Although there were antecedents (like the publication of the Expositor Bíblico in Guadalajara, in 1890) that functioned as precursors, the history of the Baptist Spanish Publishing House/Hispanic World Publishers really began with the decision of missionaries Edgar and Mary Davis, supported by the Foreign (now International) Mission Board, to serve in the country of Mexico.
The Davises and their three children arrived in Toluca, Mexico, December 4, 1904. Very soon, Mr. Davis took steps to set up a print shop. He went to Mexico City during Christmas week and bought a printing press, a trimmer, and a small amount of type. He used all his “press fund” which totaled $455. During the early days of 1905, he installed the equipment—in his wife’s kitchen! Very shortly he began to print gospel tracts and other publications. His first really significant job was the print El Expositor Bíblico.
Toward the end of 1905, the Davises left Toluca and moved to León, Guanajuato, where the Publishing House would function for more than ten years.
Full Christian books first came off the presses in 1907. Two years later, Davis published the book Manual para los Obreros Cristianos, which had been written by missionary C. L. Neal. This book continues in active circulation—almost a hundred years later!
In León, during the year 1910, the Publishing House got its first property, and it looked like it would be an excellent site for many fruitful years, with good equipment, staff, and buildings. Davis was very optimistic. But on November 20, 1910, the Mexican Revolution broke out, and the future of the Publishing House took on heavy clouds. Although Davis managed to keep the House going in Mexico for several years (in the midst of many difficulties), in May 1916, the government of the United States insisted that all its citizens leave Mexico as soon as possible. The Davises finally got out during the last days of June.
When Davis and other mission authorities considered where to continue the publications ministry, now in the United States, it was finally decided to locate it “temporarily” in El Paso, Texas. Some ninety years have passed, and the Publishing House still has its home base in this border city.
Although the House functioned in two different downtown El Paso locations for almost twenty years, a property was secured in 1937 which had originally been constructed as a Baptist tuberculosis sanatorium. This “new facility” for the Casa (jointly occupied for several years by the Mexican Baptist Theological Seminary) was located in the foothills of the majestic Franklin mountains and offered panoramic views of the city. Now, some seventy years later, the Casa is still located there. In 1982, a two-story annex building was constructed to accommodate this publications ministry for its current work.
Somehow working through all the problems of the Economic Depression of the 1930s and those of the early years of World War II, Dr. Davis finally retired in the spring of 1943. The reins were passed to Dr. Frank W. Patterson. Patterson led the Publishing House to new heights of outreach and ministry in Christian publications in Spanish, serving some twenty-seven years as General Director. His wife Pauline Gilliland Patterson gave him the same kind of active and efficient help as Mary Gamble Davis had given to the founder.
Since 1970, there have been seven General Directors (Thomas W. Hill, Aldo Broda, Robert Tucker, Roberto García Bordoli, Joe T. Poe, Ted Stanton, and Jorge Díaz). Each has been assisted by an efficient group of administrators, editors, sales and distribution specialists, artists, and other technicians.
The Casa offers its line of Christian resources (Bibles, curricular materials, music, textbooks for seminaries and institutes, and general Christian books) in printed and electronic formats for use in or by churches, institutions, and individuals. They are distributed in twenty-five or more countries. Its trade name “Editorial Mundo Hispano” (Hispanic World Publishers) signals its desire to be of service to God’s people everywhere Spanish is used.
In 2005, the Publishing House celebrated its centennial with appropriate events and publications. Among the publications is a booklet titled Casa: the Partner in Ministry You Need (56 pages), available to anyone who requests it (as long as supplies last), and also a full book titled A House for All Nations: A Centennial History of the Baptist Spanish Publishing House (276 pages) available for sale at the special price of $7.00.
