Resurrection Baptist Seminary Holds First Graduation (Dominican Republic)

by Ronnie Autrey

In August 1993 I, Ronnie Autrey, my wife Shona, and sons Jonathan and Stephen, came to the Dominican Republic with great excitement and anticipation for the work that God would have us to do.

We began by studying the language, getting acquainted with the people, and learning about the various ministries that were in the Dominican Republic. While we studied the language, God opened doors that allowed us to see many of the needs that confronted us as missionaries in this country.

In May 1994, we began to work with the Resurrection Baptist Church. While building this church, we had many opportunities to work with some of the National pastors who were affiliated with BIMI. During this time, God began to burden us with one of the greatest needs of the work — a work that could bring about certain positive changes in the evangelization of the people of the Dominican Republic. Through God’s direction we began the Resurrection Baptist Seminary in March 1995. When we began the seminary, we had twenty-five students. Of these twenty-five students, there were twelve who were already pastoring. The other thirteen students were members of the churches of those pastors. God blessed us with pastors from eight different cities throughout the Dominican Republic. We held several hours of classes on Friday and Saturday of each week. There was a lot of work to do, but God blessed us with faithful church members that helped with sleeping arrangements and the preparation of meals each week. God also provided teachers that were needed for each semester.

Of course there were always small problems that came about during the training of National pastors for God’s work. Sometimes we had transportation problems, or a bridge would wash out in the mountains from the strong rain during the rainy season, or sometimes there would be no funds to pay the bills of the school. I remember one Wednesday during the first year of the seminary, I was troubled greatly because we had no funds to pay for the transportation nor the food needed to sustain the students that were coming that weekend. I had begun praying much concerning the matter, but it seemed that we would not be able to have classes that weekend. I called Brother Jerry Reece, Assistant Director for the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, to tell him of the decision I was going to have to make until more funds came in for the seminary. When Brother Reece came to the phone, he said he was glad to hear from us because he had some important news. He told me that the Resurrection Baptist Seminary had received a gift of $10,000 for the training of Nationals. I can’t even begin to explain the feeling that I had by God’s answer to prayer that day, but we know that His timing is always perfect.

There have been many times that we faced great obstacles that would have prevented the going forth of such a great work of God like the Resurrection Baptist Seminary, but God has removed each in His own timing and has demonstrated that we are doing that which He desires.

We had our first graduating class, December 1, 2000. There were twenty-four men in the graduating class, with fifteen who are currently pastoring churches. For the graduation ceremony we were glad to have Dr. Ray Thompson, who gave the men an inspiring challenge from the Word of God. As he spoke, even I felt the need to do more for our Lord. It was a great joy to see each man as he walked across the platform to receive his diploma. As each one passed, I began to feel a great sense of their hard work and accomplishment of being able to finish our seminary. Not all of our students have been able to finish, but these were the ones who got through all the problems of having to travel to the capital each week. Some of these men traveled up to three and one-half hours to come and study for the Work of God and some had to walk as much as forty minutes to get to the bus stop in order to come to the seminary. Though there were other struggles, through God’s grace these were the ones who were able to finish their studies. At the end of the program, several pastors from the United States and several BIMI missionaries were there to congratulate these men for their accomplishment and to encourage them to press forward in the work of God. On December 2, we were able to ordain sixteen men to the work of the Lord.They were already pastoring churches throughout the Dominican Republic. It is our hope that God will allow us to train many more men for His service.

We are currently planting a new church in the capital city with the help of BIMI missionaries, Joshua and Joy Wesson and Luke and Hannah Townsley. We know that through the efforts of this team of missionaries and Nationals working together for the glory of God, we will see great things accomplished for God. We currently have 30 students studying in the seminary. We know that God has plans for the expansion of the combined church planting efforts and the training of National pastors. We covet the prayers of those who feel led to pray for the work in the Dominican Republic.