When First Baptist Church, Indian Springs, was approached about being the host facility for the Hispanic Baptist Bible Institute, it embraced the opportunity.
“The interim pastor, Dr. Buddy McGohon, knew of the institute’s need for a new home,” said Charlie Dale, pastor of First, Indian Springs, who came to the church in June 2012. “He asked the … church leadership team, and they approved of it. It’s really a desire to make disciples of all nations. We know that these Hispanic church leaders are in a better position than we are to reach Alabama Hispanics with the truth. We want to be a part of Southern Baptist efforts to strengthen Hispanic churches.”
The reason for the move from First Baptist Church, Hoover, to First, Indian Springs, was convenience, said Cary Hanks, catalytic missionary for the Central Alabama Baptist Hispanic Ministry Coalition.
“It put us in a more centralized location,” Hanks said.
But Indian Springs has provided more than a facility and location — the church has built a partnership with the faculty and students of the institute.
When Dale was being interviewed by First, Indian Springs, he was impressed by the church’s willingness to host the institute.
“The fact that Indian Springs First Baptist Church was hosting the institute told me that this was a church that was more concerned about the Great Commission than they were with preserving their buildings or hoarding their resources,” he said. “I was excited to come lead a church like that.
“I felt that I was coming to a church that didn’t care what the prevailing culture said about Hispanics; they were going to be true to our biblical mandate to reach the nations and love the sojourners,” Dale said.
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