N.C. Baptists to begin immigrant assistance

N.C. Baptists to begin immigrant assistance

CARY, N.C. — A new Baptist Immigrant Services ministry being launched by the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina will set up a number of immigration ministry centers across the state to help churches better welcome immigrants.

Churches and associations will be encouraged to establish a variety of ministry efforts to engage immigrants with the gospel.

The convention has named two leaders for the ministry: Longtime staffer Amaury Santos, a native of Dominican Republic and a former church planter, and contract worker Larry Phillips, who served as a Southern Baptist missionary to Peru.

Hispanics are North Carolina’s largest ethnic group by far.

According to U.S. census data, the estimated Hispanic/Latino population makes up 9.5 percent of North Carolina’s total population. (BP)