Arnold and Julia Linares

Ministry Focus

Arnold currently serves as a missionary in the north zone of Honduras and is the founder of the association of missionary Baptist pastors in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Arnold has also served as a pastor of the Baptist church, Un Lugar para Todos (A Place for Everyone) since 1996. He has participated in many ministries, including a program to prevent youth from joining gangs. He is the co-founder of the first outreach center, Centro de Alcance por Mi Barrio (My Neighborhood Outreach Center) sponsored by the United States government through his agency for international development (USAID). Arnold partners with UNICEF to prevent the emigration of children and young people to the United States, working with great risk in a dangerous part of the city. They have benefited more than 1500 young people through technical, educational, sports and spiritual training. In church, Pastor Linares has been preparing leaders for the missions and has sent eight couples to direct the eight daughter churches from the church where he pastors in the San Pedro Sula area. Arnold also oversees, trains and encourages others to expand the Kingdom of God throughout the country. His vision is to plant 30 new churches in Honduras in places where there are no churches currently. This includes the cities of Puerto Cortes, Choloma, Omoa and Villanueva, Progreso, Tela, Ceiba, Tocoa and very recently, looking outside the country, he has been assisting the development of a family church group in Madrid, Spain. Arnold has been visited in his church by two United States Ambassadors in Honduras and by international media such as the New York Times, Telemundo, NBC News and the San Diego Union-Tribune, to learn about their work in this community. MISSION: Arnold hopes to proclaim the gospel to every person who God allows—in the villages, mountains, communities, cities of the north zone of our country and outside Honduras. VISION: His vision is to reach people for Christ through social work, leadership training and church planting in Honduras and the world. GOAL: Arnold’s goal is to train 30 church planters and to plant 30 new churches in Honduras in places where there are no churches.

Faith Story

Arnold was born in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. He remembers having a dream in which he felt a strong call to serve Jesus Christ. For a long time, he resisted this call to salvation and service, but in 1993 Missions Door missionary NT Dellinger invited Arnold to a meeting, and it was there that he surrendered his life to the Lord. Arnold was baptized in December of that year, and in 1994 he began studying at the Baptist Bible Institute and was ready to go where God would guide him. Julia, Arnold’s wife, grew up serving in her church and met the Lord at age ten. Arnold and Julia met in 1995 while Arnold studied at the seminary and served as a part-time pastor, and Julia served in the areas of discipleship and worship.

Education

• Diploma in Theology at the Baptist Theological Seminary (Honduras)
• Bachelor of Theology and Bible (Honduras)
• International Institute for Ministerial Training (Bellevue Baptist Church)
• English Diploma at the European Academy (Honduras)
• English Diploma at Harris Communications (Honduras)
• Diploma in Family Counseling and Pastoral Ethics (UTH/CHANGE 2000) (Honduras)
• Bachelor of Theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Honduras)
• Bachelor of Theology at Latin University of Theology (Honduras)
• The Seminar for Expository Preaching (SEPE/MEDA-Honduras)