Pastor, Paita, Sullana, Peru

Javier is the pastor of the Baptist Church of Maranatha in Paita, Peru.  He also teaches at the Baptist Seminary in Sullana and helps train mountain pastors.

Testimony and Calling

My name is Javier and I was born in August of 1973 in Peru in the district of Sapillica in the province of Ayabaca in the state of Piura. I was born in a Christian home, but being a child I did not understand clearly about my decision to follow Christ. In 1984, at the age of 11, my father shared the Gospel with me and I understood that the fact that my father was a believer did not mean that I was saved. So I understood my need to repent and to accept Christ as my only and sufficient savior. So, I asked him to forgive me of my sins and I believe that since then I have been a child of God.

During that same year I developed an interest in learning to play an instrument to worship the Lord. God fulfilled this desire and allowed me to learn to play the flute and the accordion through the instruction of a missionary named Jenny Adams. She served for over forty years as a missionary. Once I learned to play those instruments I began to serve the Lord in music ministry; teaching other brothers as I visited them in many places in the mountains of northern Peru.

When I visited those brothers those brothers they asked me many questions about the Bible that I did not know how to answer. In this way God was preparing me to enter pastoral ministry. So I told that Lord that I would prepare myself for his service. When I finished high school I worked for one year in order to save money. Then, at the age of 18, I went to study at the Baptist seminary in Trujillo. I studied there for four years. God worked in a mighty way in my life during that time through the teachers in order to help me grow in my Christian life.

When I finished my studies in 1995 I began working in ministry. I had the opportunity to help out at churches in various parts of Lima. Then I took my first pastorate at the First Baptist Church of Huamanga in the state of Ayacucho. I pastored there in 1995 and 996. Then, I was invited to pastor Filadelfia Baptist Church in Piura, in northern Peru, in 1996 and 1997.

In 1997 I was married to Judith who shared my vision to serve the Lord. We both desired to begin a church. This was a great challenge in our lives as we set out to begin the church in Paita. There we became members of Bethel Baptist Church and in 1998 we began to help with their mission work. In this way we were able to learn about how to begin a new church. The following year we began the Maranatha Baptist Church, where I currently serve as pastor. The church currently has an average attendance of between 90 and 95 people.

It is such a blessing to pastor at Maranatha. I ask you all to pray that the Lord would continue to use us in the different ministries that we are involved in at our church: prayer, evangelism, discipleship, music ministry, children's ministry, COMPASSION International, and my teaching ministry at the Baptist Seminary in Sullana.

The Lord has also given us two sons: Jonathan Josias and Josue Elias. I ask you to pray that the Lord would watch over them.