Dr. Sam Horn, executive vice president for enrollment and ministerial advancement, has recently assembled a ministry team of BJU students to serve and encourage churches, including the Hispanic community.

Having grown up in a border town in Texas, Horn speaks Spanish. That background has given him opportunities to preach the Word.

Horn frequently helps President Pettit represent BJU to constituents by ministering in churches together.

However, in an effort to broaden their influence and reach more people, they decided to create an additional ministry team to travel with Horn.

Horn’s ministry team usually travels anywhere within a two- to four-hour radius of BJU, within the states of South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia.

While Horn preaches in churches every Sunday, the team travels twice a month, visiting at least two churches during the weekend.

Often, one of these churches is a Hispanic body of believers.

Allison Pfeifle, a senior math education major, is a member of Horn’s team.

“Participating in any music ministry is special because I can share through song or testimony what I’ve been learning,” she said.

Pfeifle said the Spanish-speaking churches specifically remind her of the Gospel’s power to cross cultural and linguistic barriers.

“Even with my bilingual Bible app, I don’t understand much that is said, but I know that I am worshipping the same God with fellow believers,” she said.

The Hispanic population is the second largest population in the United States, and BJU, along with many local churches, wants to reach out to the Hispanic community.

The rapid growth in the Hispanic population has resulted in limited resources available to them compared to the English-speaking body of Christ.

“Believers in churches anywhere need to be encouraged and strengthened, and this need is especially evident in the Hispanic church,” Horn said.

“BJU has a great opportunity to meet this need.”

Horn enjoys interacting with Hispanic students at BJU. Sometimes, after finishing work for the day, Horn will spend a few minutes catching up with these students at The Den over coffee.

“We do a tiny bit of life together,” he said. “It’s an incredible blessing.”

Occasionally, Horn’s family joins him on these weekend ministry trips. His wife, Beth Horn, also speaks Spanish. She enjoys traveling as a representative of BJU to the Hispanic community.

As this ministry expands, Horn is excited about the process of adding more Hispanic students to the team.