Posted: 6/25/04
San Antonio church sets sights on
leading 1,000 people to Christ a year
By John Hall
Texas Baptist Communications
SAN ANTONIO–Leaders of Buena Voluntad Baptist Church are calling members to put forth a small effort to make a big impact for the kingdom of God.
Leadership set a goal for the 250-member church of reaching 1,000 people for Christ each year from 2000 through 2005. That may seem to be a lot to ask, but when broken down, the goal is and has been attainable, said Pastor Victor Lopez.
To reach the target, each family needs to win a person a month to Christ, Lopez noted.
That can happen easily if they are living faithfully and sharing their beliefs in their daily lives–at work, the mall or the grocery store, he added.
"Once we saw the possibilities, we saw it really wasn't that much," Lopez said.
And the congregation has responded to the challenge. Since 2000, members have seen 800 to 1,000 people become Christians each year.
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The converts are coming through all the ministries of the church–youth work, Sunday school, Woman's Missionary Union, Mexico missions and aid to the homeless–and through members sharing their faith regularly.
The primary source of people coming into the faith has been the congregation's efforts in the city jail, located within walking distance of the church facility. In the first part of this year, members have baptized 372 people in the jail.
Lopez leads four chapel services a week at the jail–two in Spanish, two in English. Up to 120 people attend those services. He and a deacon also visit a half-dozen to 10 prisoners a week, giving them Christian literature and Bibles. They discuss spiritual matters.
When individuals are released from jail, church members write them letters and place follow-up phone calls that encourage the former inmates to get involved in a church. And many plug into a congregation, Lopez said, citing some of the letters he has received.
"That makes me very happy," he said. "They tell me they are going back, following Jesus."
The pastor understands most people whom church members lead to faith in Christ will not attend Buena Voluntad. Some cannot because they are incarcerated. Others will choose to go to another congregation.
But Christians are commanded to share their faith, baptizing and making disciples as they go, Lopez insists.
Leaders continuously keep that notion in front of the congregation. A chart is posted on one of the walls of the sanctuary that declares the number of souls saved that year.
Former inmates who came to know Christ through the church's ministry testify during services. During a recent service, a young man excitedly declared the pastor's continuous work led him to Christ and out of a life of crime, drugs and alcohol.
God is changing lives as his people are faithful to His command to share the gospel, Lopez said.
He looks forward to how God moves during the final 18 months of the drive to reach 1,000 people a year for Christ.
"The people are motivated," he said. "The bottom line is we want them to be soul winners–wherever they are."
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