nineteen hundred and forty-six - Amazon Web Services

HOME MISSION BOARD 339
The second great problem we face grows out of the first. It is prejudice.
Prejudice is "being down on what you are not up on." There still prevails a
great deal of race prejudice between the Anglos and the Spanish speaking
people of the Southwest, particularly in Texas. It is difficult to win Spanish
speaking people to Christ when some of the Anglo Christians show such an
unchristian prejudice. Also it is difficult for the Anglo people to work at the
mission task when they know that some of the Mexicans do not appreciate what
they are doing. A still stronger prejudice we must overcome is religious prejudice.
There are some Baptists who believe that the Spanish speaking people
are altogether Roman Catholic, that they are happy in their church, and that it is
not ethical or proper for us to undertake to evangelize them. However, on the
other hand we find on the part of the Spanish speaking people many who are
fanatical and who do not lend themselves to the Gospel and who furthermore
hinder others from coming to Christ.
The third great problem which we must overcome is that of insufficiency.
This in part grows out of the other two just named. At the present time we
have a ratio of only one worker for approximately 12,000 people. We are not
able to increase our force because more workers are not available.
We have enlarged the salaries of most of our missionaries twice within the
past three years. However, these salaries have always been very small and are
still entirely inadequate and unfair as compared to salaries that other workers
in other fields under other auspices receive. The buildings and equipment which
we are using are entirely inadequate. In fact, with the possible exception of the
building which is just being completed at Beeville, Texas, we have not a single
completely adequate church building on all this field.
The fourth and perhaps the greatest problem which we face is the apathy of
Southern Baptists toward the tremendous responsibility and opportunity of the
mission work among the Spanish speaking people as well as other nationalities
in our midst. God grant us an awakening to this tremendous day of opportunity
among the Latin Americans here and through them to the Latin American
world.
BUILDING AND EQUIPMENT
REV. E. L. KELLEY. Superintendent
During the year 1945 we have succeeded in securing thirteen new pieces
of property. We have bought or built ten new pastors' homes, made ten repair
jobs and built eight new church houses at a total cost of $62,416.03. Of this
amount $45,770.03 was appropriated by the Home Mission Board, the balance
spent was given by Anglo and Mexican Baptist churches, the amount being
$16,646.00.
Our needs for 1946 according to a recent survey reveals that there are
fifty-five cities and towns in Texas that urgently need adequately equipped
houses of worship and pastors' homes, and it will take $322,140.00 to provide
them. In some places the local forces will supply fifty per cent of the amount
needed; in other places it must .be supplied nearly entirely by the Home Mission
Board. There are many other places that we need to enter and begin our work
where we have no buildings at all. This would require at least another
$100,000.00
There is an urgent need of $45,000.00 for buildings in Arizona. New
Mexico needs $66,000.00 immediately. New Orleans, Louisiana, needs at least
$15,000.00 for buildings. Florida needs $25,000.00. Illinois needs $2,000.00.
California needs $45,000.00.
SUMMARY OF SPANISH-MEXICAN VACATION BIBLE SCHOOLS
The report of the Vacation Bible Schools on our Spanish fields during the
summer of 1945 shows that there were 166 schools with an enrollment of 8,331
and an average attendance of 7,338. The workers in these schools reported
954 conversions.