By Aaron Weaver

In June 2023 Cooperative Baptists voted to elect Rev. Juan García to serve as Moderator-Elect for CBF in 2023-2024. García serves as pastor of the Hispanic Congregation (Primera Iglesia Bautista de Newport News) of First Baptist Church, Newport News Va. It is a multicultural congregation with people from Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean. García will assume the role of CBF Moderator, the Fellowship’s highest-ranking officer, succeeding David Hull, retired pastor of 40 years and consultant with the Center for Healthy Churches, on Friday June 21 at the conclusion of the 2024 General Assembly.

I had the opportunity to speak with García as he steps into his new role as CBF Moderator. The Fellowship is excited to work alongside him in the coming year.

Read our conversation below:

Tell me a little about your childhood. Where did you grow up and where did you attend school?

I grew up in Puerto Rico, mostly in the metropolitan area (San Juan, Rio Piedras, Carolina), living mostly with my mom, since my parents divorced when I was two. I grew up playing basketball with my neighborhood friends and riding my bicycle in the neighborhood. Every other week, I went with my dad to his house in the countryside of the town of Canovanas, where I learned to pick up coffee beans, cut the big and wild Puerto Rican grass with a machete and enjoyed the nice coqui* sounds at night. Since early in my teenage years, I was very active in the Youth Ministry of my church, where at the age of 16 I served as the leader of the ministry. I attended the University of Puerto Rico, where I earned a bachelor’s in business administration with a major in accounting. Later, when I moved to Virginia, I enrolled in Leland Seminary, where I earned a Master of Divinity.

* Native Puerto Rican frog.

What led you to be in ministry? When did you feel the call?

Ever since I decided to follow Jesus, I have been very active at church and inclined to ministry. However when I was about 15 years old, after I had preached in a youth worship service, my pastor embraced me and said to me, “You are going to be a pastor.” At that moment I didn’t know what that meant since I was just a kid. However, those words were planted in me ever since. Nine years later, when I moved to Virginia and the opportunity came to enroll in seminary, those words from my pastor persuaded me to begin my ministry preparation. I moved from Puerto Rico to the U.S. mainland because I received a job offer to work at the Department of the Treasury. However, there was always this feeling inside of me that I was not going to retire there. While in Seminary, the church that I am currently serving approached me to begin a Hispanic Ministry. After praying, my wife Monica and I understood this was God’s calling. So we quit our jobs and moved to a new city. This ministry has evolved to become a full multicultural congregation with different ministries serving the needs of the Hispanic community of Newport News.

You’ve ministered in Newport News, VA for the past 17 years. What have you learned from working with this congregation?

Well, it has been both a beautiful experience and a challenge. I started this congregation within First Baptist Church and began pastoring while I was still in seminary. Here is where I have made my biggest blunders, while at the same time I have learned and grown as a follower of Christ, as a pastor, as a leader and as a human being. The church has shown me a great deal of grace. In my 17 years of ministry here, I have learned the beauty of continuity from my part, while at the same time I have experienced the challenge of lack of continuity from the part of those who composed the church. We are in a very transient area, so in my 17 years I have easily ministered to at least seven to eight different congregations in the same place. From time to time, it feels like starting again, which can be frustrating. However, it is an opportunity to enter a discernment process and lead the congregation into a new beginning.

Who has influenced your ministry?

I’d have to say my first two pastors back in Puerto Rico. The first one showed me passion from the pulpit and what is to have a pastor’s heart toward the congregation. He showed me how to be a pastor who cares for his flock by being present in their lives and tending to their spiritual, emotional and physical needs. My second pastor showed me how to balance ministry responsibilities with family responsibilities. He showed me how to be a husband first who responds to a pastoral calling. From him, I learned to give my wife the treatment and place she deserves, while at the same time making her a very important part of my calling and ministry. Despite me bearing the responsibility of being the pastor, this is a shared ministry, where I need and want my wife’s wisdom, insights and spiritual discernment.

What is your favorite verse, book or story from the Bible?

I would have to say Philippians 2:5-11. This passage not only presents, in a very concise way, the Gospel story (the life, death, resurrection and exaltation of Jesus), but it does it by challenging and calling his followers to live accordingly. This passage is always been a reason for me to worship, while at the same time it calls me to a personal evaluation regarding my commitment to follow Jesus in servanthood and sacrifice for the wellbeing of others.

How did you become connected with CBF?

I got connected with CBF through Ruben Ortiz, the Latino Ministry Coordinator, who invited me to my first Assembly in 2016, which curiously happened in Greensboro, N.C. I felt so good, like I have finally found my denominational connection. This year, after nine years of that first experience, I come back to where all started for me in my relationship with CBF. However, this time not as a guest, but as part of the family and ready to embrace this new opportunity as Moderator. It is always funny to see how God work things out!

What are your hopes to see at General Assembly in North Carolina?

First of all, I look forward to supporting David Hull as he gives leadership as moderator. I hope to see and connect with old friends, as well as making new friends. I want to make myself available to those who haven’t had the opportunity to get to know me. I hope to see, experience and celebrate our growing diversity. I hope that we, as a Fellowship, begin to Re: imagine(ing) our future, and then I hope to continue building on that during my tenure as Moderator. I believe God is up to something wonderful in us, through us and with us. The best is yet to come. So, I hope we can have a huge glance at that amazing future in this year’s General Assembly.

How can we pray for you as moderator this year?

You can pray for wisdom and discernment for me as engage in this new role, while at the same time I continue to juggle with my family and ministerial responsibilities.

What brings you joy?

There are many things. However, I want to share three. First, my children. Seeing them grow, entering in their teenage years and becoming fully devoted followers of Christ brings me great joy. Second, experiencing the presence of God. When I feel God’s presence affirming me and moving me to my very core, this brings me joy. It reminds me that I am still his beloved and God is still at work in me. Third, seeing God at work through a jar of clay like me (us). Knowing that out of his abundant grace he has chosen to use me (us) to be ambassador(s) of King Jesus and his kingdom, that brings me great joy and satisfaction.