training for children' Sunday School teachers, introducing a year-long sample curriculum in Spanish and utilizing some "old-school" technology in the form of flannel graph boards and figures that were a big hit with the students. In addition, our entire group led in a three-day Vacation Bible School event at the El Cristo Church.
The hunger and excitement for the training was evident by the rapt attention that the participants devoted to the conference leaders during the sessions. When given assignments in small groups, the students enthusiastically verbalized their thoughts and insights and stayed on task. Our team seized the opportunity granted to accompany Joey and some of the church planters working with him to their fields of service, visiting in homes of members and prospects. We were privileged to worship with each of the two churches and experienced the warmth and fervor of corporate worship in that Latin culture.
I was impressed when visiting with the president of the Eastern Baptist Convention last year to hear of the tremendous strides their churches are making in the area of evangelism and church planting. The statistics he shared from 2015 revealed they had baptized one new convert for every nine members — an amazing ratio compared to our statistics in the U.S. Our recent visit shed light on how and why they're accomplishing so much in their outreach efforts. Concerted, fervent prayer characterizes their ministries, as does lifestyle evangelism. Pastor Joey spends little time at the home where his church meets on Thursdays and Sundays for worship, but he invests countless hours in the streets of his neighborhood, greeting the people and attending to their needs.
I've shared with many folks since returning from Cuba in early May that the experience struck me as what life in the early church in Acts must have been like. The zeal for the Lord's work and the obvious moving of the Holy Spirit is almost physically tangible. The evidence of God's blessings are unmistakable despite the economic hardships that Cuban believers face daily. They have a great deal to teach us about living by faith and contagiously sharing the good news of Christ. I'm excited to see what lies ahead for us in the emerging partnership between Churchnet and the Eastern Baptist Convention of Cuba.
Note: To learn more about Churchnet's work in Cuba and volunteer for future projects, contact Gary at [email protected] or 888-420-BGCM (2426), ext. 709.
Left: Diorlis (Joey) Hernández and Gary Snowden at Sixth Baptist Church
of Santiago de Cuba.