In June of 1989 Missionary Austin Gardner aided in the start of a movement that has been going on here for the past twenty years. Hunter Baptist Church is a church that gives of itself and is given over to a passion to spread the gospel not only in it’s neighborhood, city, state or its country, but it’s also given over to fulfill the great commission in all the world.
Hunter was organized in June of 1989 and it wasn’t long until there was a need for a new location. Within the same year Hunter moved just a few blocks down the road. God was gracious enough to provide Hunter’s needs through men and women with hearts for missions. There also came a point in time that the Macedonia Baptist Seminary was moved there because there was insufficient room in Bro. Gardner’s house. God used this church located in a blue-collar district inside of Arequipa to do many great things.
In the past twenty years God has called more than sixty young men and women from this church alone to study and prepare themselves for the ministry God has planned for them. In the past twenty years Hunter has been directly involved in the planting of 25 different churches. They have sent out around 25 missionaries and pastors. You can clearly see through their actions that the people of Hunter have a heart for the world.
In 2002, Missionary Austin Gardner turned over the responsibility of the pastorate to Miguel Murillo who is still pastoring there today. At that time Hunter had around 280 people that attending Hunter Baptist Church. Today due to a split in the church there over 250 people that attend every Sunday. Now the split that I speak of is not a split because the pastor “didn’t write me when my friend died, so I am going to leave and start another church” type of split. Rather, this split was a planned moving of people to start another church–Smyrna Baptist Church which has around 175 conservatively every Sunday.
I ask that you pray for your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ as they continue to follow and fulfill the great commission.
Please enjoy the following pictures. “Twentieth Anniversary @ Hunter Baptist Church”
November 25, 2009 at 11:26 pm |
good article. We organized the church that year but I was working there from may of the year before and we also sent out many others to start churches. Liked your comment though