By Ronica Shannon
RICHMOND — Pastor Frank Quinones of Corpus Christi, Texas, is helping reach out to Hispanics in the Richmond community who are in need of a place to worship.
The Lexington resident soon will be traveling to Richmond’s White Oak Pond Christian Church, 1238 Barnes Mill Road, tentatively beginning Aug. 20 with the first service at 2:30 p.m.
Quinones was a pastor in Texas for 12 years and has been living in Lexington for about six years where he works as a medical translator.
A woman who attends White Oak Pond Christian Church brought a Mexican family from Richmond to see Quinones.
“They told me there were no Hispanic churches in the area,” he said. “They put me in contact with the pastor.”
White Oak Pond Pastor Randy Rechenbach and the church administrative board agreed to let Quinones use the church facility for the service that will be conducted in Spanish.
“I’m very excited about him coming and doing this,” Rechenbach said. “It gives our church an opportunity to minister to Hispanics and this is very much a need in the community.”
Quinones estimates that there are at least six Spanish-speaking families in the area that would be interested in attending the church.
“I would guess that about 30 people would start out, including children,” he said. “We (Hispanics) do have big families. I have seven children myself.”
He is the father of six boys and one daughter and has two grandchildren. His wife, Ruth, is a native of San Jose, Costa Rica.
Quinones is aware of the growing crime statistics among Hispanics in America and is confident that what people are missing is the word of God.
“I believe it makes people better,” he said. “If you teach people about the principles of the kingdom of Heaven, it will enrich their lives and make them better citizens. We will have less crime. Some of our crime-fighting efforts are not working and I know that the word of God does.”
For more information about the Spanish services, call the church at 623-6515.
Ronica Shannon can be reached at rshannon@richmondregister.com or 623-1669, Ext. 234.
