Mass meeting will unite Spanish-speaking evangelicals

Security lights illuminated the asphalt. Blasts of traffic blared above from a highway overpass. A pastor directed them to clasp hands in a giant circle and shouted, “Vamos a orar.”

A vociferous free-for-all erupted. Some jumped up and down — their heads pointed upward and necks strained to maximize volume. Others bowed their heads, furrowed their brow and uttered inward requests to God.

They pleaded for Christian unity and spiritual revival in San Antonio and then took the crusade on the road — loading up vans and a bus — for a trip around Loop 1604.

It was a spiritual precursor, they said, to a rare prayer summit tonight at the Convention Center, one that has the potential to unite Spanish-speaking evangelicals closer than ever in recent history.

Called “Un Continente, Una Oracion” or “One Continent, One Prayer,” organizers expect more than 2,000 people — some from Dallas, Houston and the border cities.

If Tuesday night’s preparatory event is an indicator, it’ll have a heavy Latino-charismatic flavor: rock-style worship songs and motivational messages, including one from Oak Hills minister and former missionary to Brazil Max Lucado. The atmosphere will underscore the unusual break from isolation in this community, organizers said.

“Everyone has been working on their own and nothing’s happening,” said Fernando Ruiz De La Rosa, the main organizer and owner of “Radio Ola FM,” an evangelical Spanish-language station. “With the fellowship created by this event, we’re going to fight against disunity and lack of trust.”

The movement behind tonight’s event originated in Mexico earlier this year. From 15,000 to 20,000 people, mostly Protestants, filled plazas for ecumenical prayer in four Mexican states. The movement is partly a response to recent turmoil throughout the country, such as the outbreak of the swine flu, economic collapse and drug-related violence, Ruiz said.

It falls in line with the boom in charismatic-Pentecostal Christianity in Latin America, whose growth and organization is beginning to influence the U.S. Hispanic landscape.