Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Virginia Hispanic Mission E-Letter
Greg and Sue Smith, CBFV missionaries
April 2004

What an exciting time to be on mission with God! God has richly blessed our family by calling us to serve with CBF of Virginia as missionaries among the Hispanic/Latino community. The Latino population truly represents the cutting-edge of Christian mission in Virigina and throughout the US. We thank God for giving CBFV a heart for Hispanic/Latino mission and for placing us in this position of service. We hope that this regular Hispanic mission e-letter keeps you informed about our ministry and encourages you to pray often that our ministry glorifies God, meets the needs of our Latino neighbors and friends, and leads many to faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

Ministry Update 2003-2004
Since June 2003, we have spent much time criss-crossing Virginia learning from both English- and Spanish-speaking churches and leaders about Latino ministry. We are thankful for the many throughout Virginia who faithfully serve this population group and for what they have taught us. In March 2004, we helped coordinate two statewide events that gave us additional insight, first the Hispanic-Bilingual Worship Service at the CBFV General Assembly on March 12, and second the Hispanic Pastors and Leaders Conference at the Co-Missioners Celebration on March 20. Though we spent 12 years as international missionaries in Costa Rica, mission among US Latinos is not the same as in a Latin American country. There are cultural, linguistic, generational, and legal differences to consider, as well as the difficulty of ministry to a people group often not predisposed to trusting unknown "gringo" or North American faces like ours. Yet we've found that Latinos are a warm, friendly, family-oriented, and spiritually-sensitive people who, like non-Latinos, are looking for a better life for themselves and their children.

LUCHA Ministries
CBFV charged us this past year with locating a specific place in Virginia where the Latino population is growing, where little if any concentrated work among Latinos is currently taking place, and where a new Latino Baptist congregation can successfully be planted, in order to live and work there for the next several years in long-lasting outreach and ministry. After much prayer and many conversations across the state, we determined the Fredericksburg-Stafford-Spotsylvania area to fit the criteria. In our area, anywhere between 7,000 to 10,000 Latinos live, and perhaps even more. We will share more of our findings about the Latino population in this area in future e-letters.

Yet God is working among more than just Baptists to reach out to Latinos. Conversations with Rev. Victor and Heather Gomez of Fredericksburg United Methodist Church reveal that their denomination also has a heart for Latino mission in our area. Our meetings with the Gomezes, along with the support of the Virginia Conference of The United Methodist Church and CBF of Virginia, have led the four of us to form a joint, cooperative Latino ministry in our area which we are calling "LUCHA Ministries." The acronym LUCHA stands for "Latinos Unidos por Cristo en Hermandad y Apoyo" (Latinos United through Christ in Brotherhood and Support), while the Spanish word lucha carries the idea of a persistent even determined struggle. From Genesis 32, the story of Jacob's struggle (lucha) with the heavenly messenger provides a window onto the Latino experience in our own country, where men, women and children struggle every day to navigate spiritual, cultural, social and legal systems in their quest to become fully-functioning members of their communities. Our goal through LUCHA Ministries is to establish a Ministry Center in Fredericksburg designed to share the good news of Jesus Christ with the Latino community by building support networks within the community, addressing social and spiritual needs, serving as information brokers and community advocates, and connecting with Christian congregations in their own ministry efforts with Latinos. jWe will also mutually support each other through LUCHA Ministries in beginning new Latino congregations or faith communities within our own Baptist and Methodist traditions.

As examples of this new ministry approach, we planned for Ash Wednesday this year a Spanish-language service held in the chapel of Fredericksburg Baptist Church. Though sparsely attended, it served as an initial attempt to offer Christian ministry to the Latino community and confirmed the conviction that Latino ministry is more relational than programmatic. For the four Saturdays of April, Greg and Victor are directing a 30 minute radio program for the Fredericksburg station Latino 1350 AM at 11:30 am called "¿Cuál es tu Lucha?" ("What is your struggle?") to tell people who we are, provide a short devotional thought, and feature a topic of interest to the Latino community that invites listeners to call in with their concerns. Our invited guests have included a local educator, a Hispanic police officer, and a Hispanic lawyer. Also, on April 10 we sponsored a "Sábado de Gloria" ("Glorious Saturday") Holy Week event at the Bragg Hill Family Life Center with games, music, food, and a short devotion on the meaning of the cross of Christ. The first week of May, Fredericksburg Baptist Church will sponsor a week-long series of events to promote and support LUCHA Ministries in the community.

"Enter the Joy"
CBF of Virginia finances our Hispanic ministry budget through its "Enter the Joy" mission challenge. The goal is to raise $125,000 a year from cooperating churches and individuals to support a number of mission initiatives, with Hispanic mission being the top priority. Taken from Matthew 25 and the Parable of the Talents, the mission challenge encourages CBF/CBFV churches and individuals and others to invest in God's Kingdom by giving to both local and global missions through CBF of Virginia. The joy comes as we see lives changed for Christ through the sacrifice of the gifts that are made. Please consider how God may be leading you or your church to contribute regularly and faithfully to the CBFV "Enter the Joy" challenge. For more information about the Enter the Joy challenge, please contact the CBFV office at 804-213-0412.

The Smith Family
Finally, while our ministry this year has just gotten under way, personally (and thankfully!) we are drawing some things to a close. In May, Sue and Greg both finish graduate and post-graduate degree programs that have occupied their time and energy for the past five years. Sue graduates with the Master of Divinity degree from Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond and the Master of Social Work degree from Virginia Commonwealth University. Greg completes his studies in the Doctor of Philosophy program from Asbury Theological Seminary as well.

Our two boys, Jason and Kyle, also complete important steps in their education only to move on to higher ground. Our oldest son, Jason, graduates Massaponax High School in June in preparation for entering Ouachita Baptist University in Arkansas for the Fall 2004 semester. Kyle, our middle schooler, finishes the 8th grade at Thornburg Middle School and will begin Stafford High School in September. Our family is also in the process right now of moving from our home in Spotsylvania County to another residence along the Rappahannock River in Stafford County. Rather than being surrounded by townhouses in a fast-growing area of the city, we are now living in a country setting nestled among tall Black Walnut, Beech, Maple and other hardwood trees overlooking the old Embry Dam on the Rappahannock.

Prayer Concerns
As our ministry develops, we look forward to sharing personally with Baptist congregations across Virginia our vision for LUCHA Ministries. In fact, this venture will become the main focus of our conversations and visits outside the Fredericksburg area. We also look forward to keeping you regularly informed about our ministry and our family through this e-letter. You may also click on the web at www.cbfv.org for additional information about CBF of Virginia and about our missionary journey. In your prayers, please remember the following concerns:

1. Please pray for LUCHA Ministries and the ministry team of Greg and Sue Smith and Victor and Heather Gomez. Pray that we will continue to learn the needs of the Latino community in our area and that we will be responsive to meeting those needs in Christ's name. Pray that we will form strong relationships with the Latino community here and with other area Christian and non-Christian Latino organizations serving the Latino community.

2. Pray that we will find office space to establish a Ministry Center in Fredericksburg. Our goal is to develop direct ministry, referral, educational, and outreach services through the Center.

3. Pray for the Latinos throughout the Fredericksburg-Stafford-Spotsylvania area. Pray specifically for those in the Bragg Hill and Olde Forge housing developments. Pray for local community leaders, such as Rev. and Mrs. Joseph Henderson in Bragg Hill, and Rev. Theresie Houghton in Olde Forge, who minister to the largely African-American and Hispanic-American population groups in these housing developments. Pray that we will work cooperatively with these leaders and communities to reach out in Jesus' name.

4. Pray for our family as we finish the programs in our different schools this May and June. Pray for Kyle as he enters high school, for Jason as he leaves Virginia for college in Arkansas, and for Mom and Dad to ready ourselves for these moves.

Greg and Sue Smith
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Virginia
Missionaries among Hispanics
4501 Luau Court
Fredericksburg, VA 22408
(540) 370-4502
(540) 847-3171
gsmith@cbfv.org
smith@cbfv.org