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Each morning between 4:00 and 4:30, David Rocha rises to spend time with God. During his devotions, Rocha asks God to help him set the agenda for the day. On Jan. 1, God shook things up a bit.

Rocha, a full-time seminary student and father of three who is pastor of the new Camino de Vida faith community in Gaithersburg, was named to be the interim coordinator of Hispanic Ministries for the Baltimore-Washington Conference.

'This was a call I was not expecting,' said Rocha. He assumes the responsibilities of the Rev. William Carraballo-Lopez, who is serving as a chaplain's assistant with the National Guard in Iraq. 'It's an extension. Instead of just making disciples in Gaithersburg, I will work to make them throughout the conference.'

Rocha is counting on help with this new ministry. 'I will only accomplish it with the help of my brothers and sisters,' he said. 'Hispanic ministry is not the work of lone rangers; it is team work. If we can work together, miracles are going to happen.'

Rocha is familiar with miracles and making disciples. Less than three years ago Camino de Vida started with zero congregants and no plans, he said. Today there are more than 60 in attendance and eight active ministries.

Now is a fertile time to be in Hispanic ministry. Eight years ago, in the Gaithersburg area, there were only three Hispanics for every 100 people; now there are 28 per 100. 'It's not just growth, it's an explosion,' Rocha said.

It is important that the Latino community be present at the United Methodist table. In fact, providing that voice was what prompted Rocha to pursue his call to ministry.

'I went to church and sang in the womb of my mother,' he said. 'My father was a Presbyterian pastor. As a preacher's kid, I was not interested in being a pastor, although I was always faithful.'

On March 31, 1991, he arrived in the United States, fleeing guerrilla threats and the violence of the civil war in his homeland of Colombia.

Within two weeks of his arrival, Rocha found a church home at Bethesda Hispanic UMC. Almost immediately, he began to feel called to strengthen the voice of the Latino and immigrant communities within the Baltimore-Washington Conference.

He began to ask to serve on every committee he could, but quickly realized that 'church structure and liturgical practices were not alive. Only the Holy Spirit moves,' he said. 'Being Hispanic, being Latino is my identity. But what is crucial to my life is living day-to-day as an imitator of Jesus.'

It is striving to feel that sense of purpose and power that prompts Rocha to get up each morning. 'Every day I receive my agenda. I write it down and prioritize the day. Being open to God's call is what makes every day different,' he said. 'It makes me alive.'