We Helped Start the First Hispanic Company in Pittsburgh

We Helped Start the First Hispanic Company in Pittsburgh
Editorial by Sergio Romero

Many may associate the city of Pittsburgh with its iconic sports teams, the Steelers and Pirates, but the Allegheny West Conference has decided to cheer for another team in “the Steel City:” Team Hispanic.

The conference shares this territory with the Pennsylvania Conference, and neither had a Hispanic presence in the city. With the help of the Columbia Union, Allegheny West decided to take the city by storm. We recently sent a star player, Pastor Ricardo Castro, to teach and preach the message of salvation to the Hispanic population in that area.

Pastor Castro spent a lot of time in an area with a high density of Hispanics. Every day he stopped by the local Hispanic supermarket, making friends, helping those in need carry grocery bags to their houses and promoting free English classes. As a result, Castro convinced more than 100 people to study the Bible with him.

When asked why he was willing to sacrifice so much time in that particular area instead of being more traditional and spending additional time with his family, his answer was, “Why not?”

In March local churches hosted an evangelistic crusade in the city, and many people attended the nightly meetings. Even the local pastor from the host church attended. Now there is a Hispanic presence in Pittsburgh. A church has been established, and on a recent Sabbath, more than 40 Hispanic people worshipped together in an Adventist company for the first time.

We felt the presence of the Holy Spirit, great decisions were made and now the church is moving forward full steam.