(Nov. 18, 2016 - by Harold Goerzen)  Gifted linguist, committed Christian, devoted family man and accomplished broadcaster, theologian, pastor, teacher and printer. These are just some of the traits that describe Dr. Hernán Meneses who died in McAllen, Texas, on Friday, Nov. 11, after a three-month battle with a bone marrow disease. He was 82.

Meneses served the Lord for more than 60 years, the last 36 with Reach Beyond, on loan to partner ministry Inspiracom (formerly World Radio Network) based in South Texas.

Born in Medellín, Colombia, on Dec. 10, 1933, J. Hernán Meneses had a lifelong passion for learning. Always hard working, he got his first job in Medellín when he was just 14 years old, working in a printshop and later joining the local typographical union.

Committing his life to Christ at an early age, Meneses also had a passion to know God’s Word, and at the age of 19 he entered Bethel Bible Institute in Armenia, Colombia, completing the one-year diploma in 1954.

He then worked as an elementary schoolteacher for six years, first in Boyacá and then in Medellín. In 1960 he became the secretary of Editorial Unión, a Christian publisher in Medellín.

In 1962 at the age of 28, Meneses moved to San José, Costa Rica, to continue his studies at the Latin American Biblical Seminary where he ompleted his bachelor’s degree in theology in November 1966.

It was while studying there that he met his wife, Thelma, then serving as a single missionary with Latin America Mission (LAM), an organization that merged with United World Mission (UWM) in 2014.

They were married on June 6, 1967, and moved to Chicago where Meneses began working at Moody Bible Institute as a graphic arts printer, a position he held for five years. During this time he also spent a year as the assistant pastor of the Spanish congregation at Lakeview Presbyterian Church in Chicago.

In 1972 Meneses went back to school, first at Trinity College in Deerfield, Ill., where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1974, and then at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, completing his master of arts degree in social science in 1975.

The next five years he held various teaching, counseling and translating jobs in Chicago, but he also did Spanish radio programming at Moody’s flagship station, WMBI, an experience that boded well for a future missionary career with Reach Beyond that began in 1980.

During their Chicago years Hernán and Thelma had three children, David, Alicia and Mario. “We always wanted to go to Colombia where we could serve Hernán’s people,” his widow, Thelma, said in an interview. “But we couldn’t because we had two sick boys.” David died of an illness at the age of 4 while Mario, severely handicapped due to autism, continues to live in a group home.

Upon joining Reach Beyond, they began serving at Inspiracom in Pharr, Texas, where Hernán was a Spanish programmer, producer and trainer while Thelma, a gifted vocal soloist, helped in music.

In addition, Meneses was the Spanish radio voice of Our Daily Bread Ministries (formerly Radio Bible Class) based in Grand Rapids, Mich. He produced a 15-minute daily Bible study and did translations of inspirational spots such as “Our Daily Bread” and “Hidden Treasures.” In addition, he did translation work for Christian apologist Josh McDowell and the late U.S. president, Ronald Reagan. He took first place at a radio production course he took in Cambridge, England, in 1987.

Among his many duties at Inspiracom, in 1989 Meneses became the director of the Academia Cristiana del Aire (ACA or Christian Academy of the Air), a Spanish Bible correspondence course that incorporates on-air teaching. Formerly known as the Bible Institute of the Air, the ministry originated at Radio Station HCJB in Quito, Ecuador, in 1949.

For hundreds of pastors, ACA has been their only “seminary” training, and for thousands of prisoners, this has been their lone spiritual input.

“Only God knows how many inmates from the prisons of Mexico and the U.S. came to faith through the Academia del Aire and ministered to other prisoners because of it,” said retiree Tom Fulghum who has served on the Inspiracom board for 17 years. “I have never known a man more passionate and committed to his ministry than Hernán. There is no way to replace a man like him.”

Meneses was also the founder and senior pastor of Iglesia Unión Cristiana (Christian Union Church) in McAllen in 1985, serving there for four years. He was also the president of Difusiones Interamericanas (1989-1991), preached at many Spanish-language churches and taught radio broadcast classes at nearby Rio Grande Bible Institute (RGBI) in Edinburg, Texas.

Glenn Lafitte, director of corporate affairs at Inspiracom, credits Meneses for helping him launch his missionary broadcasting career while he studied Spanish at RGBI. “I served as a volunteer at Inspiracom during that year,” he said. “That’s when Hernán taught me the rudiments of radio.”

Meneses went back to school one final time, receiving his doctorate in theology from Eagles International Christian University in San Juan, Texas, in 2012 when he was 78 years old.

“He didn’t know the meaning of the word retirement,” noted Thelma. “He went to work every day until he was too weak to do so.”

“Dr. Meneses was the consummate radio professional,” added Dr. Abe Limón, president and chairman of the Inspiracom board. “He recorded thousands of Christian variety radio programs, trained scores of radio announcers, and through the ACA helped teach the Bible to untold numbers across the Spanish-speaking world. His voice was second to none as was his heart for Christ. We will greatly miss him.”

Retiree John Adams, who served alongside Meneses for many years, remembers him as having a “strong and steady relationship with his Savior. His high value of the Word of God and the opportunity to instruct Spanish speakers in the rich truths of the Bible was the obvious passion of his life.”

Meneses is missed by his wife, Thelma, of 49 years; a daughter, Alicia Ruth Meneses Maples, and her husband, Steven; and a son, Mario Hernán Meneses.

A bilingual memorial service is set for 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20, at Iglesia Bautista Getsemani, a Baptist church in McAllen. The family has asked that memorial gifts be made to the Christian Academy of the Air, P.O. Box 50, San Juan, TX 78589.

Sources: Reach Beyond, Inspiracom