What are the challenges and strengths of the Church in Cuba?
Sandra Espinosa Interview
Hosts:
J. Kent Edwards
Vicki Hitzges
Nathan Norman
Narrator: Brian French
The CrossTalk Podcast is a production of CrossTalk Global, equipping biblical communicators, so every culture hears God’s voice. To find out more, or to support the work of this ministry please visit www.crosstalkglobal.org
Produced by Nathan James Norman/Untold Podcast Production
© 2024 CrossTalk Global
Nathan: What are some of the challenges of ministering in Cuba? How has CrossTalk Global's ministry impacted the church in Cuba? And what can we learn from the strengths of the church in Cuba? Join us for an in depth interview with Crosstalk instructor Sandra Espinoza. Welcome to crosstalk, a Christian podcast whose goal is for us to encourage each other to not only increase our knowledge of the Bible, but to take the next steps beyond information into transformation. Our goal is to bring the Bible to life, into all of our lives. I'm Nathan Norman. Today let's explore ministry in Cuba with Sandra Espinoza. Sandra, welcome to the show.
Sandra: Oh, thank you so much for inviting me. I'm very happy to be here.
Nathan: So tell us a little bit about yourself and where do you currently live and what do you do?
Sandra: Of course, I've been living in Florida for about a year and a half now. I work for a small company, but my real passion is serving the church in Cuba through crosstalk ministry.
Nathan: Wonderful, wonderful. So what is your current role with Crosstalk?
Sandra: I am an apprentice instructor for Crosstalk in Cuba. This means that I'm not only receiving coaching from my instructor, but I'm also providing coaching to a group of apprentices in Cuba. We are also making plans to start a new crosstalk cohort in Cuba very soon, which I hope to participate in by teaching the new students.
Nathan: Wonderful. Yeah. So let's back up a little bit. We'll talk more about the ministry in Cuba in a second. But let's go all the way to the beginning. How did you get involved with crosstalk to start with?
Sandra: It's a funny story, actually, and I personally think God planted it all. Some pastors, leaders and preachers were invited for the first Crosstalk group in Cuba. At that time, I wasn't deeply involved in the Christian ministry, but I heard about this training and I went without any invitation, hoping at least participate as a listener. Then one of the invited pastors couldn't attend, and by God's grace, I was there. At that moment, I was able to officially join the group.
Nathan: Wow. Wonderful. So you went through the program and then crosstalk asked you to become an apprentice instructor. Why did you say yes to becoming an apprentice instructor?
Sandra: Well, that's a long history, but I'm gonna make the short version for the podcast. I used to play chess professionally in Cuba. It took up a lot of my time, but I felt God was calling me to serve him in a different way. I didn't know exactly what, but I decided to stop playing chess, which sounds very easy. Now, But I had many questions at the time.
Nathan: Oh, yeah.
Sandra: Soon after, I went to that first close talk meeting. And there I had the opportunity to hear the Bible taught in a way I had never heard before. The Word touched my mind and my heart in an extraordinary way. And that day I knew this was what God was calling me to do. To have the opportunity to transform lives through the power of God's Word, sharing the Bible with others in the same way that I was being impacted at that moment by the message of God's Word. So that was like a. Eight years ago.
Nathan: Wow. Wow. Eight years ago. So there has been lots of growth and a lot of history now with crosstalk and communicating the Bible. So what are some of the challenges of ministry in Cuba?
Sandra: Well, in general, Cubans, whether Christian or not, they face many economic challenges that we could talk about for hours. However, beyond the lack of resources, there are other challenges that Christian ministers must face. For example, the schools teach that God does not exist and churches are for uneducated people.
Nathan: Oh, wow.
Sandra: Yeah. That's crazy. Almost every human grow up thinking that God is not real and going church is a waste of time.
Nathan: Wow.
Sandra: Another big problem is that many church leaders, they don't have good training on how to teach the Bible well because of the lack of access to Christian seminars and programs to be trained. So we have a very hostile context and not enough leaders were trained.
Nathan: Right. That is difficult.
Sandra: Right.
Nathan: So the schools are teaching that the churches are for uneducated people, and then the church doesn't have any opportunity to get theologically educated. Right. So that creates a big challenge. So what are some of the other challenges Christians face in Cuba?
Sandra: Well, we have an internal problem in the church, but I think it's because of the. When the political system changed, many pastors left the country at that time, leaving behind a generation that had a great desire to serve God, but practically no training. Additionally, for many years, the government officially tolerated the church, but being a Christian was not easy at all. It was even more difficult for someone from outside the country to come and train pastors. So many pastors learn to teach the Bible in ways that aren't always correct. So doing this for years, used to interpreting the Bible individually without taking into account things like the Big idea has created an imbalance where many pastors underestimate formal preparation for studying the Bible. And other pastors who do want to learn and be trained find it difficult to unlearn all that old way of interpreting that we got from leaders who stayed to serve in Cuba after 1959. But with so much passion and love for the Lord, but without any resources on how to do it in the most effective way possible. So now some pastors think they don't need new training, while others find it hard to change their old ways of teaching. So that's a great challenge that we have now in the Cuban church.
Nathan: Yeah, because it's hard. It's hard to change your ways once you've kind of set into a pattern of doing things. Yeah, it's an incredibly difficult situation you're describing. So how has the church in general responded to crosstalk being in Cuba now for about eight years, right?
Sandra: Yeah. Yeah. Well, right now they are eager to receive a new cohort in Cuba. So we have shown what crosstalk can do in the Cuban church. They have been seeing results. They are responding very well. They are willing to learn. They are willing to try a new way of thinking, of teaching, and let God make the rest.
Nathan: Wow, that's really encouraging. So we're talking about some of the challenges in Cuba, but what are some of the strengths of the church in Cuba?
Sandra: There are many good things. Since Cuba is facing now the worst financial situation in the history of the country, people in Cuba is more willing to hear the gospel and run into the churches more now than ever, looking for some sort of hope. Cuban church is growing really fast.
Nathan: Wow.
Sandra: It's like a. Yeah, it's really fast. By the other hand, human Christians, they are very strong. They don't give up easily. Some pastors I have met, they have had their churches knocked down, but they just building again. Many churches help feed all people in their neighborhoods, even when they don't have much for themselves. As a testimony of God's faithfulness to the unbelievers, churches often work together too, which is really nice to see.
Nathan: Yeah, it's a wonderful thing where the church is being the church. The church is now seen in the midst of crisis because of their faithfulness as the place to go when you need help. The place where they can go to cry out to God for help. That's an amazing thing. And I love how the church in Cuba organically sees the need of the people in their area. And they just help. It's beautiful. It's beautiful. So eight years, you've seen Big Idea preaching. How have you seen Big Idea preaching impact Cuba?
Sandra: The Big Idea preaching impact Cuba? Well, this type of preaching is really impacting the church in Cuba. And. And I can tell you not, not only from my personal experience, but let me tell you about my pastor, Lisa.
Nathan: Okay.
Sandra: He's my pastor in Cuba. He's a young. He's a young man. He. He's. I think he's 34 years old or 35. He started in a small mission in a small neighborhood in Cuba, surrounded by many people hostile to the gospel and who didn't like Christians without their own place to meet and no material resources like audio equipment or comfortable seats. Only about five or six brothers and sisters met with him to pray and study the Bible. That was like, I don't know, maybe five years ago. And Ulysses took the crosswalk, training the whole program. And now, with God's help, through biblical prefim, based on communicating the big idea, Ulysses has raised a church of more than 50 faithful members who meet twice a week in the same community. Today, the community respects the church and has totally different concept of the church, thanks to biblical preaching and the testimony of the believers who are attending the services. So that's just an example of what is doing the biblical preaching of the big idea in a small town in Cuba. So I can't wait to see what's going to happen in the future. Wow.
Nathan: What a transformation. So you go from a very hostile neighborhood, and as the Bible is accurately preached, and I think when you're preaching God's ideas from the Bible, you unlock. Not unlock. That's the wrong word. I think when you're teaching God's ideas from the Bible, his power is unleashed on the congregation. The word changes hearts and transforms people. And so in a short time, you go from enemies to people who are now actively supporting the church.
Sandra: Yeah.
Nathan: Wow. What a beautiful testimony.
Sandra: There is something. Something that happened to Ulysses. And now it comes to my mind when he first start meeting and the people start to attend into the church. He had maybe 20 brothers there already. A neighbor who every time when Ulysses start preaching, he just play the music so loud that it was almost impossible to. To hear Lisa's sermon. Right.
Nathan: Oh.
Sandra: And at the end, maybe after one year, one year, he surrendering his life to Jesus and putting his home, offering his house to worship God, his audio system to play the worship songs. And he's a Christian now.
Nathan: Wow.
Sandra: Yeah.
Nathan: And the church got a musician.
Sandra: Yeah.
Nathan: Oh, praise the Lord. That's a great story. Yeah. So I'm encouraged to hear what's happening in Cuba, and I'm sure our listeners are excited. That is one of the regions that. That people in crosstalk ask about all the time is, oh, what's going on in Cuba? What's happening there? And it's so encouraging to see the word of God transforming individuals, churches and cultures as it's being preached faithfully.
Sandra: I want to encourage to every person who is listening this podcast to get involved with crosstalk in Cuba somehow. You can pray for Cuba. You can pray and give to Crosso Global and you can go to Cuba. You can go to Cuba and see by yourself what is God's doing in Cuba. So I just want to encourage you to take this step and involve with crosstalk and crosstalk in Cuba.
Nathan: Thank you so much for being with us today and we're excited to hear more in the future about what God is doing through you, your ministry and the ministry in Cuba.
Sandra: Sure, sure. Thank you.
Nathan: You heard it right from Sandra. The work that God is doing through CrossTalk Global in Cuba is having an impact both on individuals lives and within the church and as a result changing the culture. May we all have the same attitude of the church in Cuba. When we see the needs of our neighbors, no matter what the cost is, we always go out and reach and help them in the name and the power of Jesus. The CrossTalk podcast is a production of CrossTalk Global Equipping Biblical communicators so every culture hears God's voice. To find out more about this educational nonprofit organization, please visit www.crosstalkglobal.org. you can also support this show by rating it on Apple Podcasts or wherever you find it. Be sure to listen next Friday and discover how to go deeper in your relationship with God. You won't want to miss. May we also have the same spirit of the church in Cuba where we see the needs of our neighbors and even in our. No, I'm trying to write a closing here without writing. Closing. I'm sorry.
Sandra: It's okay.