The call to ministry is a lifetime of service. It is a commitment bound in faith and perseverance found only in those whose hearts’ desire is to please the Almighty by offering their lives as living sacrifices. It is not an easy task. The road is long and tortuous, but at the end of one’s journey, one could hear his Creator say, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” with beaming love and adulation.
Rev. Jesse Magno, a 1990 CPU College of Theology graduate and Pastor Stevie Leysa, 1993 graduate of the same college have answered such a call.
Heeding the call at God’s perfect time
During his first year as a mechanical engineering student at Mindanao State University in General Santos City, Rev. Magno started participating in Christian-based organizations. At that time, he realized that he had a calling from God to be a minister, “As part of the organization, I was asked to share about the Bible, to stand in front of people and talk about God. And there, I realized that it seems that the Lord is calling me. It was not immediate, but every day I lived with that purpose that I have a calling.”
Rev. Magno was encouraged to study in the CPU College of Theology after Dr. Johnny V. Gumban, former Dean of the college, promoted CPU in a Convention assembly at General Santos City. According to him, CPU has equipped him for the long haul.
He is currently the President of the Luzon Convention Baptist Fellowship (LCBF). Under the LCBF are 22 churches. Rev. Magno mentors the leaders and helps them to achieve their vision for their church.
With his heart for preaching and helping others, Rev. Magno’s testimony has encouraged people to persevere and to trust in the purpose of God for their lives.
For his advice to young people who want to know their calling in the Lord, Rev. Magno shared that they should anchor themselves on the Lord and wait for His perfect timing, “There is a difference between sending and going. Moses was called but he had to wait before God could send him. Between the time of calling and sending, they must prepare themselves for ministry, they must seek God’s word fervently.”
Faith and heart for service
In 1983, Pastor Stevie Leysa was offered a distance theological education by the Convention because their church was looking for a pastor. Grabbing the opportunity, he entered the portals of the CPU College of Theology where his faith and heart for service was molded for the ministry.
When asked about what he loves about the ministry, Pastor Leysa shares that it is serving the poor and those in need that fills his heart with joy. As Senior Pastor of Dumangas Baptist Church since 1996, he has encouraged people to pursue God’s purpose, “It is serving the poor and the least that makes me love the ministry, reaching out to them, preaching the Word of God to them.”
He encourages young people who want to pursue their calling to be faithful in Lord and God will surely ordain their steps, “Just be faithful to the Lord then participate in the Lord’s work. By participating, they will learn if the ministry is really for them.”
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