A few years ago a ministry sprang up at Sycamore Presbyterian Church in Midlothian, Virginia. A small group of Spanish speaking students out of their ESL program wanted to meet for worship in Spanish. That group has grown and matured. I have been pastoring the group in Spanish there since December of 2018 after my wife, Becky, after I returned from several years with Mission to the World in Bogotá, Colombia. In August of 2020 Iglesia Hispana was approved by the James River Presbytery as their first Hispanic church plant. And it is exciting to see the Lord at work. On any given Sunday our attendees are from Mexico, El Salvador, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Honduras. They are also from all types of religious backgrounds, but very few from any kind of Reformed or Presbyterian background. But God is at work. They are hungry for the Word of God. The Friday night Bible Study has continued to grow and during the pandemic we have added a weekly prayer meeting by Zoom.
This is an amazing new opportunity for ministry in our area. There are no other reformed or Presbyterian Spanish-speaking church plants in the area. But people are hungry to hear what the Lord has to say. We are seeing the fields ripe for the harvest – not only among the first generation Spanish speakers, but also as we are reaching out through their families to the second and third generation hispanic population. So, while most of our ministry is in Spanish, we are growing in our outreach to third culture kids who are often lost in the shuffle .
And the opportunities are continuing to grow. This work needs your support. Pray for us as we seek to be a bold and biblical witness of the “Buenas Noticias” of Jesus Christ.