Ethnic work grows in Ky.
By David Winfrey
Louisville – Carlos De La Barra is something of a missions optometrist. Throughout Kentucky, he helps church leaders see ethnic groups in need of churches and ministries.
“Most of the people cannot see other ethnic groups,” said De la Barra, a native of Chile. As the leader for new ethnic work for the Kentucky Baptist Convention, his job includes helping church leaders improve their vision for such ministries.
“Every time I go to a place and ask the leaders to start … a Hispanic church, 95 percent of the time, the answer is, ‘We don’t have any Mexicans around here,’” he said.
“My first work was to create awareness of the existence of these people,” he added. “When I take them to Wal-Mart on Saturday evening, they can see that these people are here.”
Hispanics are not the only internationals who have come to the Bluegrass State. According to figures from the Kentucky Baptist Convention, there are at least 110 churches and ministries serving at least 15 different people groups. Other ethnic groups in the commonwealth include Korean, Chinese, Philippine, Laotian, Burundi and Haitian.
Baptist ethnic work has grown dramatically since De la Barra came to Kentucky to attend seminary. Outreach to the growing ethnic populations in Louisville was a central part of the recent Crossover Louisville initiative, a series of evangelistic events held before the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting last month.
“I can remember very clearly in 1992, when we arrived here, there was only one Hispanic (Baptist) church in Kentucky,” he said.
Today, “we are having churches with people from Africa, with people from Asia, and with people from almost every country,” De la Barra said. “Most of the Americans have no idea that Kentucky is full of people from other nationalities. This is a strategic way we can fulfill the Great Commission right here in our state.”
According to 2007 estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau (the most recent available), 94,600 residents (or 2.2 percent) are Hispanic or Latino, and another 50,700 (1.2 percent) are Asian.
De la Barra is eager to see the results from the 2010 census because he believes it will reveal an even greater presence of internationals in the commonwealth.
Smaller groups of various ethnicities are locating in Kentucky thanks to the work of Kentucky Refugee Ministries. Since 1990, the agency has placed 4,000 refugees in Kentucky. These have come from 29 nationalities and ethnic groups.
Outreach to Nepalese & Indians
Outreach to ethnic groups takes many forms. In Louisville, for example, Prasad Aghamkar is leading a Bible study for Nepalese refugees who have resettled in Kentucky for the past two years.
“It is very encouraging, and God is really doing a marvelous job,” Aghamkar said, noting that 10-15 Nepalese attend.
“They have a strong Hindu background, but—very surprising—they are very open for the gospel. I think because they were in refugee camps many years,” he said. “Now everything is new, so they want to hear, they want to test.”
Aghamkar’s focus is reaching fellow natives from India. He came to America from India two years ago to study at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, but he has visited America for the past five years, performing concerts featuring traditional music from India. The concerts provided an opportunity for Aghamkar to share his Christian faith.
He performed a similar concert in June at Hurstbourne Baptist Church for Crossover. Playing an harmonium, an instrument similar to an accordion and organ, the event attracted 150 Indians, he said.
“When they are in other countries, they miss Indian music, Indian food, Indian fellowship,” Aghamkar said. “This is a good, humble but healthy beginning.”
Aghamkar was recently ordained by Walnut Street Baptist Church in Louisville for church planting. Soon to be commissioned as an ethnic missionary for the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board, he is currently planting a church among the Nepalese and desires to start a new church for Indian people.
Leadership Vacuum
While ethnic work grows in Kentucky, a lack of trained leadership threatens to hinder new work, officials say.
“We are short in pastors,” De la Barra said. “The people are here. The people are in distress. The people are learning a new life. The people are open to the gospel. The people are ready to receive the good news of salvation, and we don’t have the persons to do it.”
To meet this growing need, leaders started the Hispanic Baptist Bible Institute in 2005.
The three-year program is taught in Spanish by local Hispanic missionaries or IMB missionaries on furlough. “We have students and professors from over 14 countries,” said Director Twilla Hernandez. “We have approximately 85 students right now.”
As the need has grown, sites have expanded beyond the commonwealth. Current teaching sites are in Louisville, Bowling Green, Mayfield, Cincinnati, Chicago and southern Illinois. Support comes from the Kentucky Baptist Convention, the Illinois Baptist State Association and local associations and churches. Campbellsville University hosts the institute’s offices at its Louisville satellite location.
Hernandez cited one recent success story: a graduate revived an Elizabethtown church that had dispersed when the previous missionary retired. “He regathered that group and has started growing the church.
“This is the future of Hispanic ministry,” she said. “The Hispanic population is growing so quickly that we need more churches. But we can’t have more churches if we don’t have trained leaders.”
The Kentucky Baptist Convention is a cooperative missions and ministry organization made up of more than 2,400 autonomous Baptist churches in Kentucky. A variety of state and worldwide ministries are coordinated through its administrative offices in Louisville, Ky. including: missions work, disaster relief, ministry training and support, church development, evangelism and more. For more information, visit www.kybaptist.org.