experiencing good success among their target people groups.
___The dialogue stressed strengths of Hispanic missionaries, such as strong family traditions and easier acceptance by some other people groups.
___Richard Hernandez, pastor of Antioquia Mexican Baptist Church and president of the San Antonio Hispanic Fellowship in Texas, noted that Hispanics often are more readily accepted than Anglos because their physical characteristics can help them blend into Middle Eastern or Southeast Asian crowds.
___And because Hispanics are familiar with discrimination, other minorities view them with an emotional connection--that they are "one of us," he said. "Just because of who we are, doors open to us."
___Hispanic leaders spelled out three specific changes they hope to see in the IMB's programs: intentionality about involving Hispanics in missions, production of quality promotional and language materials and more Hispanics on staff.
___Rankin said he looks forward to a growing partnership with Hispanics in missions.
___"We were thrilled to be able to share our Great Commission vision with Southern Baptist Hispanic leaders and strengthen our partnership for mobilizing Hispanic churches for joining us in our global task," he said. "There is a readiness to move from being a mission field to joining in the missionary role as a growing constituency among Southern Baptists."
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