God is doing a new thing.
We are forming our CORE Team for a new Hispanic work in North OKC.
It's been a desire in our hearts for many years to begin a Hispanic ministry in North OKC. It is so exciting to be able to see, now, how God has been putting the pieces together, and working behind the scenes, to bring this to fruition. I'm excited to share that we are taking our first step!
I'm also so pleased to share that we have been working with Mark & Cindy McClellan (IMB missionaries to Guatemala, church-planters, Hispanic ministry leaders and educators) and Prestonwood En Español (Plano, TX), to launch our CORE Team here at PCBC.
Image used from Nicole Massie Martin's article "Latino Churches’ Vibrant Testimony" with Christianity Today.
"...while many American churches are suffering from an inability to reach younger generations, Latino churches are swimming against that tide. Aaron Earls of Lifeway Research has described Hispanic congregations as 'newer, younger, and more effectively evangelistic than the average US Protestant church,' and he notes that 'a majority conduct their services only in Spanish (53%), while 22 percent are bilingual.'
Young people in immigrant families in America often serve as teachers for their parents in a variety of ways, ranging from learning English to navigating the complexities of unfamiliar health care and educational systems. This dynamic makes younger people integral to the life of the church too. Latino congregations tend to be willing to embrace them not as passive recipients of the faith but as active participants in shaping it. Young Christians are called upon early to help lead worship, teach, and serve as translators.
'Hispanic churches continue to be a driving force in the revitalization of faith in the US,' Enid Almanzar, chair of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, told me after the summit. No church or ethnicity is perfect, of course. No community is free from the scars of striving to be more like Christ.
Yet in these complex times, the Latino church provides a beacon of hope to believers in America and beyond as we seek to be the church that our world so desperately needs. Like Paul, writing to the Corinthians about the churches in Macedonia, I 'want you to know about the grace that God has given' these fellow believers (2 Cor. 8:1) so you can benefit from their example of faith."
Young people in immigrant families in America often serve as teachers for their parents in a variety of ways, ranging from learning English to navigating the complexities of unfamiliar health care and educational systems. This dynamic makes younger people integral to the life of the church too. Latino congregations tend to be willing to embrace them not as passive recipients of the faith but as active participants in shaping it. Young Christians are called upon early to help lead worship, teach, and serve as translators.
'Hispanic churches continue to be a driving force in the revitalization of faith in the US,' Enid Almanzar, chair of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, told me after the summit. No church or ethnicity is perfect, of course. No community is free from the scars of striving to be more like Christ.
Yet in these complex times, the Latino church provides a beacon of hope to believers in America and beyond as we seek to be the church that our world so desperately needs. Like Paul, writing to the Corinthians about the churches in Macedonia, I 'want you to know about the grace that God has given' these fellow believers (2 Cor. 8:1) so you can benefit from their example of faith."
Nicole Massie Martin is the chief impact officer at Christianity Today.
Read the full article HERE.
Image of Giliberto Corredera, Pastor of Prestonwood En Espanol.
partnership.
Over the past several months, led by PCBC members, Mark & Cindy McClellan, we have had the privilege to meet with the senior leadership of Prestonwood En Español as a partner in our desire to launch a new Hispanic work in North OKC. We have also been able to visit and observe the powerful, vibrant, growing community of Spanish speaking Christians at Prestonwood.
Prestonwood En Español is based in the Plano, TX, has weekend worship services in the thousands, reaches new people and families every week and have global impact through their ministry. There is not a better partner in this work than Pastor Giliberto Corredera and the ministry team at Prestonwood. Every step that we take here at PCBC will be aided by the wisdom and direction of these faithful and gifted leaders. We are privileged to partner with them!
Prestonwood En Español is based in the Plano, TX, has weekend worship services in the thousands, reaches new people and families every week and have global impact through their ministry. There is not a better partner in this work than Pastor Giliberto Corredera and the ministry team at Prestonwood. Every step that we take here at PCBC will be aided by the wisdom and direction of these faithful and gifted leaders. We are privileged to partner with them!
guidance.
The McClellan's are not new to PCBC or to Oklahoma for that matter. Josh and Malynda and their boys, Noah and Luke, joined the PCBC family in 2022. Shortly after, Josh was hired as our NextGen Pastor. What you might not know is that Josh's family served as IMB missionaries to Guatemala for nearly 13 years. His parents, Mark & Cindy McClellan, recently returned from their work at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and their work developing the Hispanic Ministry programs, and became members at PCBC.
Also, what you couldn't know, is that Mark & Cindy have spent their lives reaching, training, and educating Spanish-speaking Christians all over Central & South America and throughout the US. The addition of the McClellan's to PCBC in nothing short of the providence of God.
Also, what you couldn't know, is that Mark & Cindy have spent their lives reaching, training, and educating Spanish-speaking Christians all over Central & South America and throughout the US. The addition of the McClellan's to PCBC in nothing short of the providence of God.
Image taken on mission trip to Guatemala in 2023.
{Left to Right} Cathy Welborn & McClellan's: Malynda, Noah, Josh, Cindy, Luke, Mark
Dr. Mark McClellan on campus at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
