Kansas Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists (KNCSB)

Church closes doors, passes baton to Hispanics

John Minor (right) preached the final sermon in his full-time ministry career on Sunday, June 27. Minor had served at Woodland Baptist Church in north Wichita for 17 years. The service also marked the end of Woodland’s 45-year history. Woodland passed on its building and property to Iglesia Bautista Nueva Vida. The Hispanic congregation had been sharing the Woodland facility since December 2007. Carlos Carreón (left) is Nueva Vida’s pastor. His wife, Vicki, serves at his side. She served as translator for the bilingual service on June 27.

As the upbeat praise service began on Sunday morning, June 27, Pastor John Minor stood in the back of the sanctuary with Bible in hand and a contented smile on his face.

Minor was waiting to preach the final sermon in his full-time ministry career at Woodland Baptist Church in north Wichita. The service also marked the end of Woodland’s 45-year existence as a church.

Although some tears were shed, the service was not a funeral. Instead, Woodland passed the ministry baton to Iglesia Bautista Nueva Vida.

The Hispanic congregation had been sharing the Woodland facility since December 2007 right after it constituted. Nueva Vida previously was a mission of South City Southern Baptist Church in Wichita and shared that facility.

Abraham Arevalo was the long-time pastor of Nueva Vida. In January 2008, he began working as the Hispanic church-planter strategist for Heart of Kansas Southern Baptist Association. As he settled into his new role, Arevalo began preparing Nueva Vida for a new pastor.

The two-year process of finding that pastor ended in January 2010 with the arrival of newlyweds Carlos Carreón and his wife, Vicki. They are alumni of Rio Grande Bible Institute in Edinburg, Texas, and previously served as summer missionaries in Kansas.

On Sunday morning, June 27, Carlos Carreón led the service in Spanish with his wife at his side translating into English. Abraham and Ester Arevalo led the lively praise service that featured songs in both English and Spanish.

After the offering, John Minor stepped behind the pulpit. Vicki Carreón translated the sermon into Spanish.

The day was producing “mixed emotions,” Minor admitted as he began his sermon.

There was sadness because Woodland’s 45 years of service was coming to an end. But there was joy knowing the church would live on through the ministry of Iglesia Bautista Nueva Vida.

“God has placed you in a community to reach people in a way that Woodland could not,” Minor told the Nueva Vida congregation.

He cited challenges that Nueva Vida will face. One of them is raising money to construct a new building—the Woodland facility is already too small for the Hispanic congregation.

When Minor came to Woodland 17 years ago, “I had great visions that we would grow a big church.” But things didn’t work out the way he planned, Minor admitted. Instead, God sent Iglesia Bautista Nueva Vida “to carry on the work. We have the promise that He’s going to accomplish what He set out to do.”

As Minor closed his sermon, he asked Carlos Carreón to join him on the platform. Minor then presented Carreón with the keys to the church building.

Then Nueva Vida showed a video called “A Legacy of Faithfulness” about Woodland’s history. A plaque in honor of Woodland also was presented. It will be displayed in the entryway of the new multipurpose building that Iglesia Bautista Nueva Vida is planning to construct on the property.

Although Minor was retiring from 40 years of full-time ministry, he intends to keep serving the Lord. He is available to preach and plans to get involved in Southern Baptist disaster relief. Contact him at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Minor was bivocational during most of his career. He retired from a 31½-year career with Cessna on May 3.

“He’s just a wonderful, faithful servant,” Abraham Arevalo said of Minor.
As Arevalo told of how God is working, he said, “What the Lord is doing at Nueva Vida is amazing, absolutely amazing.”