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Evangelism is in the blood of Justo Dorantes and his extended family. His parents were two early converts in their region of Mexico. His father preaches in Merida and other communities in the Yucatan Peninsula. His six siblings are active in evangelism and ministry.

Dorantes earned a degree in tourism in Mexico. He left in 1992 to study at Sunset International Bible Institute, Lubbock, Texas. He has bachelor's and master's degrees in Bible and ministry, and will soon receive a master's in counseling from Heritage Christian University, Florence, Ala.

He has served as Hispanic minister for the Beltline church, Decatur, Ala., since 1997, and teaches classes that Beltline sponsors to train Spanish-speaking preachers.

Church planting has been at the heart of Dorantes' ministry.

His can-do attitude has been key in the founding of congregations in the Southern United States, Mexico and Guatemala.

He and his wife, Svetlana, a native of Ukraine, have one daughter, Shayna, age 2.

Describe your ministry at Beltline for Spanish speakers in Alabama.

Here in Decatur, our work is primarily among first-generation Hispanics.

Most arrive here with very few personal belongings. They are in a very vulnerable state - looking for a job, a place to stay, furniture and clothing. I am able to make contact with many of these newcomers. I help them with translation at the doctor's office, hospitals or schools, and sometimes even in the court system.

Sometimes we help them with clothing or furniture from our benevolence program. I invite them to attend our services and offer to study the Bible, and many of them accept. If we are able to set up a Bible study with them, our chances of converting them are very good.

Most of them have never really studied the Bible. They are usually surprised and very happy to find out that they can understand the Bible. Most of them are from a Catholic background and have been told that only the priest can understand and interpret the Bible.

Some say it is easier to make the decision to become a Christian here since they are away from their extended families, who will almost always disapprove.

How does a typical Hispanic church in your area differ from a typical Anglo congregation?

Our worship services are conducted in a manner very similar to the typical American church. We have similar activities. We enjoy fellowships. We have showers and weddings and funerals.

If you visit our services, however, you might notice some differences. First of all, none of the Hispanic congregations in our area has its own building. We share a part of a building owned and used by the Anglo congregation.

Secondly, we differ from most American churches in that we do not use study guides or workbooks in our Bible classes. We study directly from the Bible.

How have you and other leaders helped develop new churches?

The news of our success at Beltline has spread to many places.

Many Anglo congregations have contacted us over the years, and we are always happy to assist them in any way to begin a work among Hispanics.
We have visited many congregations to tell them about what we are doing.

We always try to go as a group - myself; David Smith, the Beltline elder who has oversight of our work; and Danny Truitt, our deacon who works and worships with us on a regular basis.

We usually meet with the elders, but sometimes it is with a group of all concerned people in the congregation. I tell them what has worked for us at Beltline - what we did to get the work started and what we are doing to keep it strong and growing.

David Smith talks specifically from an elder's viewpoint, explaining to the elders of the interested congregation what to expect in the way of financial support, among other things.

Danny Truitt, who has been worshipping with the Hispanic congregation for eight years, gives a background about why the Hispanics are coming here, what they go through to get here, and why having services in Spanish means more to the average Hispanic than just hearing a lesson in his own language.

Are Anglos effective at teaching Hispanics?

Unless they speak the language, most Anglos will not have many opportunities to evangelize Hispanics. Most Hispanics who come to our area speak very little English. We have printed business cards in Spanish that we give to the Anglo members at Beltline who want to help.

Our members can pass these out any time they have an opportunity, and we have obtained new members this way.

How have you trained other evangelists to reach Hispanic populations?

I have taught preacher-training classes since the second year I was at Beltline. It is primarily for members in our area, but we have had students from other states on occasion. I teach them Bible principles as well as the mechanics of organizing a lesson and how to present it.

Many of these students are now preaching God's word in Hispanic congregations in both the United States and Latin American countries.

What is your dream for Hispanic leadership in the church?

When we started planting churches and sending preachers to other parts of North Alabama and other countries, some people worried that I was sending the members of our church away. To me, sending our members away meant accomplishing the Great Commission of going and preaching everywhere.

We have planted about 11 congregations so far. Maybe by doing that I “lost 11 families,” but those families have baptized hundreds where they were sent. This means I need to baptize more people, train them and send them away.

My dream is that those we have trained will do the same as we are doing. That they will baptize people, train them and send them to plant churches.

Can you describe a biblical, effective model of Hispanic church planting?

There certainly may be other models for Hispanic church planting, but here's what has worked for us in this part of the country: First, find an American congregation that is committed to reaching the Hispanic community in its area.

Second, obtain a dedicated, competent, well-grounded first-generation Hispanic minister who is willing to work hard to establish a Hispanic congregation.

Third, arrange for continuing support - financial, moral and spiritual - for that minister.

There are two primary ways American congregations can help in these church plants. First, they have to be aware of Hispanics in their area and be concerned for their souls. Second, they can provide financial support for these efforts.

In this way, they can accomplish great things in Hispanic communities without knowing a single word of Spanish.

Is it possible to have multicultural congregations in the United States?

Speaking of our area here in North Alabama, I really do not expect that Hispanics and Americans will be worshipping together soon. It will take some years for that to happen.

Our concentration of the Hispanic population here is first-generation. Other states like California or Texas where Hispanics have lived for many generations are different. You can expect to convert Hispanics there by speaking English.

The children of the first-generation Hispanics in our congregation attend Bible classes with the Anglo children. Many of them were born here. They are Americans. Others arrived here at a very young age. They are bilingual. Many of them speak better English than Spanish. They may choose to worship with the Americans in English at some point in time, and we expect that many, if not most, of them will.

However, as long as the economy of the United States continues to be so far above that of Latin American countries, first-generation Hispanics will continue to come, and there will continue to be opportunities to reach them by offering services in Spanish, their native - and for most of them, their only - language.