Pastor, Baptist Church of Progreso, Peru

Tomas pastors the Baptist Church of Progreso. Along with pastoring this church, Tomas oversees a Bible Institute in the northern jungles.

Testimony and Calling

In March of 1980, I was converted in Iquitos while I was working for the Occidental Petroleum Company. I was a welder and my assistant was a believer. He spoke often with me about Christ.

I was then invited to attend the anniversary service of the church where this man was a member. During that visit God broke my heart. Then, after a few months, I was baptized in June of that year.

Three years later God called me into the ministry. It was difficult but after much wrestling I quit my job. In 1983 I decided that I needed to study and prepare for the ministry. I ended up studying in the Biblical Seminary of Chillon from 1984 until I graduated in 1987.

I am currently pastoring a church of about 80 people in Carabayllo (a suburb of Lima) but I am also very involved in church planting. Our church plants are not just in Lima (we do have a daughter church in Puente Piedra, another part of Lima) but we also work with some church plants among the tribes of people in the Peruvian jungle in the state of Amazonas.