South Plains Hispanic pastors emphasize hard work

For many South Plains families, the lesson learned from working the land is clear: Hard work brings better results. Two pastors of Hispanic Baptist churches in the region emphasized the same is true when it comes to nurturing disciples in their congregations.

Ricardo Morin works in an oil field in addition to serving Iglesia Bautista de Fe in Sundown as pastor and the Compañerismo South Plains as president. He has presided over the Hispanic Baptist association several times in the past 20 years.

Larry Jimenez serves at Iglesia Bautista Galilea in Ropesville and oversees the men’s group of the compañerismo.

Farm lands and oil fields surround the South Plains, with plenty of churches around the area as well, Jimenez said. However, many families that attended churches for generations now include young adults and teenagers who no longer seem interested in church fellowship, he added.

“People have been hurt by churches or by their ministers. So, they avoid the church now,” Jimenez said. “There are also many other church options for them. So, if they do not like something about one church, they can go find another one next week.”

But in any setting where people interact, some will say or do something that can hurt others, Morin interjected. Even pastors and their families get hurt by the words and actions of people in the congregation, whether those are intentional or not.

Morin said he hopes churches in the South Plains will help each other to focus on what really matters—following Jesus.

“I try to feed the church, to nourish them so they can mature,” Morin said. “I have been called to do that.”

‘Doers,” not just “hearers”

Church members are fed and nourished—and grow in Christian discipleship—when they hear the truth over and over and then practice it, he said.

“I explain to the church why it is so important not only being here but also be doers of what we hear from the word of God,” Morin explained.

Church leaders not only need to invite people in the community to church, but also help them become active participants, Jimenez said.

For that reason, Morin has urged families of Iglesia Bautista de Fe to hold prayer meetings in their homes, and encouraged mission efforts involving Compañerismo South Plains.

Through prayer meetings, families of Sundown have more spiritual interactions than just once a week on Sundays, he noted.

And through the mission work in Mexico that Compañerismo South Plains supports, congregations of the association take notice of the needs other communities have, Morin said.

“We did not support any missions when I first started, so this is something good we are doing, and we need to do more of that,” said Morin.

Drawing from previous experiences in other churches and the relationships they have with other congregations, Jimenez and Morin seek to mentor and guide pastors in their area—and hold them accountable for the examples they set.

Many times, congregations adopt what they see their pastor doing and ignore what Jesus calls the church to do, Morin noted.

Even when a pastor works hard, that does not guarantee a church always will grow, he acknowledged. Still, the call of God requires faithful service and deep trust in the One who calls, he emphasized.

Growing churches can give renewed vision to the compañerismo, which has been in existence nearly four decades, Morin said.

If churches focus only in providing comfort without urging their members to practice what Jesus commanded, then they will not grow spiritually, Jimenez said. That’s the kind of growth that really matters, he stressed—growing as faithful followers of Jesus.