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LIMA, Peru?”Today, Jesus has come to my house!”
So said a Peruvian woman, a native of Lima, as she responded to the good news of Jesus Christ. The woman lives on the outskirts of Lima and she said that she had thought God was angry with her because her husband had left her and her son was in jail.
There were more than 500 encounters like this over one week in March in Lima, thanks to a partnership between a Texas Baptist evangelist and a Peruvian Baptist pastor. Evangelist Jonathan Hewett of First Baptist Church, Celina, and Pastor Samuel Reategui Sanchez, Iglesia Bautista Betania, met last year when Hewett spent a week in Lima witnessing and preaching.
“Samuel had e-mailed asking for an evangelist to come,” Hewett said, “so I took a chance on him and he took a chance on me.”
During that first trip, Hewett was accompanied by his father, Rayford Hewett, and the two of them were able to lead 90 Peruvians to first-time decisions for Christ.
“This year, we wanted a larger team to work with more churches,” Hewett said.
Twelve Texans and two Arkansans responded to Hewett’s call for team members and all of them were able to lead many people to Christ. The team members were: Pastor Ivy Shelton of Sherwood Baptist Church in Odessa and his church members Tony Grainger, Garry Clark, Pat Wenger, George Brown and JoAnn Bell; Pastor David Baxley of New Hope Baptist Church in Bloomburg, Dereld Kuhlengel of FBC Clarksville; music evangelist Wes James and his wife, Marianna, from Prosper; Marleny and Jeremy Rios of Primera Iglesia Bautista in Plano; Pastor Philip Miller and Fred Garrison from Second Baptist Church in West Helena, Ark.; and Hewett.
The team shared the gospel in homes by appointment. Peruvian Baptist church members would invite their family and friends to meet with an “American friend.” The American friend only had one thing to say: Believe in Jesus Christ and be saved, Hewitt related.
Pastors from nine Baptist churches in Lima took part as well as other Peruvian Baptists who served as interpreters. The gospel was also preached by team members in nightly crusade services at the various churches.
At Betania Baptist in Lince, Lima, the movie “Facing the Giants” was shown and more than 40 people responded to a brief evangelistic appeal given by Hewett after the movie.
Team members were also able to participate in distributing Samaritan’s Purse gift boxes to children associated with a mission in one of Lima’s poorest neighborhoods. The occasion of the boxes and a visit from Americans enabled more than 85 to hear the gospel and 50 of them chose to accept Christ.
One team member was invited into a school and class-by-class, he shared the gospel. The principal heard the message and was converted, Hewitt said.
Hewett said he plans to return to Peru in November and will be taking another team in February 2009.
