“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.”
God has given me the privilege to serve Him as a Bible teacher and has placed me in charge of Public Relations in the Baptist Seminary of Peru. In the Seminary we prepare workers to serve in God’s work. We have been doing this since 1972, and this past month of October we celebrated our 44th anniversary. (Picture: My family and I at the anniversary banquet).
There were many diverse activities during this week. We had special meetings with Pastor Galo Mantalvo who came from Ambato, Ecuador. We had special activities like: the visit of prospective students, a night of special music, the anniversary banquet, and the alumni reunion. As well, during this anniversary week, we had our meetings with the General Assembly of the Seminary. This group is the Board of Trustees for the seminary, made of pastors from our supporting churches.
In all of these activities we could see the appreciation that the Baptist churches have for the seminary and the work we do here. We had a good attendance each night. The most notable nights as far as visitors were the nights of special music and the anniversary banquet. For the special music night, we had more than 500 people in attendance. For the banquet, more than 600. (Picture: Pastor Benjamín Salinas introducing the pastors and missionaries that make up the Board of Directors and Administrative Committee, the groups that oversee the direction and operation of the seminary).
During the week we had 21 prospective students that came to visit. We are thankful to God for them. As well, we are praying to God that He will guide them and confirm their determination to serve Him and prepare themselves to be good workers in His work. If God allows, several of them will study in our seminary this next year.
Preaching in the chapel at the seminary
I ended the October preaching in the last 3 chapels for the month. I used the opportunity to communicate to the students of how they can enter the ministry.
Basically what I told them was: 1) Be assured of their calling and their desire to be in God’s work, 2) Associate with people who are already in God’s work, 3) Take advantage of the opportunities that are presented to them and enter God’s work, 4) Learn to live the preaching of the gospel and do God’s work. I based these admonitions on the testimonies of Moses and Joshua, Elijah and Elisha, Jesus and His disciples, and Paul and Timothy and Titus. (Picture: Preaching to the students and professors at the seminary is a great challenge. I trust that God used me for His glory and for their edification during these chapels that I preached).
I trust that the students will follow these admonitions and enter God’s work.
Specifically, it is my desire that everyone who comes to study in our seminary would work in God’s work. I think that there are already many who can work in a secular activity, but there are not many who want to serve in God’s work. Our Lord said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few.” (Matthew 9:37).
During October I have spent most of my time ministering in Trujillo. I only had one brief journey to Lima to minister in New Life Biblical Baptist Church. I was there 2 day, Saturday and Sunday, October 24 and 25. I am thankful to God for using me in His work. I also give thanks to you for your appreciation and friendship.
Segundo Rodríguez
www.segundorodriguez.com
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