NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)—BP en Español, a Spanish-language product published by Baptist Press, debuts today, Sept. 1.
The weekly edition will be posted on www.BPNews.net.
“The theme for all of our materials in BP en Español will be evangelistic, edifying and informative,” said Will Hall, executive editor of Baptist Press and vice president for news services with the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee.
He added that BP en Español will seek “to serve Hispanic evangelicals looking for equipping resources and to attract Hispanic seekers wanting to know more about the Christian faith.”
Each edition of BP en Español will include:
— an original feature article from Nuestra Tarea, the Spanish-language missions and ministry magazine published by Woman’s Missionary Union, or from the Baptist Spanish Publishing House.
— an original first-person column. Columnists will include Fermin Whittaker, executive director of the California Southern Baptist Convention; Gustavo Suarez, executive director of the Northwest Baptist Convention; Rudolph D. Gonzalez, dean of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s William R. Marshall Center for Theological Studies in San Antonio, Texas; Octavio Esqueda, assistant professor of administration and foundations of education at Southwestern’s school of educational ministries in Fort Worth; Oscar Fernandez, editor-in-chief in adult ministry publishing at LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention.
— news items from Baptist Press’ weekly Life Digest, Culture Digest, Marriage Digest.
Hall noted that Spanish is the second-most-spoken language in the world, “yet only about 3 percent of online materials are written in Spanish. There are about 11.5 million Hispanics in the U.S. who regularly access the Internet and if ratios hold true for this language community as for Anglos, it is likely that about 25 percent of Hispanic Internet users are searching for religious materials and resources to answer questions about faith.
“It is hard to estimate the worldwide demand,” Hall said, “but needless to say, the opportunity for growth of this initiative is wide open.”
Hall said BP en Español’s feature stories and first-person columns will include such topics as churches that are reaching the lost in innovative or traditional ways; salvation experiences that will inspire; biblical exposition that informs readers about critical points of Scripture relating to current events or issues; and service journalism pieces to help equip readers for life, witness and ministry.
–30–
