Actually Calero and his wife Luris made the move by way of Bethel Seminary San Diego. Calero was within a year of completing his master of divinity degree when Steve Voth, then dean of Bethel San Diego, and John Huffman, an executive minister with the Heartland Baptist District of the Baptist General Conference, brought Grand Island’s urgent need to his attention.

“It is important for me to finish my master of divinity and doctor of ministry degrees so I can teach in a Hispanic or bilingual seminary,” Calero says. “But our heart is charged with compassion for the Hispanic people here in Grand Island. I pray and pray and pray every day for them. This was hard for us, but God put in our heart peace about the decision.”

Hispanics in the Heartland

Indeed, the need is great. Nearly 8,000 of Grand Island’s 43,000 inhabitants are Hispanics who have resettled there from such countries as Guatemala, Mexico, San Salvador, Honduras, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Chile. Calero and his new church, the Christian Life Center, see their primary mission as ministering to the needs of these people. But it’s a task easier said than done.
For one thing, Grand Island’s Hispanic transplants are there for no other reason than to work. Most of them left their homes because their families are, as Calero puts it, “of lower level vocations,” and cannot make much money. So they came to the United States to find better jobs. As Nebraska’s fourth-largest city, Grand Island hosts more than 80 different manufacturing plants. It was a natural place for these migrant laborers to land, and they are single-minded in their efforts to send funds home in support of the families they left behind.

The language barrier poses another challenge. “The Hispanic youth here speak both English and Spanish,” Calero says. “The problem is the parents. In Guatemala, for example, they speak almost 20 different dialects. For them, Spanish is a second language—and English is a third!” Therefore, Calero preaches in Spanish with an English interpreter. His hopes are twofold: that the Hispanic children will improve their English without losing their Spanish skills, and that Anglos might also be attracted to the church.

But while Calero would like to see Grand Island’s collision of cultures live and work harmoniously, he also recognizes the need for a little downtime among the newcomers. “It’s totally different for them,” Calero says, “the families, the culture, the vocations, the values.” He strives to give them a haven in the Christian Life Center where they feel at home with people of their own culture. He shares the gospel with them and places a lot of focus on family. “We are working for the family values,” he says. “We’re happy seeing the families change.”

Continuing education

“Starting a new church from zero is a big challenge,” Julio Calero confesses, “but Bethel has helped me oh, so much, so much.” When he first moved to Nebraska in the fall of 1999, Calero walked door to door introducing himself to the community and inviting people to join his church. His classes at Bethel in discipleship and evangelization had given him plenty of experience in similar kinds of outreach.

“Plus, my professors teach me something about their lives—their love for Jesus, for people, for their work,” Calero testifies. “They are friends with others. That, I believe, is the difference. When you go to another person, the door is open. Oh, Lord, I need that in my ministry.”

Will he be able to finish his degree work? Absolutely. Calero believes in the old adage that where there’s a will, there’s a way. “Because of Bethel’s InMinistry program,” he explains, “I can finish my studies online over to Bethel Seminary in St. Paul!”

In fact, their own children give the Caleros more than just cultural common ground with the young families that compose much of Grand Island’s Hispanic community: the thirty-something couple parent seven-year-old Juan Miguel and four-year-old Victoria Rose. And while Julio serves the needs of the church, Luris serves on the boards of directors for Grand Island’s St. Francis Medical Center, the “Wellness Works/Por Su Salud” program, the YWCA, and the public library. Soon she will be licensed in the state as a family practice physician, as well.

Fitting in

The Caleros have gained respect and gratitude in Grand Island another important way, too—by transforming what used to be the “Latino Club” into a church. Neighbors hated the former nightclub because of the violent disturbances that occurred there weekend after weekend. Though the club was closed a couple of years ago, its shell remained a monument to the disorder it once housed.

To redeem the building, and promote goodwill between his church and the community, Calero and his growing congregation of nearly 40 members have completely remodeled the structure. And they did it on a budget of only $6,000. “God made tremendous miracles!” Calero says. Among those miracles Calero counts the many friends, neighbors, high school students, and even non-Christians who spent hours of free time on the project. “A lot of people help us,” Calero says cheerfully. “They are all volunteers—the plumber, builder, contractor. Everything came together. Everything inside is new—the nursery, the small office, the sanctuary.”

Even the outside of the building has a fresh look. A neighbor suggested painting a creamy antique white over the tired old blue. Once flowers and bushes were planted to compliment the new paint job, the general consensus in the neighborhood is that the transformation is a huge improvement. The church’s new home officially opened December 1.

Calero is crazy alright—crazy for Christ. Confronting these challenges one by one, he has touched many lives through the planting of the Christian Life Center. But he takes no credit for himself. “God’s grace is upon us,” he says with genuine humility. “We rejoice for that. Praise the Lord.” •

Kristen Luhring is a freelance writer and editor with a bachelor’s degree in writing from Bethel College. She and her husband Adam reside in Ramsey, Minnesota.