During the summer of 2003, my wife and I were driving vans in the Grace Baptist Church bus ministry. We brought kids of all races to hear the gospel and many were saved. When we would do follow-up visitation in the homes of the kids to witness to the parents and family, we ran into the Spanish language barrier. We didn't speak enough Spanish and they didn't speak enough English. It is happening al
l around the United States. There are hundreds maybe thousands–of tight-knit Spanish communities all across the United States with no Gospel witness. The vast majority of Independent Baptist Churches are not equipped to take the Gospel to them due to the language barrier. Many of the adult Hispanics in these areas do not speak/understand enough English to understand the Gospel. In order to reach them, we must become fluent in their language. God has broken my heart for these people. He has laid a heavy burden on my heart to plant Hispanic Baptist churches here in the United States. I believe the "national pastor" philosophy needs to be applied within our borders. We need to train Hispanic preachers to reach areas that non-Hispanics cannot evangelize.
