EBI (Editorial Bautista Independiente)

Baptist Mid-Missions has held a large impact on Latin America for many decades. However, as people  come to know Christ, Bibles and other Christian material in the Spanish language are hard to access. To  meet this need for Spanish Christian material, BMM started Editorial Bautista Independiente (EBI), in  Sebring, Florida. More information on EBI can be found at https://www.ebi-bmm.org/. Most of the work done by EBI is analysis, translation, and publishing. English speakers have much  material they can find about God and Christianity, but many such books, textbooks, and Sunday School  materials have doctrinal error. EBI meticulously reads potential works to analyze them for biblical  doctrine and references and examples that adhere to the Spanish culture. Next, EBI’s translators  translate the approved material into Spanish and rework illustrations to fit the culture. Finally, EBI sends  off the material to a printing house. When the newly printed material arrives at EBI, it is available for  hundreds of Spanish-speaking missionaries, pastors, teachers, students, and other Christians to  purchase and glean from. I will be moving to Sebring as a volunteer for EBI. Presently, I will not become a missionary of BMM, but I  plan to work full time at EBI. I will be mainly an office assistant, keeping track of data entry, helping  schedule team travelling, and updating customer databases. As my Spanish improves, I will also be  answering the phone to help customers. My work may very possibly also include janitorial work as well  as running errands. Because EBI is strictly a publishing house, I will not be reaching unsaved people firsthand through my  work. But I will look for a church that I can serve in. I am sure that my home will be surrounded by those  who are unsaved and need a Christian neighbor. In addition, the director and his wife, Bruce and Lisa  Burkholder, often make trips to conferences inside the US and to Latin American countries; they have  welcomed me to join them on such trips. My immediate supervisor will be Bruce Burkholder. I will be working under him and with his team at EBI.  In a more general sense, I will be under the authority of BMM, because I will be working for BMM’s  Spanish publishing house. My goals as a missionary at EBI are rather simple. I want to be a blessing to the people among whom  God places me. He has opened the door for EBI, so I will work to serve the team at EBI in all ways that I  can. I am eager to help them continue their publishing process so that Spanish-speaking people will be  able to have the tools necessary to learn more about and grow in their relationship with God. I can think of three ways that a church can help me be the missionary God wants me to be. The first is  monetary. I will not be able to work at EBI and have my needs met at the same time, because EBI pays  no one and all its staff are fully supported missionaries. The second is prayer. I will need God’s strength  and presence as much as any other Christian needs, and the Bible says that the prayers of other  believers are very profitable (James 5:15-18). The third way that a church can help is through fellowship.  Like any other Christian, I will need encouragement to continue serving God. I will need accountability,  despite the great distance between my supporting churches and me