Iglesia Bautista Nueva Vida – from vision to mission to church

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On Sept. 24, Iglesia Bautista Nueva Vida was recognized as having moved from mission status to church status in a joint service at First Baptist Church, Newberry. First Baptist was the founding church, and Reedy River Baptist Association and other churches in the association helped with the new work effort.

Pictured are (front row, l to r) Joy Young (daughter of Edwin Young), Tin Nichols (missionary/consultant), Rosendo Thomaz (pastor, Iglesia Bautista Nueva Vida), and Ken Harmon (pastor, First Baptist, Newberry); (second row) Ali Valasquez (associate church-starting strategist, SCBC), Alex Cordero (chaplain at Amick Farms and founding pastor), Grace Young (daughter of Edwin Young), and Darrell Rooks (director of The Master’s Mission).

The effort to have a Baptist Spanish-speaking work in Newberry began in the mid-1990s with a vision – to reach Spanish-speaking people who were moving into Newberry with the gospel of Jesus Christ and grow them as his disciples.

Finding a pastor for the work was the hardest challenge. After looking for several years, First Baptist was led to Alex Cordero.

Cordero is chaplain at Amick Farms in Batesburg and also has been called to help start Spanish-speaking congregations. He began conducting services in one of the Sunday school departments at First Baptist on Sunday afternoons. Within a few years, he had a congregation with a stable membership and had also begun to train one of the members, Rosendo Thomaz, to be the pastor.

About the time Thomaz became pastor, a church building was made available for the congregation’s use. It came from The Master’s Mission in Laurens, which had received it from the Edwin Young family in Newberry.

Shortly after the mission obtained the building, the South Carolina Baptist Convention used the building to conduct its first training school for Spanish-speaking pastors and church leaders. Thomaz and two other members of the mission were among the first graduates.

Attendance at Iglesia Bautista Nueva Vida now ranges up to the 80s. They have worship services on Saturday nights and Sunday mornings, and have also started a Sunday school. Thomaz has baptized seven so far this year. The church has developed a constitution and has been incorporated. Its members are already making plans to remodel and enlarge their building.