On a mildly busy street in a quiet corner of Fellspoint area in downtown Baltimore nestles the storefront headquarters of the Baltimore Hispanic Ministry of the The United Methodist Church, Baltimore-Washington Conference. On its white doors are painted the words Bienvenidos and Welcome.

Formally launched and consecrated last September 19, the initial ground work and preparation for this mission initiative began in July last year, with the appointment of the Rev. Fidel Compres as the Baltimore Hispanic Ministry Coordinator. The ministry is a collaborative effort between the General Board of Global Ministries National Plan for Hispanic Ministries and the Baltimore-Washington Conference.

Rev. Compres is a commissioned missionary of the General Board of Global Ministries. He and his family came to the United States from the the Dominican Republic in 1986. Initially, it wasn't the call to mission that brought him and his family to this country -- it was the health needs of his wife and their desire to provide better educational opportunities for his children. But "when the Lord opened the door" and led him into this ministry, it became plain to Rev. Compres that it was God who has called him to it.

The Hispanic ministry in Baltimore, according to Rev. Compres, is an effort of the church to put forth, with God's help, Christ's ideals of peace, justice, love and salvation. His vision is for the facility to reach out to the community, and become a center especially for its youth.

"Every night I walk around the streets and see people sleeping there. One night I saw a man looking for food among the trash, and eating what he found there. When I think about this, I ask, 'why?'"

Rev. Compres told the story of a 67-year old Latino male whom he had met at a nursing home who has lived in the United States for 32 years, but was still undocumented. Without any friends, and not having any rights, he became despondent and turned to alcohol. In the basement of an abandoned building where he spent nights, his legs were bitten by rats. Gangrene set in and eventually his legs had to be amputated.

Having learned of his plight, Rev. Compres visited the man and one evening took him to a Hispanic festival at Camden Yards, home of the Baltimore Orioles team. There was a lot of singing and dancing, and the man had tears in his eyes, because he was happy. But being in the midst of such festivities also made him very sad.

During the consecration and inauguration of the ministry, Bishop Felton Edwin May charged those gathered for the occasion: "Stand with Christ at your side, and bring healing to this community...[and] God will provide the resources, personnel, energy, wisdom to do far more than we can realize, because God is with us."

The day after the formal launching of the Baltimore Hispanic Ministry, Rev. Compres heard a knock at the door. There was a man at the door.

"May I have a drink?" the man asked. Rev. Compres asked the man to wait while he fetched him a glass of juice.

Then the man asked, "Do you have some food?" Since there was plenty of food left from the previous day's celebration, Rev. Compres invited the man inside and gave him some food. While the man ate, Rev. Compres took the occasion to tell him that while he cared for him, Jesus loved him even more.

When the man finished eating, he stood up, put his hand inside his pocket, and handed Rev. Compres a key. It was the key that had been left in the lock inside the door of the building; the man had obviously stolen the key as he came in. But Rev. Compres' bold welcome had a transforming effect on him.

"The church is a hospital for sinners," declared Rev. Compres. "My hope is to give everyone an opportunity to be a disciple of Jesus."

The National Plan for Hispanic Ministry, of which the Baltimore Hispanic Ministry is a part, was mandated by the 1996 General Conference of The United Methodist Church and is the first coordinated, comprehensive effort of The United Methodist Church to focus on the development and strengthening of Hispanic Ministries. Its Coordinator at the General Board of Global Ministries is the Rev. Jose L. Palos. According to this plan, by the year 2010, on the basis of current projections...almost of all United Methodist annual conferences in the United States will have over 100,000 Hispanics within their borders... The Hispanic ministry in Baltimore is a direct missional response to this challenge.

November 1, 1999