SAN ANTONIO—Members of the Buena Voluntad Baptist Church have won about 1,000 people to Christ each year since 2000, yet the congregation of 250 has not significantly grown.

Pastor Victor Lopez told The Baptist Standard that most people church members lead to faith in Christ will not attend Buena Voluntad because they are incarcerated.

While people have become Christians through all the church's ministries and through the testimonies of members, the primary source of people coming into the faith has been the congregation's efforts at the city jail.

Since the beginning of this year members have baptized 372 people in the jail, which is within walking distance of the church building.

More than 100 people attend the jail chapel services Lopez leads in Spanish and English. He and a deacon also visit several prisoners a week, to hand out Christian literature and Bibles and to discuss spiritual matters.

Upon their release, former inmates receive letters and phone calls from church members who encourage them to get involved in a church. Lopez said he receives letters from many who do join a congregation

"That makes me very happy," he said. "They tell me they are going back, following Jesus."

But most go to another area or another congregation upon release.

Whatever the outcome, Lopez insists Christians are commanded to share their faith. A chart posted on a Buena Voluntad sanctuary wall declares the number of souls saved each year.

"The people are motivated," Lopez  said. "The bottom line is we want them to be soul winners--wherever they are."

The church leaders' mega goal appears grand for the smaller church, but Lopez said that the numbers break down to each family winning one person a month to Christ.

"Once we saw the possibilities, we saw it really wasn't that much," he said.

He told the members that attaining the goal will be easy if they are sharing their beliefs everywhere, with everyone in their daily lives.

Since 2000, members have seen 800 to 1,000 people become Christians each year.