Early Beginnings

Baxter Institute had its beginning in Mexico City in 1964. According to article written by T.C. "Bill" Miller, at this time there was only one small congregation of the church of Christ in Mexico City, a city with millions of people. A few missionaries had been going to Latin American countries from the U.S. perhaps as early as the 1930s. But progress was slow and mostly the poor were being reached. Political upheavals often resulted in missionaries returning to the U.S., leaving the converts to carry on the work.

Seeing the Need

There was a need to train preachers who could reach higher levels of society so that congregations could become self-supporting. The vision which gave birth to Baxter Institute was to equip and train indigenous students who were more educated, having completed secondary or high school. Those trained could preach in their home areas or countries after graduation; when political upheavals came they would stay put.

Entrance requirements would be high; students would be required to maintain high moral standards, and to show their commitment by earning good grades. In addition, students would spend weekends in evangelistic efforts, giving practical experience to ground the classroom theory and the opportunity to put into practice what was being learned.

Graduates would not merely go out to minister in existing congregations, but would learn how to begin congregations, with the knowledge and ability to strengthen and teach those reached. This dream reflects the way the world was reached and evangelized in the New Testament.

In Mexico

With this need in mind, property was located to begin Baxter Institute and to provide a place of worship. Many people helped purchase of the property. The West End church in Nashville were among the first to become involved in this work; the Garden Oaks church in Houston was close behind. Harris Goodwin and Dan Coker provided important leadership during the early days in Mexico.

When problems developed with the Mexican government and with labor unions and the postal service, Baxter began looking for a location where the government was more cooperative. Finally a property was found in Tegucigalpa, Honduras and Baxter was moved to this site in 1978.

Moving to Honduras

With Baxter's move to Tegucigalpa, many good things happened. Baxter's influence and reputation in Latin America continued to expand. Students have come not only from Mexico and Central America, but from many South American nations and from the Caribbean countries.

The work continued under the leadership of Harris Goodwin until in 1996, Calvin Henry became president of Baxter Institute where he served until 2003. In July 2004, Steve White became the third president of Baxter and continued in that role through May 2009. Howard W. Norton now serves as the fourth president of Baxter Institute.

Summary

Baxter Institute is a unique work among the churches of Christ. Baxter exists to help the people of all Latin American nations come to know Jesus. Today Baxter's mission extends far beyond the borders of Honduras, yet Honduras's central location within Central America, coupled with Tegucigalpa's relatively modern facilities and overall good transportation to and from other central and south American locations, makes the location of the campus a strategically valuable asset for spreading the gospel. From this base, Baxter continues its mission to bring the gospel to the lost by developing and training preachers and leaders who can strengthen Latin American churches. Baxter faithfully fulfills its mission to recruit, train and graduate capable gospel preachers to serve in Latin American countries.

The work at Baxter continues to grow in scope and impact as Baxter expands its ministries, its outreach, and its graduates who minister all across Latin America.