Church opens baptismal waters; migrants pass through

By Elket Rodríguez

Even on the rocky soil of migration pathways, faithful Christians sow gospel seeds that yield bountiful blessings—souls born into the kingdom of heaven. 

This past Sunday, Primera Iglesia Bautista of Piedras Negras, Mexico, conducted its first post-COVID baptismal service, and it was an immigration-infused celebration.

A Honduran migrant couple, Erick Aguilar and Ingrid Muñoz, and their 11-year-old daughter, Natali, and another Honduran migrant, Nelson Hernandez, passed through the baptismal waters at the church, just across the U.S.-Mexico border from Eagle Pass, Texas.

"Erick and his family and Nelson were the first Christians baptized since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic,” reported Pastor Israel Rodríguez Segura.

Rodríguez, who was eager to resume baptisms in the church, acknowledged these new Christians will continue their pilgrimage to the United States. Still, he is grateful to God the congregation is able to serve as an oasis in the middle of the desert for migrants.

“We know they are not going to stay here (in Piedras Negras), but we are not working for them to stay here,” he said. "We have their contact information to help them find a church in their final destination."

Primera Iglesia Bautista operates the only two shelters authorized to protect migrants in Piedras Negras, Rodríguez said. They currently serve about 60 refugees seeking U.S. asylum. In addition, the church has a simple discipleship and evangelism program that allows migrants who do not know Jesus to be baptized.

“Next Sunday (June 13), we will baptize at least seven more migrants,” he stated.

However, what Rodríguez celebrates the most is how God continues to send Christian migrants to help him in the ministry.

“It has been a blessing to receive Christian migrants, because they minister to their own fellow servants,” he explained. “Especially Brother Samuel Mejía, who is a young Honduran Christian we are currently sheltering and who has done a very nice job ministering to his fellow Hondurans.”

The church has been a regional stalwart in Fellowship Southwest’s ministry to refugees along the U.S.-Mexico border. In its six years of ministry to migrants, the congregation has been an enclave of Christian love for thousands of migrants. 

Rodríguez’s prayer for his church’s ministry is simple. “We hope to receive more Christians of good testimony like Samuel, who like to share the gospel, be a blessing to others and help us in the ministry to migrants,” he explained.

Fellowship Southwest supports PIB Piedras Negras as part of its immigrant relief ministry all along the U.S.-Mexico border. If you would like to contribute to our network of pastors serving migrants on the border, click here.