August 21, 2000
Hispanic School sees bi-cultural leaders emerge
___By Ferrell Foster
___Texas Baptist Communications
___SAN ANTONIO--Robert and Sharon Rueda call a village in southern Mexico home. Both grew up there--he in a non-Christian Mexican home, she in the home of missionaries from America.
___By education and traditions, Mrs. Rueda feels American. Based on friends and appreciation for the culture, she feels Mexican.
___"I feel halfway at home in both places but not completely at home in either," she said.
ROBERT & SHARON RUEDA
___"That is perfect for both of us," said her husband, who became a Christian when he was 16.
___Having one foot in both cultures is ideal because of the call to ministry the Ruedas feel. Both are students at Hispanic Baptist Theological School in San Antonio, a school affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas that receives large portions of its funding through the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas missions.
___The Ruedas speak almost as one person in explaining the mix of cultures in which they live and the effect it has on their Christian faith.
___"Not feeling stuck with a culture helps you grasp your identity in Christ more securely," she said. "There are cultural traditions that are beautiful."
___But "we are Christians before we're anything else," he added to complete the thought.
___"It helps us have a middle ground and know who we are," she concluded.
___The couple married in 1998. While on their honeymoon in San Antonio, they visited Hispanic Baptist Theological School, and by the end of the summer they both were students.
___Like the Ruedas' multi-cultural marriage, Hispanic Baptist Theological School has a multi-cultural vision statement. It says the school is to "become a premiere equipper of cross-cultural ministry leaders who serve in a multicultural context."
___"Your perspective changes" as a result of attending the San Antonio school, and that affects your entire life, he said. "Your devotionals are different, your understanding is different."
___"You are more awed by everything," she added.
___Rueda, a self-described "big dreamer," has a vision to "preach the gospel to Latin America and help start new churches."
___His wife supports those dreams. "God has given him a great vision," she said. "I really admire him. I'm his No. 1 fan."
___But she's the better student. "She gets better grades than I do," he admitted, but adding, "That's fine."
___"There's such a strength to studying with your spouse because you're growing together," she explained. "I also feel the call. It's helped us both grow together."
___The two do youth ministry together at Grace Fellowship Baptist Church in San Antonio. It is a multi-cultural congregation that has Hispanic, African-American and Anglo members.
___Grace Fellowship only had two teenagers in Sunday school two years ago. Now, 20 to 30 teens gather on Wednesday nights.
___"I believe in youth ministry," Rueda said, explaining that because he was reached for Christ while a teen he sees how an entire lifetime can be changed when children from non-Christian homes come to faith in Christ as teenagers.
___In addition to their ministry at Grace and their studies, the Ruedas work at the school. He helps with the computers, and she is a receptionist. Going to school has made them trust God to provide for their needs, and that has not always been easy, they said.
___"She was a missionary kid, so she knew how to trust God," Rueda said.
___He grew up in a family that had its own jewelry business and then lost everything to thieves. He had not learned the lessons of trusting God for one's daily provisions.
___But the Ruedas have been students now for two years, and "God has been faithful" in providing for the couple's needs, he said.
___"It has been quite an adventure," and God has been right in the middle of it.
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