PRESS RELEASE - Historic Hispanic Event takes place at Rock Church

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October 4, 2007

HISTORIC HISPANIC EVENT TAKES PLACE AT ROCK CHURCH  

Last May as Pastor Anne Gimenez looked out over the crowd she was dismayed by the lack of Hispanics among the thousands of people who attended evangelist Franklin Graham’s three-day revival services in Norfolk, Va. 

She was quoted in the local paper,(Va. Pilot 8/25/07),as saying, “I thought we could do for the Hispanic community what was done by the Franklin Graham crusade for the Tidewater community,” …“I realized they had not been touched.” 

Later as she contemplated this, the germ of an idea sprang up in her heart. 

Why not gather the Hispanic community for a night of music and evangelism, bring in the best Latino evangelist she could find and reach out into the local area and touch the Hispanic population? 

She certainly had the background and facility. As Senior Pastor of the Rock Church in Virginia Beach, Virginia, which seats more than 5,000 people and has more than 50 vibrant in-house ministries, Anne Gimenez and her husband John Gimenez, overseer of the Rock Ministerial Fellowship and the visionary of the Washington for Jesus Rallies, know a thing or two about calling diverse people groups together. 

As the plan came together she and husband John met with local Hispanic pastors to gauge their reaction. “They were amazed” said Pastor Anne Gimenez, no one had ever called them together in one accord and presented an idea to unify, evangelize and to capture the heart of the Hispanic community.  

Pastor Gimenez’s idea of a Hispanic revival won quick support from the Tidewater Hispanic Evangelical Ministers Association, which represents as many as 35 Spanish-language congregations.  Local Hispanic pastors were also thrilled that Rock Church, one of the biggest churches around had thrown its support behind an unprecedented gathering in the Hispanic evangelical community. 

After much prayer regarding a guest speaker, one name kept coming to mind, “Alberto Mottesi”. Known as the “Pastor of Presidents”, Alberto Mottesi, a friend of the Gimenez’s, is one of the best-known preachers in the Spanish-speaking world and his crusades have drawn hundreds of thousands of people. Rock Church staff and members began to canvass the local community handing out full color flyers printed in English and Spanish and visiting churches, restaurants and businesses that catered to the Hispanic community.

The event was continually announced on the Internet and on TV.  Other large local ministries and churches partnered with Rock Church to subsidize event and printing costs and advertising. The local Hispanic churches hung large posters and everyone involved prayed. Praise God, the event was a complete success!

On Saturday, September 8th, 2007, more than 2300 people showed up for the largest evangelical Hispanic gathering ever in Hampton Roads, VA.  Called the “Celebracion de Fe”, (Celebration of Faith”), the historic event honored local Hispanic pastors by seating them on the stage and introducing them to the congregation. The service had special worship music with a Latino flavor and everything was conducted in Spanish with English translations. Even Rev. Alberto Mottesi’s sermon was in Spanish with an interpreter. When the altar call was given, the front of the church was packed as people responded to the salvation message. 

Dr. Anne Gimenez said “the revival’s focus is evangelization of Hampton Roads Hispanics, both immigrants and native-born”…“There is a harvest field for evangelism right at my front door…” And one Hispanic pastor saw the historic event as a “chance to promote ethnic and national pride” and to “strengthen our Hispanic identity, and celebrate that we are part of our country, America.” 

Unfortunately hot-button issues like immigration reform and border protection are driving many evangelical’s beliefs and actions towards Hispanics and threatening to override what many see as a great revival among Hispanics in the U.S. 

According to Charisma Magazine, a recent poll determined that “white evangelicals were the most negative of all demographics about immigration in the U.S.”  Also the article, (‘Hispanic Christians Tackle Immigration Reform”), pointed out that Evangelicals “tend to take a very strong law and order approach” on border enforcement and illegal immigrants. Samuel Rodriguez Jr., president of a new coalition representing Hispanic evangelicals in the U.S. says “…the debate has revealed a need for dialogue between the white evangelicals and the Hispanic evangelical church in America”. 

In a recent article by Ken Walker in “Ministry Today”, Hispanics are America’s largest minority group and 2006 U.S. Census Bureau numbers show that Hispanics are at 44.3 million or 14.8 percent of the population. 

According to Walker, a study by the “Pew Hispanic Center” found that“68 percent of Hispanic-Americans are Roman Catholic and a majority of Latino Catholics describe themselves as charismatic or Pentecostal”. One pastor in the article said that “They’ll become the major ministry” and “As pastors, we need to recognize these are souls”. Another said that “a relationship established by a pastor willing to reach out”…”goes a long way” and for once they’re not treated as inferior or second class citizens. 

In that vein, Pastor Anne Gimenez is moving forward with even bigger plans to reach the Hispanic community. Since “Celebracion de Fe” at Rock Church, she has hired a full time Hispanic minister and started a Hispanics Ministries Department within the church. After an open enrollment, next week church staff and members will begin free, conversational Spanish classes and on Saturday, October 27th, Rock Church will host the Hispanic premier of the movie “Way Out” based on the life of John Gimenez. 

In a matter of months, a phenomenal new work has arisen according to the will of God and the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Our goal is to see God glorified, to grow and nurture even deeper relationships in the local and national Hispanic community, to serve as a conduit of unity and in the process to help tear down walls of division among Believers everywhere.