Pastor, Church Planter, Chiclayo, Peru

Wehrner is the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Ferreñafe, close to the northern coastal city of Chiclayo in Peru. He is also leading his church to plant another church in a nearby town.

Testimony and Calling

I was born in a Christian home in 1971, in Cuzco. My mom was a Christian and when I was a child she took us to the Calvary Baptist Church. Sometimes she was discouraged because my father wasn’t a believer, and he didn’t want us to go to church. So without him knowing it, my mother sent us there. Although she wasn't going, our Sunday school teacher picked us up.

I attended church until I was 18 years old. There was an evangelistic campaign at church at that time and I decided to go. When the preacher made the invitation to accept Jesus Christ, I felt the great need to look for God and I raised my hand. As a consequence, a lot of people at church asked me “aren't you a Christian already?”, but in that moment I understood much more about the plan of salvation that God was offering to us. So, I went to the altar and I wasn’t ashamed of that. From then on, my heart was excited to share about what was happening in my life. After that, I tried to forget it, but I couldn’t, therefore I repented of my sins.

After some time, my Sunday school teacher asked me about my decision, and helped me to confirm it. I told him how happy I felt, and that I had a peace like I have never had before, so he told me: “you accepted Jesus, and your joy is because you have given your life to the Lord”. He began to disciple me, and God has been working in my life everyday since my conversion on February of 1989. Since then I have been walking with God and in the same year, in August, I was baptized.

The next year my father found a job for me at The Government's Health Department and I had to travel to Cusco (Quillabamba –Kamisea). The job was as a team leader to help in the fight against malaria. This job helped me to meet some brothers in the jungle so I could visit them. They wanted me to teach them the Bible, but I felt that I didn't know enough about the bible in order to do it. I felt bad because those brothers wanted to learn more but, I couldn’t give them what they wanted. This happened to me in a lot of towns which I visited. I thought to myself “When will I be able to teach them better about God?"

I was discouraged for a time with this thought of incapacity, because I couldn’t teach or preach correctly. In 1992 a pastor friend of mine died and many brothers arrived from Trujillo. Immediately, I told them about the needs in the jungle, so one of the pastors and other brothers from Trujillo told me about going into seminary and that I could learn there how to teach the Bible. They encouraged me and I decided to travel to Trujillo because of my desire to teach and preach in any place. Therefore, I quit my job and went to Trujillo. My father was opposed to my decision but the brothers at my church told me to pray and trust that God would solve this problem in His time. At that time, I returned to work but in the first week of March I finally resigned and went to Trujillo.

In the first year after my conversion God was really working in my life and every teacher and classmate was helping me to learn more about the Bible.
When I finally finished my three years of study, God put in me a great desire to be a pastor, so I made the decision to serve Him and give Him all my life to be his servant. Now I understand why the Lord carried me through the jungle and made me feel the need to teach and preach His word. Therefore, I give thanks to God because He put this desire in me so now I give him all the honor and the glory. I know that without him I wouldn't be what I am now.

I’ve been working for The Lord for many years now and I can give my testimony about the work of God in me and that He has always been faithful to me. He has taught me how to depend on Him more and more in recent years, so now I am only relying on God for all that I have to do, whether it be in my family life or serving Him. Now I simply ask you to pray to The Lord for me.
Romans 15:30