New Life Hispanic Ministries (NLHM)is a multi-denominational evangelical Bible based mission. NLHM is an outgrowth
of the efforts of a local church to reach out to the Hispanic community of the
Yakima Valley.
“NLHM seeks to reach Hispanic peoples with the Gospel of Jesus Christ in all places by all means”
This vision will be reached by commissioning our team to promote and implement biblical principles for relational and multicultural ministry.
- Church Planting
- Church Mobilization
- Cross cultural training
- Conferences, Bible studies, Sermons, Seminars, etc.
- Short Term Missions (Bi-directional)
- Evangelism, VBS, ESL, Community service, etc.
- Training, Conferences, Retreats, etc.
- Media Ministries
- Radio
- Printed
- Audiovisual
- Internet
Purpose Statement
The purpose of New Life Hispanic Ministries is to establish churches primarily
among Hispanic peoples in the Northwest and to help, encourage and facilitate
established churches to witness Christ to the Hispanic community.
Statement of Faith
Download the full Statement of Faith [
PDF 25KB]
Meet the Director
The New Life Hispanic Ministries is led
by a General Director, Elias Garcia - Learn more about the
NLHM Director
Meet the Missionaries
There are currently three missionary families serving the Hispanic community
through New Life Hispanic Ministries. Read
about the NLHM missionaries
Meet the Board
The New Life Hispanic Ministries is governed by a volunteer board and headed
by an General Director. Learn more about the
NLHM Board Members
A Brief History of New Life Hispanic Ministries
The last recorded words of Jesus are found in Acts 1:8, “You will receive
power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,
and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (NIV).
Earlier, in Matthew 28:19 and 20 Jesus told them, “Go and make disciples
of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and
of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you”.
(NIV) Today, the instructions for believers are the same. Of course, wherever
we live is our Jerusalem; and the foreign countries are different for each of
us, because of where we live.
New Life Hispanic Ministry was birthed in the Yakima Valley of Washington in
2003. This ministry exists solely as a response to God’s call to be witnesses
for Him, and disciple new believers in a different culture and a different language
in our “Jerusalem”.
The seeds of the ministry of New Life Hispanic Ministry were planted by God,
in two very different parts of the world, almost simultaneously. In 1993, a
group of evangelical pastors in Venezuela began to pray about how they might
participate in the evangelism and discipleship of Spanish-speaking people in
the United States. They knew many Hispanics lived in the United States, and
they also knew there was very little outreach to them in their own language.
God burdened their hearts and they prayed for over five years asking God if
He would show them how they could participate in a foreign ministry to North
America.
At the same time, God began to work in the hearts of believers in an evangelical
church in Yakima, Washington. They began to pray a similar, but different prayer,
asking God to show them how to share the Good News with unreached Spanish speaking
neighbors. Of those living in Yakima County, more than 40% are of Hispanic heritage.
Through the years, there has been very little local evangelical ministry of
sharing the truth and simplicity of the gospel of Jesus with these Spanish speaking
people, in their own language.
While the Yakima group was praying, God called them to go to Venezuela with
a series of short-term missions ministries. The ministry was to assist some
small local churches reach out to their neighbors and to evangelize their surrounding
unreached communities for Christ. In this new partnership, God used these new
relationships to bring us together. We learned together, how to effectively
evangelize and disciple lost neighbors.
In preparation for a new outreach trip in Venezuela, scheduled for November
1998, Pastor Isaias Rojas asked the question of one of our leaders, “How
many Spanish speaking churches have you planted in Yakima?” The embarrassing
answer was zero. We were praying, and we had a burden to do something; but we
were at a loss of how to begin.
The following January, an e-mail was sent from Venezuela to the same leader
in the church in Yakima. The e-mail presented a proposal of what they believed
was an answer to the prayers of the Venezuelans: asking God to provide a way
for an opportunity for the Venezuelans to have an outreach in North America.
It also would be a partial answer to our prayers; enabling us to begin a gospel
ministry in our Hispanic neighborhoods! The email presented a plan where they
would send a team to Yakima in June, for 10 days. The team would assist us,
by going with us in door-to-door and relationship evangelism throughout Yakima
County. Believers in Yakima & Venezuela joined hearts in prayer. We agreed
God was calling us to say, “YES!” and we responded in faith. Twenty
Venezuelans were able to come to Yakima, and a new ministry was born in Yakima.
At this time, God was also working in the hearts of a Venezuelan couple, Elias
and Arelis Garcia. God was asking Elias to quit his high-paying, privileged,
government job in Venezuela, and follow Him into full time ministry. Elias and
Arelis answered God’s call, and merely said, “YES” to God.
Shortly after their decision to follow God wherever He would lead them, they
received their first assignment: move to Yakima to lead this new work God had christened.
Elias came to Yakima several weeks ahead of the rest of the Venezuelan team
and helped organize and develop the strategy for the ministry team. Following
the week of evangelism outreach, it was apparent to everybody that God had called
Elias & Arelis Garcia to permanently move to Yakima to lead this new work
of God.
God has shown His power and His presence as the ministry of New Life Hispanic
Ministries has grown into a multi-faceted outreach. The first church to grow
from this ministry, Iglesia Biblica Vida Nueva, is now a thriving local body
of Christ. Attendance for Sunday services averages 75 adults and children. The
church is moving to become a bi-lingual ministry, with preaching, teaching,
and music in Spanish & English. This is enabling whole families to attend
and participate in their most familiar language. The church is purchasing their
own facility, where they can continue to grow and expand.
The church now has a full-time pastor, which has allowed the Garcia family to focus on planting
new churches in other Hispanic neighborhoods.
Local evangelical, English only churches, have asked how they might become
involved with and support the Hispanic ministry in the Yakima Valley. These
churches also sought help developing short-term ministries to Mexico. In response
to these requests, New Life Hispanic Ministries has developed a partnership
with missionaries and local pastors in the Circle of Silence area of Mexico.
The Circle of Silence is in the central highlands, and is family origin of many
Yakima Valley Hispanics. The number of evangelical believers who live there
numbers considerably less than 1% of the population. New Life Hispanic Ministries
presently sponsors a missionary family, the Judah Salis, who permanently live
in this area. The primary ministry of the Salis is to be a liaison with the
local Mexican churches as they ask for ministry help. The Salis then coordinate
and direct the short-term teams coming from the United States, while they are
in Mexico. One of the outgrowths of these short-term ministries has been a growing
synergy of ministry and cooperation between local English-speaking congregations
and evangelical Hispanics in the Yakima Valley.
Beginning in the summer of 2007, New Life Hispanic Ministries also sponsored
a new church planting work in the City of Tieton, WA. The Juan Aguilar family
began with door-to-door evangelism, and will be starting neighborhood Bible
studies in the fall. First results are several new brothers and sisters in Christ
who will join us in eternity! We believe this is just the beginning!
The vision of New Life Hispanic Ministries is to give assistance to those preaching
the gospel and making disciples among the unreached Hispanics in Yakima and
beyond. This includes church mobilization, community outreach, leadership development,
and training in discipleship. We invite you to join us in this significant ministry!
We need prayer partners. Pray about opportunities to financially support the
work of this ministry. Perhaps God will call you to become personally involved
in planting new churches; or teaching English as a second language. Most Hispanic
people of Yakima County have never heard a clear presentation of God’s
amazing grace! They need to know! Will you join us?
Download the Articles of Incorporation [ PDF 11KB]
As a Hispanic church in Yakima, we recognize the need to expand
this work to minister to the growing Hispanic community in the Northwest.
