NAMB reached out to the Alaska Baptist Resource Network, and Morales completed a few months of training. After the training, he moved to Alaska in late 2018 and launched Rescate (“Rescue”) in 2019.
Morales soon discovered the social scene is very different in Alaska than in Texas. There’s less going on. Most people are living there to focus on their work.
This caused Morales to rethink his ministry strategy and begin making connections in stores he knew people frequented. This eventually led to his job at Home Depot, which he started in 2020.
Rescate meets at the building of another Southern Baptist church, Glacier Valley, which partners with them and provides lunch to the congregation each week.
NAMB continues to support the church financially as it experiences spiritual growth.
Although he is very thankful for the baptisms and a growing membership, Morales said his ultimate vision is that Rescate would no longer be the only Hispanic church in the state.
The church desires to disciple people and raise them up to plant other churches to reach the growing Hispanic population. Morales even said he wants to eventually raise up the next leader of Rescate, so he can step away as pastor to instead focus on multiplying other churches.
“Church planting is my desire,” he said. “We are hoping to expand to other cities like Anchorage, Fairbanks, Petersburg and other cities where there is a good number of Hispanics.
“The passion to see souls being brought to Christ is what encourages me and keeps me going. I feed the vision through prayer and intimacy with God, that keeps me focused on what God has told me to do.”
Luis Lopez, executive director of Hispanic relations and mobilization for the SBC Executive Committee, first met Morales while attending the annual meeting of the Alaska Baptist Resource Network a few weeks ago.
Lopez said Morales thanked him for coming and told him he felt less alone as a Hispanic because he was there. Yet, Lopez said he was the one who felt uplifted by hearing about the great work God is doing through Morales and Rescate.
“It is encouraging to see a new church not only thinking about reaching the people in their own community, but being able to reach people with the purpose of training and sending them to other places in the state,” Lopez said. “I think it’s refreshing to see their passion to multiply and to be very intentional.”
Morales urges other Hispanics to consider joining the ministry of Rescate in Alaska, and for Anglo churches to share in his passion for the lost in the state.
“I would tell people that they need to come to Alaska because it is a mission field where there is fertile soil, especially in Hispanic context,” Morales said.
“I would pray that the Anglo church be awakened to the need and to capture the vision of the growing Hispanic population in Alaska.”
This article originally appeared here.
