Casa Bautista finds market for Spanish materials in U.S._62705

Posted: 6/24/05

Casa Bautista finds market
for Spanish materials in U.S.

By Meghan Merchant

Communications Intern

EL PASO–The world's oldest evangelical Spanish publishing house has distributed its materials to more than 70 countries during the past 100 years. But today, the El Paso-based publisher sees the United States as its largest market.

“It used to be that we sent 60 percent of our materials overseas and 40 percent to the United States,” said General Director Jorge Diaz of Casa Bautista de Publicaciones–the Baptist Spanish Publishing House. “Now, we send 60 percent to the United States and 40 percent overseas.”

This shift is due in part to the growing Hispanic population in the United States, which Diaz said provides “big opportunities” for the publishing company.

Casa Bautista, which printed 37 titles last year, now faces the new challenge of competition from other evangelical Spanish publishers in the United States. At the same time, Diaz said the market is not as open to Casa Bautista's products because of the economic turmoil in many Latin American countries.

“They are not receiving religious products as before,” he said.

Nevertheless, challenges are nothing new to the publishing house, whose struggles have included the political strife of the Mexican Revolution, withdrawal of support from the Southern Baptist International Mission Board and financial concerns.

The publishing house, founded in a kitchen in Toluca, Mexico, was a pioneer in providing printed materials to Spanish-speaking countries.

For decades, it shaped Baptist theology in Latin America through its commentaries, books, Sunday school materials and Bible studies, because its publications were the major Spanish materials available, said former General Director Thomas Hill.

The materials, written by Hispanics from a Hispanic perspective, provided direction and a foundation of solid theological principles for new pastors and churches in Latin America for the past century, leaders of the publishing house noted.

“The printed word gets places that spoken words don't get,” said Burton Patterson, secretary of the Baptist Spanish Publishing House Foundation.

Patterson noted he could recall many stories of individuals who had never seen a missionary or pastor but found some of the Casa's materials and made the decision to follow Christ.

As leaders of Casa Bautista look to the future, they want to continue to offer quality products and translations to the Latin American and U.S. markets.

J.T. Poe, former general director, also hopes Casa Bautista will continue to encourage more national authorship of materials, as the publishing house puts a priority on material coming from Hispanic leaders.

The publishing house has multiple events planned to celebrate its centennial year, the final one taking place Nov. 17 at First Baptist Church in El Paso, which will include the revelation of a new mural for the front of Casa Bautista's building.