Reaching People Where They Are

By Hugo Villalobos

Pastor, Hermiston Spanish Adventist Church

This year, we held our evangelistic meetings online and it was a huge success. We had people join us from different cities and countries. Through technology, we had the opportunity to share the gospel in places we least imagined. Lives were transformed and as a result two young adults gave their lives to Jesus.

At first, we didn't know what the turnout would be. We had never done a series online, but we trusted God with the results. Every night there was an appeal and an invitation for people to accept Jesus. We trained our church members to share with their friends and we prayed each morning for God to move in a powerful way. 

On baptism day, we went to the nearest river, the Columbia, because one person had requested to be baptized like Jesus in the river. There were several families watching from the shore and listening to the ceremony. When the first baptism was over I asked if there was anyone else in the audience who would like to be baptized in the river. To our surprise, Paola, who had been attending our church for a while now, raised her hand and also got baptized that day. There was a loud cheer and applause as a sign of celebration. I know that heaven was also rejoicing.

Through this experience, we learned that we need to reach people where they are (online) and that we should not be afraid to ask people if they would like to get baptized too.

This article originally appeared in the newsletter, Northwest Adventist Leaders (Volume 15, Issue 2).