McMillans to lead discussion at First Baptist Church on Sunday.
By: Sarah Winkelman
ALLENTOWN The Rev. Andrew McMillan and his wife, Kathy, along with their two sons, Andrew Michael, 11, and Christian, 10, are serving as missionaries in Cali and Medellin, Colombia. At 11 a.m. Sunday, the McMillans will discuss their experiences in South America at the First Baptist Church on Waker Avenue.
What started as an informal meeting of five people in their living room in Cali in 1987 has turned into gatherings of more than 2,000 people. The Rev. McMillan now is the pastor of Medellin’s second largest church.
The Rev. McMillan, originally from West Virginia, came to Allentown after seminary school to preach at the First Baptist Church of Allentown. He was the pastor there from 1980 to 1985 before heading to Costa Rica to study Spanish in preparation for his missionary work in South America.
The McMillan family tries to return to Allentown at least once a year because it is the home of the Rev. McMillan’s first church, said Laura Steward, an Allentown resident who is coordinating his talk at the First Baptist Church.
"He has a soft spot in his heart for Allentown," she said about the minister, who was known as "the smiling preacher" because he always wore a Panama hat and a big smile while he was an Allentown resident.
In a newsletter sent from Medellin in 2001, the Rev. McMillan said, "The guerillas have closed down over 300 churches in Colombia. I have never seen the people so discouraged and fearful, but the hunger for God increases." Despite warnings of attacks on missionaries, the McMillans and others in their area refuse to leave the city.
To send letters of support to the McMillans, write to Mission South America, PO Box 64431, Virginia Beach, VA 23464 or send e-mails to revival@epm.net.co.