In the Antwerp region of northern Belgium, not far from the border with the Netherlands, the 2025 Association of Hispanic Seventh-day Adventist Churches in Europe (AIALE) opened its three-day convention on September 12. In the main hall of Malle’s Vormingscentrum, hundreds of Hispanic Adventist members from across a dozen European countries traveled to participate in worship, fellowship, and training in their mother tongue. Most were first-generation immigrants who left their countries in South and Central America—for some, decades ago—in search of more opportunities and a better future. Many of them were already Adventists when they arrived.
Another smaller group of attendees also made a significant impact during the convocation. The group comprised a second generation of Adventist Hispanics, sons and daughters of many of those earlier immigrants. Unlike their parents, they are culturally more like Europeans and can communicate in three or four languages without an accent.
In most cases, while they have kept the language of their parents, they have experienced more years of formal education and are making the most of the opportunities European education provides. Some have finished high school and are now in college, getting ready to enter the professional workforce. They too, however, have stayed in the faith of their parents and now are using their talents to support their local congregations and move Adventism forward in some of the most challenging places to share the gospel message.
From Spectators to Actors
During the convention weekend a state-of-the-art audiovisual system facilitated the worship, preaching, and training. The audio control panel and all the equipment were managed by Johann Barcarcel, a 13-year-old from Spain, and local Belgian siblings Liliana (17) and Adrian (19) Tomescu. Growing up in northern Belgium, Liliana and Adrian are fluent in Flemish (Dutch), French, English, and Spanish. Liliana is attending language school, hoping to become a translator and interpreter; Adrian is enrolled in music school, where he studies cello.
“The new generation of Hispanics in Europe includes tech-savvy, digital natives who can provide much-needed assistance in the area of audio, broadcasting, and social media,” a convention leader said while explaining the rationale for utilizing the talent of their young members. “With a little help and oversight, they will soon be more than ready to take over.”
Special music items during Sabbath worship included the Voces de Esperanza (Voices of Hope) choir from the Betel Hispanic Adventist Church in the Brussels capital region. Choir members came from two Hispanic congregations in the area and were mostly teenagers and young adults. They included Cassandre Maniquet and Juliette Morales. Born in Belgium to Colombian parents, Cassandre and Juliette have been friends since childhood. “We sing together because even though we attend different congregations, we know each other very well,” Juliette explains. “We regularly meet and take part in joint activities, including the choir.”
Cassandre and Juliette, who are studying economy and animation, have managed to retain the Spanish language at home and at church. They speak French in their neighborhood and at school. They also know English. Becky Morales, 20, who grew up in a Colombian family in Belgium, conducts Voces de Esperanza. She is studying architecture in Brussels. These youth are all part of a young generation of up-and-coming Hispanic Adventists, regional church leaders explained. “These kids are being a light in the heart of Europe—illuminating their neighborhoods, schools, and churches,” they said.
Leaders of the Flock
Many of these members of the younger generation are supported by Hispanic pastors who also have ample experience in cross-cultural mission in Europe. Such is the case of Anderson Bolaños. After growing up in a Hispanic family in Belgium, Bolaños studied theology at Montemorelos University in Mexico. In 2011 he began graduate studies at the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies in the Philippines. After graduation he accepted a call to teach at Dominican Adventist University in the Dominican Republic.
Years later, after Bolaños returned to Belgium to pursue a doctoral degree at Leuven University, he received a call to serve as a pastor and church planter in the Netherlands. “Church planting is my passion,” Bolaños, who helped launch four new church groups, says. “But I am also helping some long-established congregations—both Dutch- and Spanish-speaking—to grow.”
The new generation of Adventist pastors also includes Luis Fajardo, pastor of the Central London Hispanic Adventist Church. Fajardo shared how through a weekly program titled Código Abierto (Open Code) the church is connecting with other Adventist young people from across Europe. Every Friday evening special guests discuss topics of interest as participants connect online from such places as London, Brussels, and Milan. “This project was born out of a desire to connect young people across the continent,” Fajardo said. “The idea is that they may know that in other countries they have friends with whom they can connect and develop friendships.”
Eliasib Sánchez Jiménez, a Mexican native who has served for decades as a pastor and a leader in Spain, celebrated the new generation of pastors who, he said, are “reviving Hispanic congregations across Europe.” According to him, the contributions of Adventist Hispanics cannot be overstated. “Thank to Hispanics, Europeans learned about small-group ministry,” he said. “And the Hispanic Adventist work is growing everywhere. Congregations are expanding, moving from basements to above-ground halls. Some are purchasing properties to have a church building of their own. Praise be to God, the future of Hispanic Adventism in Europe looks bright.”
To read the original article, please go here.
