Austin church impacts community by going door-to-door

Posted: 11/15/05

Austin church impacts
community by going door-to-door

By Miranda Bradley

AUSTIN—Opportunity knocked this week for Eva Agueera, a five-year Austin resident. When she answered the door, Robert Flores stood with a Bible in hand. After a brief conversation in her apartment doorway, Agueera accepted Christ as her Savior.

Agueera’s was the first home visited by Flores, a member of the Iglesia Bautista Principe De Paz Baptist evangelism team. The team of 20 meets three times a week for training so they can make the most of their door-to-door ministry.

Leady Santos, 16, said she is always eager to share Jesus with others.

“Sometimes they will be skeptical because I’m so young. But, I’m doing this for God, even if they don’t open the door.”

Pastor Nestor Menjivar, said he has a different goal for his team than most.

“We are not doing this to grow our church,” he said. “We’re trying to get the word of God out there, to plant a seed.”

Menjivar’s ultimate goal is to seek out possibilities for new churches in homes or apartment complexes.

Much of the community around the church does not have transportation to and from church. That was the case for Agueera, who had not attended church services since she moved from Mexico. Without a car, she was unable to take part in worship services she loved so much. That, Menjivar said, drives the motivation for satellite churches.

“Evangelism is different these days,” he said. “You have to keep a kingdom view, or you will become discouraged.”

Dozens of people have converted to Christianity as a result of the evangelism teams’ ministry. Some of them do not attend Iglesia Bautista Principe De Paz. But Menjivar does not complain.

“And that’s OK with me,” he said. “We’re just planting the seeds for a ministry that will come later. Maybe the harvest is not for us to reap.”

Flores has only been involved in the ministry for two months, but said his greatest thrill is when a person accepts the Lord.

“Whenever you see something like that it feels great,” he said after leading Agueera to Christ. “You know you will see them in heaven then.”

Menjivar credits ministries like the door-to-door evangelism effort for increasing the church’s visibility in the area.

“People know who we are,” he said. “The difference between us and some other ministries is we are not saying they need to join our church. We’re inviting them to meet Jesus Christ. That’s the best gift we can possibly give them—the opportunity for salvation.”