“Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you.”

2 Thessalonians 3:1

As we pray for the word of God to go forward, we see his hand in our prayers.

Some time ago, a group of brothers and sisters from Tenth gathered together weekly to pray for opportunities to share the gospel with our neighbors. One of their prayers was that God would enable Tenth to reach out with the gospel to the growing Hispanic community in South Philadelphia.

As we see in Ephesians 3:20, God “is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.” As they were praying, Yoon Park, a member at Tenth and a teacher at Kirkbride Elementary School in South Philadelphia, noticed a great opportunity for ministry as sixty percent of the students at Kirkbride Elementary were either first- or second-generation immigrants, and ninety percent of those students were of Hispanic descent. Seeing this, she felt that it would be a good idea to start an English as a Second Language (ESL) program for the parents of the students. She shared this idea with Pastor Enrique Leal.

At the same time, Ray Withers, another member of Tenth and a retired ESL teacher, was looking for an opportunity to serve in the church. Enrique, seeing the connection between these things, held a joint meeting between Yoon and Ray. Together they started an ESL program. As the ESL program progressed, they noticed that a lot of the students had either not heard the gospel or were not part of a sound theological church. As in Matthew 9:36, where Jesus “saw the multitudes and had compassion on them because they were sheep without a shepherd,” Tenth sought to create the Hispanic Ministry with the goal of starting a Spanish service where the Hispanics in the South Philly area can receive sound Biblical teaching.

Currently, we have a weekly Thursday night Bible study that meets at 1710 Spruce Street. We also offer Spanish translation for those who come to the afternoon worship service on Sundays. We do have an immediate need for more people who are willing to be a part of the Hispanic Ministry through praying for and serving in the work that the Lord is doing among the Hispanic community.

If you would like to know more about the Hispanic Ministry at Tenth, email Chris.

© 2024 Tenth Presbyterian Church.

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Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: By Chris Andino. © 2024 Tenth Presbyterian Church. Website: tenth.org