Jorge Mayer
Jorge Mayer
R. Steven Norman III
Jorge Mayer
Jorge Mayer
Jorge Mayer
R. Steven Norman III
Jorge Mayer will retire from his position as Hispanic Ministries director in the Southern Union Conference on January 2, 2020, but the legacy and inspiration of this soldier for Christ will continue in the countless lives he has touched during his 40 years of ministry.
“My goal has been to encourage pastors to train their members on how to bring their friends, co-workers, and neighbors to Christ,” says Mayer. “I would like to see that continue.”
The Hispanic Ministries Department seeks to reach the Spanish-speaking population in the Southern Union Conference region. It works with constituent churches in searching for new methods, and resources and skills to better reach Latinos. The department is also focused on a discipleship program, which motivates the church to become actively involved in winning souls for Christ.
Last year, Hispanic Ministries had 2,553 baptisms and 519 professions of faith. During the first quarter of this year, there have been 800 baptisms so far.
Working with pastors to train their members to do evangelism is one of several aspects of Mayer’s ministry that has made him an effective soul-winner for Christ. The most notable is probably his “reaping caravans.”
Instead of an evangelist spending weeks preaching in one location, under Mayer’s caravan model, the evangelist preaches in a different city, or church, each night.
“So, today it’s in Orlando, tomorrow it might be Tampa,” says Mayer, who spends months spiritually preparing the evangelists and the churches they will be visiting before the caravans start.
In early October, there were nine simultaneous caravans going on, with nine different pastors preaching throughout their conferences.
Steven Norman III, communication director for the Southern Union Conference, says Mayer has used caravan evangelism “to more efficiently train hundreds of laymen to share the Good News of Jesus’ love with their friends, as well as to do reaping meetings.
“When I have been with him on training caravans, I was deeply impressed to see so many people in each city learning how to lead their friends to Christ,” says Norman. “When I photograph a reaping caravan, I often shoot through tears of joy at the sight of newly baptized men and women rejoicing in Christ.”
In the battle to keep souls from the enemy, one might say Mayer is like a general who works to make sure his soldiers are as prepared as they can be to fight. It’s no surprise his favorite passages of Scripture are found in Ephesians 6, and read in part: “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”
One way of preparing pastors is through an evangelism-abroad concept, in which Mayer takes a team of ministers to another country to preach. The idea is that they will learn from other pastors, and vice versa.
“The concept is that they will learn how the other culture brings people to Christ, so that when they return to their pastoral districts, they can implement and be even more successful,” says Mayer, who has taken pastors to Europe twice. In late October, he orchestrated nine pastoral reaping meetings in nine cities in Canada.
When it comes to drawing people to Christ, Mayer says anyone can be a soul-winner, and it doesn’t require going to another country, but taking action close to home — in your own neighborhood.
He recalls a time in his ministry when he and his wife, Nibia, moved to a neighborhood in Atlanta. One day when they were walking in the neighborhood, they began to offer a general prayer for the people living on each street. At first, Mayer says, there weren’t any Hispanic families in the neighborhood. But, over a period of time, several moved to the area. Prayerfully, Mayer says he and his wife decided to visit those families, and two happened to be home the day they knocked on the door.
“We introduced ourselves, and said, ‘this is a small gift from your neighbor,’” which was a Christian living book the couple wrote, says Mayer. The book is called El hogar que yo soñé (The Home I Dreamed About).
The couple developed a close friendship with one of the families. One day, the Mayers invited them to their home for lunch.
“After my prayer (to bless the food), their eyes indicated they were touched,” recalls Mayer.
The Mayers and the family began having small prayer group sessions in their homes. And, the Holy Spirit took over.
“The woman was baptized, her husband was baptized, and their two children were,” says Mayer, “just for connecting, just for praying.”
Mayer, 66, says he plans to spend more time with his family, particularly his 7½ grandchildren, when he retires. But, even though he will not be in an administrative position, Mayer says he will continue to proclaim his favorite verses in Ephesians 6.
“In order for me to pass the challenges I will have and be successful at the end, when Jesus comes, I need to wear the armor of God — all the pieces — so Jesus can live in me … and I can bring somebody to Christ.”
Jorge Mayer (center) greets a couple who made their decision for baptism during a meeting held by Roger Alvarez in Milan, Italy.
R. Steven Norman III
Thousands of members have learned how to lead their friends and relatives to Christ by using a simple training brochure “How to Make Friends and Bring them to Christ,” which teaches them step by step.
R. Steven Norman III
R. Steven Norman III
is a former reporter for The Associated Press. He is also author of the book, Finding the Good, which was featured on National Public Radio.
Southern Union | November 2019
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