I am very pleased to announce a new agreement between the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas and Buckner International. We reached an agreement with Pastor Jesse Rincones, Sr. Pastor of Alliance Baptist Church in Lubbock, Texas and President of the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas (HBCT), also called Convencíon. Convencíon is comprised of over 1,100 Hispanic Baptist congregations across the state of Texas. You can read the full story at the Baptist Standard.
The Missions Agreement calls for greater engagement of Buckner with Hispanic churches affiliated with Convencíon. We will be working together through Humanitarian Aid projects such as Shoes for Orphans Souls, mission trips, and enlistment of mission volunteers to work both in Texas and across the globe. I am very encouraged that the Officers of Convencíon would consider this kind of collaboration following the Centennial Celebration in 2010.
The idea of developing this kind of relationship developed in one of the most unlikely places as several Hispanic pastors, Officers of Convencíon, and Staff leadership were with me on a trip to Egypt. As we shared time together in Cairo and on the Nile River, we began to brainstorm about the impact of Hispanic churches in global missions. We agreed that the time had come for Hispanic churches to take their place as a missions force ready and able to contribute to this kind of Kingdom work.
The precursor to this vision trip was the vision of Buckner donors who wanted to see Hispanic pastors experience the connection of their history, culture, and faith to Muslim friends in an Arab cultural context. The trip took place in 2010 and is now bearing the kind of fruit we had hoped for. The vision of two faithful stewards continues to bear fruit and strengthen the opportunities for collaboration and the advancement of Kingdom work both in Texas and in other places around the world.
We will be launching efforts from this agreement in February and will highlight the agreement at the annual meeting of Convencíon this June in San Antonio, Texas. Buckner does great work in over 115 cities around the world and we realize that collaboration with local congregations is critical to impacting lives for the better whether here in Texas or across the globe.
Thank you for sharing this good news Dr. Reyes. It's been a dream of mine to see the Hispanic Churches more involved in our international work. Their command of the Spanish language and understanding of the culture would be so helpful in the Latin countries where we serve, especially in the area of reaching vulnerable children and families with the gospel.
Posted by: Leslie Chace | January 25, 2012 at 04:05 AM