The Great Commission given by Jesus invites His people to make disciples of all nations by baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Since Jesus shared that command with the disciples, the good news of salvation has been preached in all languages and in the most remote places. 

In harmony with Jesus’ request, the Spanish-speaking churches in the Nevada-Utah Conference (NUC) of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the United States planned an evangelistic exchange with pastors from Colombia, South America. In February 2022, eight pastors from the East Colombian Conference preached the good news of salvation in NUC’s Spanish-speaking churches.

It was not an easy undertaking at a time when the region still had COVID-19 health protocols in the churches. 

“At a time when even our members are slowly returning to our churches, getting friends and neighbors to attend services turned out to be a challenge,” regional leaders said. “Nevertheless, by the grace of God, the attendance of members and visiting friends was surprisingly good.”

Participating Adventist churches were Maranatha, Salem, Torre Fuerte, Paraíso, and Camino a Cristo in Las Vegas; the Reno-Sparks Spanish church in northern Nevada; and the Ogden, New Jerusalem, and Nueva Esperanza churches in Utah. The guest speakers from the East Colombian Conference were Roberto Carvajal, president; Jeremías Gamboa, executive secretary; Neil Ortiz, treasurer; Julio César Solano, evangelist; Evangelio Amado, evangelist and director of evangelism; Dorlay Tarazona, youth director; and two district pastors, Jesus Rueda and Luis Eduardo Lemus.

“The NUC Hispanic churches thank God for the abundant sowing of the precious seed of the gospel in dozens of hearts,” regional leaders said. “They also glorify God for the 21 beautiful souls baptized at the end of these evangelistic meetings.”

NUC president Carlos Camacho said it was a successful exchange. “It was really a treat to see the response of the churches throughout the conference. On one of the nights, the pastor made an appeal and a young man gave his life to Jesus right then and there,” he shared.

In May, a pastoral team from the U.S. will continue this evangelistic exchange by going to preach in Colombia, at churches in the East Colombian Conference.

“This is the humble attempt of NUC Hispanic Ministries to join the world church in word and deed,” leaders said. “Let us continue advancing in the work of sharing Jesus, because He is coming soon.

The original version of this story was posted in the April 2022 issue of the Pacific Union Recorder.