Reconnected: Campestre Hispano concludes successful weekend, inspires intentional witnessing

On June 11 and 12, Kentucky-Tennessee Conference’s (KYTN) Hispanic churches concluded its annual “Campestre Hispano,” – a weekend revival full of worship prepared for the Spanish-speaking community. More than 200 people attended in person at the Nashville First Hispanic Seventh-day Adventist Church and an additional 43,866 joined online.

This year’s camp meeting theme was “Reconecta2” (Reconnected). It was chosen in an effort to revitalize the church after a year full of challenges.

“Due to the pandemic, unfortunately, we have found that many people have disconnected from the church,” KYTN Hispanic Ministries Coordinator Armando De León said. “There are many things that are hindering the church growth, so we wanted to encourage and reunite the community.”

The guest speakers were Southern Union Ministerial and Evangelism Director Roger Hernandez and Southern Union Ministerial and Evangelism Coordinator Kathy Hernandez. Roger and Kathy used the acronym RAMP (Revising, Abandoning, Ministering, and Preparing), to illustrate how church members need to make active efforts in reaching out to those who no longer attend church.

“We need to be intentional to look for those who left…” Roger said. “Many left because they did not find the support and love they needed in the church. We need to apologize and send them a message that we want to change. We want to improve.”

The program was livestreamed on Facebook, YouTube and Ross Video. A video series can also be found on Roger’ YouTube channel, @Roger Hernandez.

Andréz Pérez Alonzo, Nashville First Hispanic Church deacon, says the program inspired him to take action.

“[The message] made me to think of my friends who got baptized in the church but no longer come,” Alonzo said. “I’ve been praying, and I’ve actually started contacting some of them.” 

De León says he hopes the impact of the meetings are long term.

“Our target was that each individual allows Jesus to become a reality in their life,” De León said. “[Moving forward], the goal is that we reconnect with one another, God and the mission of the church.”