Report on the Calgary Spanish Church Pentecost 2025
At Calgary Spanish church, we have been actively engaged in community outreach to build meaningful connections. Every Saturday, we distribute bread and donated food to those in need. We also organize prayer groups, offer Bible studies as part of the Pentecost 2025 initiative, and distribute evangelistic literature and books. So far, we have baptized five people. Four others are currently studying the Bible and have confirmed their acceptance of the doctrine to be received by profession of faith. Additionally, we have four candidates preparing for the next baptismal date. During our evangelistic weekends, we preach the series provided from Pentecost 2025 resources. We hope this initiative will spark a lasting flame that continues into Pentecost 2026 and beyond, growing in the coming years until we are finally home. One testimony that deeply impacted me was Priscilla, a young evangelist and Spanish-English interpreter who used to translate for evangelistic programs at her Pentecostal church. She had led her own family to conversion within that church. After marrying a member of the Calgary Spanish Seventh-day Adventist Church, she approached me for Bible studies—initially with the intention of showing me what she believed were errors regarding the law and the Sabbath, and ultimately to bring her husband into the Pentecostal church. I agreed to study with her, but suggested we begin with the topic of the kingdom of grace in the Old Testament. I told her we would later study the law, the Sabbath, and any other doctrines she wished. After about four studies focused solely on grace in the Old Testament, she kept asking, “When will we talk about the law?” I replied, “Once we finish studying grace—we’re almost there.” I pointed out how Peter used the Old Testament to call 3,000 people to baptism in Acts 2:41, and how Philip used the book of Isaiah to lead the Ethiopian eunuch to baptism. Suddenly, she began to cry and said, “Now I understand that God’s people in the Old Testament were saved by the grace of Christ, not by the law. Obedience to the law was—and still is—a result of Christ’s work in us.” She added, “There’s no need to scrutinize the law or the Sabbath further—it’s clear to me now.” But we went through it, then she added: “I want to be baptized and become part of the Adventist church. I want to share this message with the world and tell my family from the Pentecostal church that I’ve found the truth of salvation in Christ.” I baptized her on September 6, 2025. She was recently nominated as a deaconess, serves as an associate teacher in children’s ministry, preaches at church, and is a skilled translator during Sabbath sermons when needed for English-speaking visitors. She is brilliant and asked to continue studying with me to deepen her understanding of doctrine so she can teach, lead Bible studies, and make disciples. Just days before her baptism, she told me, “Pastor, my plan was to bring my husband to the Pentecostal church—just like I had brought my Catholic parents. But it turned out the other way around: Christ led me to my husband’s Adventist church.” She now desires to be an effective missionary.
By Gardner Bermudez Pastor | Calgary Spanish and Maranatha Spanish Seventh-day Adventist Churches
