Intentional Connections

By Ismael Castillo

In the department for Hispanic Ministries & Spanish Evangelism, we feel blessed to collaborate with every ministry to serve our constituents and promote the vision and initiatives of the Texas Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in the Spanish language.

God has blessed our efforts, and as of December 2022, the Texas Conference has 144 Spanish-speaking churches and companies plus 31 new groups. With the help of our great team of 84 pastors, the message of the soon coming of Jesus is preached in every corner of our territory.

During the current quadrennial, which includes two years of the pandemic, the Hispanic work has experienced tremendous growth (a) reaching 29,891 members, (b) with a total of 4,660 baptisms and (c) a tithe increase of 22 percent, surpassing the $20 million mark in 2021 and 2022.

To fulfill the mission established by Jesus Christ in Matthew 28:18-20, under the slogan Cuenta tu Historia (Tell Your Story), we organized two training events per year to reach each of our 10 areas within the Texas Conference. The first training event focused on evangelism, and the second was oriented toward local church elders. This year, we began a new training format with tutorials on leadership sharing through our virtual platforms.

We strongly encourage each church to complete at least two evangelistic cycles yearly. In addition, we organize a special evangelistic emphasis in two regional areas each year through the MAS (More) initiative. In recognition of the complexity of our sociocultural fabric, we also encourage our congregations to plant Englishspeaking groups in their facilities.

Responding to the restrictions created by the pandemic, we began the virtual evangelistic effort CONECTADOS (Connected) in 2020. Since then, we’ve held 11 virtual events on social media with the participation of our area pastors in partnership with Ismael Castillo, Alejandro Bullón, Bruno Raso, Arnaldo Cruz and Elmo Rodríguez.

We believe in providing opportunities for the continuous academic growth of our members and leaders, so in 2019, we established the Instituto de Discipulado Adventista de Texas (Adventist Discipleship Institute of Texas). And over the past three years, in partnership with Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Mich., we have offered the following courses: “Small Groups Leadership,” “Church Leadership” and “Fundamentals of Adventism.” By the grace of God, we have more than 350 students connecting virtually to receive academic instruction in the current course.

Finally, to create a safe environment and promote the well-being of our pastors, we started the program Ni un Ministro Más (Not One More Minister), which seeks an honest dialogue about the needs and challenges that pastors suffer in silence. A virtual connection every three months sends a daring message: WE WILL NOT LOSE ANOTHER PASTOR for lack of information or support in prayer.

I would like to express my deepest gratitude for the constant support and friendship of our team and, above all, thanks to God.