Bible Study Becomes Hispanic Ministry

Members of a Bible study in Gilbert, Ariz., have in a roundabout way laid the groundwork for the founding of a new, full-fledged ministry for Hispanics.

When the Hispanic group began the Bible study, they had no notion that they might start the ministry that, organizers say, will be located in the family center of a Reformed Church in America congregation in nearby Scottsdale, Ariz.

But Bible study members have simply been following the direction in which, they believe, God is leading them.

The Bible study began when the group started meeting regularly under the leadership of a lay pastor in Gilbert, a sprawling community near Phoenix.

The Bible study was going well, but then the leader of this group suddenly left to take a job elsewhere.

Hoping to continue the Bible study, the group decided to contact Israel Camacho, one of the pastors of New Hope Community, a Reformed Church in America (RCA) congregation in Gilbert, for assistance.

Camacho, however, was planting a church in nearby Mesa and was extremely busy. So, he contacted Pastor Richard Caballero at Longview Community (RCA) in Phoenix.

Caballero agreed to meet with the group once a week for Bible study. He soon discovered that many of the members lived around The Garden RCA in Scottsdale.

Caballero asked them if he could contact Gene James, pastor at The Garden on their behalf. They agreed and so he did.

Putting in the call had to be a providential move, not just a coincidence, since James had been aware in recent years of a great need for Hispanic ministries building up in the area.

With that in mind, Caballero and James discussed the possibilities of collaborating in church planting.

The Garden graciously welcomed members of the Bible study group to meet and to start a ministry to Hispanic people in The Garden’s family center initially. This will give the congregation a smaller, more intimate feeling.

As the ministry grows, it will expand into the main sanctuary.

The ministry is set to start with a core group of Hispanic families and then branch out to more Hispanic families in the community.

James says that the Reformed faith fits with the needs of many Hispanic people who are evangelicals. “Being reformed is essentially revival at its best,” he says.

He went on to say that “what we are doing (in the new venture) is taking something and reshaping it in a way to glorify God. At the core, that is what we are supposed to do in every aspect in life.”

The Church Multiplication Initiative, a church-planting and church-growth collaboration between the RCA and the Christian Reformed Church, is supporting this church plant through training as well as funding.

The projected date for the ministry to launch is July 13, 2013. For further information on the Hispanic Ministry at The Garden, email the church at [email protected].

For more information on the Church Multiplication Initiative, contact Amy Navarro, administrative coordinator for the initiative: Email: [email protected]. Office: 1-800-226-2175 ext. 0756. Direct: 616-224-0756;