Ministry and missions efforts from members of First Baptist Church, Geraldine, could be experienced in Venezuela and Alabama for years to come.
The Dekalb Baptist Association church — along with First Baptist Church, Springville, and Mount Vernon Baptist Church, Albertville — has launched an effort to plant a church in an area known as San Francisco in Maracaibo, Venezuela.
The Alabama churches are partnering with First Baptist Church, Maracaibo, Venezuela, to make this happen.
Geraldine Pastor Mel Johnson and members of the Geraldine and Springville churches had traveled to Maracaibo on an outreach and discipleship trip sponsored by the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions (SBOM) in 2001.
While there, they worked with First, Maracaibo, and its pastor David Romero, in the San Francisco area. About 160 Venezuelans there received Christ.
Johnson and other returned in 2002 to help disciple those believers and discussed with Romero the possibility of beginning a church there.
“Of four [mission sites], San Francisco was the one the Lord opened the doors for,” Johnson said. “First Baptist, Maracaibo, has called a pastor and has volunteers to fill the staff positions, so now they need financial assistance and help training the leadership.”
Reggie Quimby, director of global partnerships for the SBOM, said this partnership was “direct missions.” “They want to have a contributing part, and to be directly involved with the [Venezuelan] congregation,” he said.
Johnson said this is a partnership that he expects to last two or three more years, as the churches plan to help with the construction of a building once a suitable location is found.
He also hopes that as the Alabama churches are helping in Venezuela, so can Romero and his church help the Alabama churches with their Hispanic ministries. (See story on Romero’s recent efforts in Alabama, page 8.)
“Getting to know Pastor David and First Baptist, Maracaibo, has been the greatest blessing in my life, and God has blessed [FBC Geraldine] as well,” Johnson said.
“[The partnership] has opened our horizon to missions and increased our understanding of missions.”
(TAB)
Share with others: