SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 7, 2014 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — The National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC)/Conela, the largest Hispanic Christian organization representing millions of Evangelicals worldwide, has started its newest chapter headquartered in Tijuana, Mexico on the Baja Peninsula.

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“The emergence of the Mexico chapter connects the dots with our efforts on behalf of unaccompanied children and comprehensive immigration reform,” said NHCLC/Conela President, Dr. Samuel Rodriguez. “The Mexico chapter will be vital in our efforts to reduce the number of unaccompanied children at the border to zero by December.” 

NHCLC/Conela Mexico is being led by Pastor Fermin Garcia and has already begun to impact the nation, holding a prayer breakfast on June 5th that was attended by Francisco Vega de Lamadrid, Governor of the State of Baja California, Mexico and his wife; also in attendance were the General Secretary of State and 65 leaders from a variety of denominations including Assemblies of God, Church of God, Foursquare, Baptist, Nazarene and Apostolic, among others. At the request of the governor, NHCLC/Conela Mexico will work to make the event an annual occurrence. This event was backed by Focus on the Family Latin America, Comimex (Missionary Cooperation’s of Mexico), and various other respected Christian organizations, which are now working to replicate this in many other states.

“We are very pleased to have Pastor Garcia as a part of NHCLC/Conela team. His work with evangelicals in Mexico has been very impressive,” said Dr. Rodriguez. “A better person could not have been chosen to join us in this ministry. Pastor Garcia articulates God’s word to people in a very unique way and lives for the Lord every single day.”

Garcia has had tremendous Christian ministry success in Mexico. A native of San Antonio, Texas, Garcia is an activist against pornography and has served as the senior pastor of Grupo Unidad Cristiana de Mexico (Christian Unity Group of Mexico) since 2006.

The church was founded by his father in 1981 and has brought great impact to its community, assisting an estimated 250,000 new believers and helping give psychological care, counseling and vocational assistance to thousands of different community members.

With an active membership of 7,000-plus, Grupo Unidad has become one of the most influential representations of the evangelical movement in North West Mexico. Garcia has been also instrumental in promoting the first anti-porn law in the state of Sinaloa, Mexico and is now working at the federal level to make it nationwide. He also serves as national director of INSTE Bible College, a distance education program.

“Historically, NHCLC/Conela has done great things for Hispanic evangelicals throughout the United States. I have seen God work through this ministry and how at this stage in time it has united the church and represented it with passion and integrity,” said Garcia. “I am excited to be a part of NHCLC/Conela Mexico because as we work together and unite our impact, we will become greater for the Kingdom. God is already doing amazing things here, and I think we have only begun to see the tip of the iceberg.”

NHCLC/Conela is the largest Hispanic Christian organization representing millions of Evangelicals, 40,118 U.S churches and hundreds of thousands more across the globe. Seeking to reconcile evangelist Billy Graham’s message of salvation with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s march of prophetic activism, the NHCLC/Conela emphasizes “7 Directives” of Life, Family, Compassionate Evangelism, Stewardship, Justice, Education and Youth. For additional information, visit nhclc.org.

SOURCE National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference

CONTACT: A. Larry Ross Communications, Julie Shutley, 972.267.1111, [email protected]