First Ordained Latino Methodist and Missionary to Mexico In 1873, the first train on the new line out of Vera Cruz carried a Methodist bishop and Alejo Hernandez, the first Latino to be ordained in Methodism, who was the bishop’s choice to establish a mission in Mexico City. But the throbbing power in the locomotive’s...
Category: <span>Rio Texas Annual Conference</span>
Category: <span>Rio Texas Annual Conference</span>
Onderdonk, Frank Scovill (1871-1936)
Missionary to Mexico and among Mexican-Americans Onderdonk was born in Mission Valley, Texas, in 1871. He received his higher education at Southwestern University and then joined the West Texas Conference. From the beginning of his ministerial career, he felt a call to Spanish-language ministry. He served congregations along the Rio Grande. In 1897, Board of...
Pinson, William Washington (1854-1930)
MECS Mission Board Leader Pinson was born in Cheathan County, Tennessee, in 1854. He joined the Tennessee Conference in 1878. After serving pastorates in Tennessee with great success, he transferred to the Texas Conference to serve pastorates in Gonzales and Austin. Just before the turn of the century, he went to the largest church in...
Decherd, Mary
Tireless Fundraiser for MECS Mission to Brazil Mary Decherd was born in Bastrop, Texas in 1874. Her devout mother, Kate Decherd, developed a strong interest in missions. She was active in the local chapters of the Woman’s Home Missions and Parsonage Society, and the Women’s Foreign Missions Society. Additionally, she was “Lady Manager” of the...
Daniel, Jerome Walter
MECS Missionary to Brazil Jerome Walter Daniel was one of eleven children born to a family living in Cotulla, on the broad cattle ranges of southern Texas. He arrived at the state university in the fall 1907 and was soon drawn into the life of University Methodist Church. When the prominent northern Methodist layman Dr....
Moore, Bishop Arthur J.
“Mr. Mission” Bishop Arthur J. Moore was “Mr. Mission” for a generation of Methodists in the middle of the 20th century. He was president of the unified Board of Missions of The Methodist Church (forerunner of the Board of Global Ministries) from its founding in 1940 through 1956, and had played a pivotal role in...