Most of the 162 Hispanic congregations in the Pacific Union held evangelistic campaigns during the past five years, keeping in mind the ever present mission to bring others to the loving arms of our Lord and Savior.
I am so thankful to work in such a blessed union. We have an army of 150 consecrated and dedicated Hispanic pastors and 43,522 lay members. Together we work to accomplish the mission given to our church; we obey and trust in His power and strength.
To promote evangelism, the Pacific Union Hispanic Ministries Department has identified three areas to highlight throughout the past five years. The focus of all planned activities has been nurture, training and equipping. With this in mind, the following initiatives were launched:
Seminars — For couples and families, lay leaders, elders, women’s ministries, professionals and health.
Youth meetings — Congresses, Bible bowls and mini Olympic activities.
Ministerial meetings — A time of encouragement, evangelism planning and fellowship.
Evangelism Activities
The Arizona Conference has baptized about 500 members each year from their evangelistic efforts. As of December of 2005, the membership had grown to 4,672. This conference is experiencing explosive results.
One of the rewarding aspects of my work at the Pacific Union is the time I spend doing evangelism. Here's a story of a "lifestyle evangelist."
Early in life, Lizette Villasana showed interest in sports. When she was in elementary school, she was one of the fastest runners on the track team. When she graduated from high school in San Diego, she was offered several scholarships that would pay all her tuition if she would join the sports teams.
During that time, she learned about the Sabbath, received Bible studies and joined the Adventist church. That created a conflict with her Friday evening and Saturday sports events. Lizette had to decide between the glories offered by sports or her loyalty to God. She decided to follow Jesus and give up the fame and the scholarships that sports brought.
A Special Challenge
There are about 15,000,000 Hispanics within the union territory, and these huge numbers are a challenge to our churches. Of the 10 U.S. cities with the largest Latino concentration in 2000, five are inside our union.
Here's a look at the stats from the past five years:
Membership
2000 = 41,427
2005 = 43,522
Baptisms
2001-2005 = 12,177
Tithes
2001-2005 = $97,961,463
It is our desire and prayer that our Lord will continue blessing the Hispanic membership in the Pacific Union.
