Hispanic Evangelism Conference aided by grandmother's testimony
___SAN ANTONIO--A great-grandmother from Houston paved the way for two preachers during the general session of the Hispanic Evangelism Conference Jan. 29 in San Antonio, which drew Spanish-speaking Baptists from Texas and Mexico.
___"It's just overwhelming to see people surrender to the Lord," said Amadita Valdéz, a member of Iglesia Bautista South Main in Houston. The mother of nine children, grandmother of 27 and great-grandmother of eight told of the joy of sharing her Christian faith.
___That paved the way for Mario González, pastor of Primera Iglesia Bautista Mexicana in El Paso, to speak about three "needs of the messenger" faced especially by pastors.
___First is the "need to know ourselves," González said.
___There are different kinds of preachers, he said. Many are sincere, but others are more concerned with social status, or they "abuse the message" by using the pulpit for self-interest, he said. Some pastors "preach as with a bat, ... pounding, pounding, pounding" people with their message.
___González noted several spiritual gifts that are associated with the calling to be a pastor, but he said "very few" pastors have all them. Pastors must know both their strengths and weaknesses, he explained.
___Second, he spoke about the "need to persevere."
___All pastors at times become demoralized, he said. They want to quit. But he urged pastors to remember that "to be discouraged is normal."
___Third, Gonzales spoke of the "need to run."
___He encouraged pastors to run from sexual temptations. Christian workers, including pastors, evangelists and Sunday School teachers, also must run from the abuse of power, he added.
___Alberto Mottesi, an evangelist from Huntington Beach, Calif., preached about three promises revealed in the Bible.
___First, he said, Jesus will reign. "It will be fulfilled, and it is being fulfilled today."
___Second, every knee will bow before Jesus. Christ is not interested in religion or politics. The Apostle Paul's one passion was to "lift up the name of Jesus Christ," Mottesi said.
___Third, all earth will be full of the knowledge of God, he said. "There will not be any place that will not be penetrated by the gospel of Christ. It doesn't matter how fragile you may be; ... remember he has chosen you."
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