The Iglesia Hispanic de la Comunidad (Community Spanish Church), a recent church start sponsored by South Beltline and Temple Baptist churches in Columbia, is currently averaging about 30 Hispanic adults and children.
From left: Ron Daves, pastor of Temple Baptist Church; Bill Dieckmann, director of missions, Columbia Metro Baptist Association; Miguel Hernandez, pastor of Southeast Hispanic Church; Richard Ryals, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church; and Eric Sloan, pastor of South Beltline Baptist Church.The mission church, which held its first service in January 2006, offers a variety of services, including ESL classes on Friday nights, recreational opportunities, and Bible studies on Wednesdays and Fridays. Miguel Hernandez, a native of Monterrey, Mexico, and a graduate of George W. Truitt Seminary, has been serving as its pastor since October.
Community Spanish traces its roots to the ESL classes begun by Temple Baptist Church in 2001. An estimated 350 persons have attended the classes during the past six years.
Jerry Romero, who began assisting with the classes around 2003, arranged for Spanish worship services to be held at South Beltline Baptist Church. The congregation now consists mostly of former residents of the Oaxaca and Chiapas states in Mexico, with some members from Guatemala.
Bob Reese, a volunteer from Temple Baptist, noted that one church member, who had been regular in worship attendance and English classes, recently returned to Mexico, with the charge to be regular in attendance and to provide leadership at the Protestant church in his village. “This is, in essence, our goal, to win the lost to Jesus Christ, disciple them, teach them English for their work here, and encourage those returning to their home communities to be strong Christian leaders in their churches, or missionaries, back home,” Reese emphasized.
Hernandez and other Hispanic leaders in Columbia Metro Baptist Association hope to begin offering seminary courses next fall to equip Hispanic pastors and church leaders.
Other volunteers from Temple include Beth Hollingsworth, children’s leader; Mary Joseph, a USC student and ESL teacher; and Lt. Col. Ken Yates, an instructor at the Fort Jackson Chaplain School.