Hispanics are Giving Up the American Dream — for Missions

Vicki Reyes • Aug 29, 2019

Art Reyes' parents worked hard to give him the American Dream. They were shocked when Art told them he was moving back to Mexico —

as a missionary. Photo courtesy of Vicki Reyes.



“Why? I worked so hard to bring you to the USA so you could have a future! Now, you are taking your family back to Mexico? Why?”


The Lord is using Hispanic American missionaries to share the Gospel in Spanish-speaking countries. Already familiar with the language and the collective Hispanic culture, these missionaries can usually jump into ministry without years of language school or cultural faux pas. 


But for the missionary’s family — especially parents — doing ministry in Latin America can feel like ungratefulness.


Almost half of adult Hispanics in the U.S. are first generation immigrants. Many worked hard to bring their kids to America and give them a better life. When those kids grow up to become missionaries, it costs their parents their dreams.


Additionally, these new missionaries will likely struggle to raise financial support because the concept is foreign to many Hispanic communities. One survey revealed that 71 percent of the support received by Hispanic missionaries came from non-Hispanic donors.


Despite the hardships and personal heartache, though there are Hispanic Americans who are answering the call to minister in Spanish-speaking countries. My husband is one of them.


A Disrupted Plan for Citizenship

Much to the disappointment of Art’s parents, Art and Vicki Reyes left the United States to become missionaries in Art’s country of birth. Photo courtesy of Vicki Reyes.


My husband, Art, was born in Mexico — which was not “the plan.” 


Although his family lived in Mexico, Art’s father worked in the U.S., returning each evening to his family. Because of his work visa, he could legally take his wife to a U.S. hospital when she was ready to give birth. As a result, Art’s five older siblings were all American citizens. 


However, on the day Art was born, there was a long line of traffic at the border. His parents had no choice but to return to a Mexican clinic. They had no idea how this kink in their plan would influence Art as an adult. 


The family moved to the U.S. when Art was 10. Years later, when Art was in high school, a friend invited him to a Baptist Church where he eventually received Christ. 


Art’s father wasn’t happy about this unexpected turn of events. However, when Art finished his studies in clinical dietetics, his parents thought their American dream was still coming true! 


While they dreamed of stability, though, God was building another dream in Art’s heart. 


Building a Different Kind of Dream


While living and working in Chicago, Art started evangelizing to other Hispanics and teaching Bible studies in Spanish. He also began to think about returning to Mexico.

“I had never heard the Gospel when I was living in Mexico, and I wanted to give the people there a chance to hear it, too,” Art says. 


When Art announced that he was planning to abandon his career to pursue missions, his father was naturally upset and confused. 


“Why? I worked so hard to bring you to the USA so you could have a future!

Now, you are taking your family back to Mexico? Why?” Art’s father asked. 


Since he was not a Christ-follower yet, Art’s father did not understand. However, during the next year, we had opportunities to share the Gospel with my father-in-law. He received Christ a few months before his death in 1998.

God uses Art’s Mexican heritage to help Art build relationships with local people. For almost 27 years, Art and his wife have planted churches and led people to Christ! Photo courtesy of Vicki Reyes.


Four years later, our little family left for Mexico as TEAM missionaries with the blessing of Art’s mother, who had been saved shortly after Art came to Christ.   


For almost 27 years, we have joyfully planted churches in Art’s home country, Mexico. And now, we get to welcome more Hispanic American missionaries to the field.


Serving God in Gratitude


Recently, a young man named Javier served with us as a TEAM short-term missionary. 


Javier was born in Jalisco, Mexico, but his family migrated to the U.S. when he was 3 years old. Javier’s mother, especially, wanted her children to have an American education and a bright future. 


As a young adult, Javier enrolled in the U.S. Air Force Academy. He says, “I wanted to give back to this wonderful country that had given so much to me and my family!”


During that time, a friend invited Javier to a local church where Javier received Christ. Just before his graduation from the academy in 2016, Javier began to examine his heart.


“I realized that God had done so much in my life and I knew that I wanted to serve Him in some way,” Javier says. “The next weekend, there was a mission conference at my church where I heard that TEAM had short term opportunities. I knew that, upon graduating from the academy, I would have 60 days off, so I felt led to look into it.”


Ready for Ministry from Day 1

That summer, Javier flew to Los Cabos to serve on the VBS staff of our first church. The Mexican believers and the children welcomed him with open hearts! 


“I loved interacting with all of my Mexican hermanos [siblings in Christ] and kids! I felt so blessed to be down there and have the opportunity to serve in some capacity,” Javier says. 

Like Art, Javier was born in Mexico but grew up in the U.S. And like Art, he followed God’s call to serve as a missionary in Latin America. Photo courtesy of Vicki Reyes.


Because he was already fluent in Spanish and culturally sensitive, Javier easily jumped into ministry. That week, a group of unruly boys were frustrating their teacher and distracting their class during the program. 


Javier took the boys out of one of the VBS sessions to share his testimony. They were enthralled! The next day, they begged the VBS director, “When are we going to meet with Javier?” 


Javier met with them for the rest of the week, giving them good Christian advice we hope they will always remember. As for Javier, his time with TEAM convinced him that he has a future in missions.


An Open Door for Hispanic Missionaries

This summer, we plan to host another Hispanic American short-term missionary to help with our VBS. Additionally, we encourage visiting U.S. church teams to invite their Spanish-speaking members to help translate and bridge the cultural barriers for their American churches. It is a little taste of Heaven as we serve side-by-side!


Please pray for the Lord to raise up more Hispanic missionaries, remembering the unique obstacles they face — and the amazing work God can do through them!

By Suzanne Pearson 08 Mar, 2024
Through God-ordained partnerships and creative connections, TEAM worker Keith Moore sees the global Church advancing in amazing ways. In the global missions landscape, a phrase that comes up often is “from everywhere, to everywhere.” God is calling His global Church in literal new directions, as He raises up cross-cultural workers to be sent from places that were once on the receiving end of missions work. We call this movement “polycentric sending.” TEAM workers Dawn and Keith Moore have seen first-hand this transition taking place. Their story involves the unlikely but beautiful intersection of Charlotte, North Carolina; Tegucigalpa, Honduras; and Memphis, Tennessee...and beyond. The Path to Honduras Keith and Dawn joined TEAM in 1991 and served as church planters for nine years in Bogota, Colombia. After safety concerns precipitated their return to the States in 1999, they knew they wanted to continue serving in Latin America. The Moores felt called to Honduras but wanted to connect with a strong missional church to help send them. The Lord orchestrated a collaboration with Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. “Some people asked, ‘Why Honduras? Missionaries have been there for 100 years. It’s already reached,’” Keith says. “But there’s a whole section of Latin America that had not been reached - the upper crust.” Keith goes on to explain that he and Dawn felt called to reach college-educated professionals in Honduras – a ministry vision that resonated with the missional goals of Bellevue Baptist. Impact and Growth With the support of this new church partnership as well as another sending church in Birmingham, Alabama, the Moores embarked on their next adventure. Keith and Dawn started Impacto Honduras Church from scratch, and in less than 20 years, the church grew into four locations with 1600 total members. The Moores and other TEAM workers also created a “Bible school” type training program to help professionals who feel a call to ministry to make that transition. Throughout this period of explosive growth, church partnerships played an integral role. “It’s such a different vision when you have a church that says, ‘OK, this is our deal, we want to make this happen,’” Keith explains. “They helped us with everything. They took away every single obstacle to growth. Every time we needed something, they were there.” In 2017, the Moores once again found themselves on the verge of another decision. Was it time to leave Honduras? “I had no desire to leave,” Keith recalls. “People were coming to Christ every week! It was just so amazing.” However, back in the U.S., Keith and Dawn’s parents were in their 80s and would soon be in need of more care. “We realized that either we would leave in a crisis, or we would leave strategically,” says Keith. The couple began to implement a careful succession plan. By the time they left, the four churches were established with strong, Honduran leadership ready to carry on the work of the Gospel.
By Suzanne Pearson 23 Feb, 2024
Justin Burkholder, pictured here with his wife Jenny and their daughters Isabella, Olivia, and Zoey, has recently been named as TEAM’s next International Director. On February 19, 2024, with much excitement and gratitude to the Lord, TEAM announced that Justin Burkholder will become our organization’s new International Director, effective July 1, 2024. Justin, who is currently TEAM’s Executive Director of Global Ministry, will assume his new role upon the retirement of the current International Director, Dave Hall. ( Read the full press release here. ) We sat down recently with Justin to learn a little more about his background, his family, and the journey that has led him to TEAM. Q: Tell us a little bit about your “origin story” - Where did you grow up? What was your family like? A: I grew up in Mexico City as a missionary kid. My parents were focused on church planting. We were very close as a family. Both of my parents are still alive, and my dad serves as a pastor in southern Florida. I have one brother who is a pastor in Wisconsin, and the most special individual in my family is my sister, Amber. She was born with a very severe case of cerebral palsy and is entirely dependent on my mother...who is extraordinary! The three most impactful forces that have shaped who I am (outside of God’s grace) are growing up in Mexico, having parents who loved and planted churches, and sharing life with someone with a severe disability. My parents belonged at the time to a church and denomination that came with quite a bit of legalism and performance-oriented Christianity. Grace was a challenging concept to grasp. While I had an awareness of my sin and need for redemption, it wasn’t until I attended Moody Bible Institute that I began to grasp the fullness of God’s grace and His delight in His children. I have continued learning and trusting in the Gospel through formal education, like completing my M.Div., and through spiritual practices in community. Learning the Gospel and believing the Gospel has been a daily exercise. The Gospel is as beautiful and multi-faceted as a diamond! At an individual level, it is simple enough for us to live convinced that “Jesus loves me, this I know.” At a corporate level, it becomes the foundation that forms and informs our life as a spiritual family. At a cosmic level, it is redemption that reaches as far as the curse is found. It is hard to even grasp the multiplicity of goodness found in the Good News. Q: Share a little bit about your family life now. What does a typical day look like in the Burkholder household? A: My wife Jenny is my high-school sweetheart! She brings joy and kindness wherever she goes. She’s the best listener I’ve ever met, and we love spending time together. We have three daughters. Isabella is ten, Olivia is seven, and Zoey is four. Each of the girls is unique and has taught us a lot in our process of following Jesus together. We like to go out on walks and go to the park together. Once a month I try to get some alone time with each of my daughters which usually includes bowling or trampolines. A typical day in the Burkholder house starts around 5:00am. Because of traffic here in Guatemala City, we have to leave early for school. After school, the girls come home to different activities - sometimes swimming class, sometimes piano lessons. Four or five nights a week we have dinner together where we usually talk about our high and low moments of the day. On weekends, we enjoy time together, playing outside, or watching sports together. Go Cubs and Go Buckeyes! Q: What are your interests and hobbies? If you have the day off, what are you likely to be up to? A: I enjoy physical activity, running, strength-training and following sports. I also love music and, truth be told, am a bit snobby about my taste in music! I also am a very curious person and love reading just about anything that passes through my hands. A day off is usually an opportunity for time with family. Jenny and I like to cook something interesting together on our days off. Often there is time for some reading and watching some type of athletic event. Q: How did God lead you to TEAM? A: My wife and I were working in the Chicago suburbs. I was a youth pastor and she was a Spanish teacher. When we got married, we had already sensed God’s direction to serve cross-culturally, but it was a matter of discerning when and where. There was a driving desire in me to see a church deeply love the Scriptures and at the same time, be deeply engaged in loving and serving their city and the most vulnerable among them. As God directed our paths, we visited a variety of places and made some friends in Guatemala who opened up the path for us to serve here. While we were exploring, we knew that the International Director of an organization called TEAM happened to go to our church, so I decided I should probably invite him out for breakfast - his name was Charlie Davis. Charlie was extremely thoughtful, passionate about disciple-making, and very gracious in creating space for us as we stepped into this endeavor. Charlie connected me with Steve Dresselhaus, a fellow TEAM global worker who was at that time serving as the Senior Director for the Americas. I cannot express the debt that I owe Steve. He walked closely with me in the transition, encouraged courageous thinking about the church and her role in society, and blasted open the doors for us to serve in Guatemala. After meeting Steve, we spent some days praying about joining TEAM. One thing I will never forget – one night during the process, I found myself wide awake in the middle of the night. A peace like I have seldom experienced passed over me confirming that we should join TEAM. There is no doubt in my mind that God tied all of these pieces together to bring us into the TEAM family and community. Q: What roles have you held in TEAM? What have been the milestones in those roles? A: The most important role I have held in TEAM is that of a global worker. God in His grace has allowed us to help plant two churches here in Guatemala, serve in leadership development, counseling, and discipleship. Our greatest joy has been found walking with those who are learning to follow Christ more deeply. I served as the Ministry Area Leader in Guatemala from 2016 to 2019. We helped to establish and lead this ministry area as it grew from just four global workers to over 15. I then served as Senior Director for Mexico and Central America from 2019 to 2021, Regional Executive Director for the Americas in 2021 and 2022, and then transitioned to the role of Executive Director of Global Ministry which I’ll continue in until the end of June. Q: What do you love most about being a part of TEAM? Why TEAM rather than other organizations or job opportunities? A: The TEAM community is full of people who have faithfully served God’s mission and have given up a lot to do so. It is a privilege to know many of our global workers and be counted among them. I am also fascinated by the fact that TEAM has existed now for more than 130 years! There is something to be said about the resilience and faithfulness of an organization that has continued to impact the world for so long. The rest of our conversation with Justin will be coming soon on blog! We’ll hear more about how God called Justin to the role of International Director, and what Justin sees for the next chapter in TEAM’s work in the global Church.
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