National Fellowship of Hispanic Southern Baptist Churches

PHOENIX (BP)--The 16th Annual Reunion of the National Fellowship of Hispanic Southern Baptist Churches will celebrate the theme "There is Life in Jesus" as they conduct a week-long evangelistic crusade in Phoenix and surrounding areas.

The crusade, which begins Monday, June 9, will feature evangelists and lay leaders from Hispanic churches nationwide who will visit neighborhoods and lead evangelistic services in local churches.

Workshops and a concert featuring Miguel Angel Guerra, Miguel Cejas and others will be held at North Phoenix Baptist Church June 14-15. Workshop titles include "Foreign Missions," "Faith," "Leadership," "Financial Healing," "Youth," "Fighting Pornography" and others. The business session will be Sunday at 4:30 p.m. followed by special video presentations.

The Hispanic fellowship's concluding session will be June 15 at 7:30 p.m. with a message from the fellowship's president, Augusto Valverde, pastor of Resurrection Baptist Church in Miami.

The national fellowship was begun by 14 Hispanic leaders meeting in Las Vegas in 1987. The founders wanted "to bring about an awareness of Hispanic needs," said Bob Sena, who was elected by that group as their liaison to Southern Baptist Convention entities. Sena currently is manager of the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board church planting group's Hispanic unit.

"It was observed that Hispanics and other ethnic Baptists should be given more representation and participation in the planning of their future within the Southern Baptist Convention," Sena recounted.

At the same time, the founders were committed "to motivate Hispanic congregations to be more involved in and cooperative with ... all levels of the Southern Baptist Convention: association, state and national," Sena said, and they rooted their doctrinal stance in the SBC's Baptist Faith and Message statement of beliefs.

Hispanic churches interested in being a part of the fellowship may contact Julio Fuentes at (305) 978-5253 or Julhist@aol.com.

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