Churches see growing need for Hispanic ministry leaders

As Hispanic ministries in the state grow, the need for ministry leaders also grows, as is the case with the Hispanic ministry in Center Point. 
   
“After five or six years, it’s finally running like a church,” said Carlos Gomez, pastor of Iglesia Hispana La Nueva Vida (Hispanic Church: The New Life) at First Baptist Church, Center Point, in Birmingham Baptist Association. It has Sunday School classes for all ages, and Hispanic members are growing as leaders, he said. 
   
“We give responsibility and once (the members) take it, we teach them to pass on responsibility to others so we grow leaders,” Gomez said.
   
Once a ministry grows to the point where churches begin to look at hiring a minister to lead the work, there are some things to consider, noted Hispanic ministry leaders.
   
“Every church seeking any leader ought to do a criminal background check and credit report,” said Richard Alford, director of language missions in the office of associational missions and church planting at the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions. This is a protection for the church as well as the members of the congregation.
   
Carlos Lemus, Hispanic missionary for Autaugua and Chilton Baptist associations, added that researching a prospective pastor’s educational background is needed. That includes interviewing the pastor to learn if he understands and follows Baptist doctrine.
   
He noted that Alford’s office, as well as himself and the other associational Hispanic missionaries, is available to help with background checks and the interviewing process.
   
If the sponsoring church is planning on paying the pastor or leader, then it is important to ask if the person has the proper legal documentation to be paid, Lemus noted. “We have people committed and ready and willing to work, but they don’t have papers so the church cannot pay them to work,” he said.
   
Alford noted that churches can face legal actions and fines for employing someone who is not authorized to work. He also explained that the type of visa a person has may determine whether they can be paid for work.
   
Lemus noted that churches can help those who have a call to minister here but are unable to do so because of their legal status.
   
“[The church has] to talk clearly with him to help him see the possibilities to fix the situation,” he said.
   
Sometimes legal residency can be obtained while in the United States. But at times, the person must travel back home in order to gain the necessary papers.
   
Because much of a Hispanic pastor or missionary’s work with his congregation is of a civic nature being bilingual can also be an asset.
   
Lemus said bilingual pastors often serve as interpreters between Hispanics and those in the community such as doctors or lawyers.
   
Overall, he said, a Hispanic pastor needs to have a heart for people. “A minister will be not only a pastor but also a missionary,” Lemus said. A pastor may also have to bridge the gap between the culture of his own nation and the cultures of the Hispanics he serves.
   
It can help if the pastor or ministry leader is either good at communicating with or is from the dominant Hispanic culture in the area he will be working in, Alford noted. “Churches should look at the cultural background of the (leader) and ask themselves, ‘Does he blend with the culture we’re trying to reach?’”