BCBC Alumni: Making an Impact for Christ
Let us tell you about four men from different backgrounds: Jose Talavera, Ivan Wild, Roy Wilford and John Vatran. Each one is committed to making an impact for Christ.
Dr. Jose A. Talavera has been serving as Pastor of Iglesia Bautista Fundamental “Buenas Nuevas” (Good News Fundamental Baptist Church) in San Carlos for 26 years. Jose says, “Our passion is to serve our Lord Jesus Christ and see souls come to him as their personal Savior and help new believers grow in their spiritual life through discipleship.”
The Salvation Army is well known for their compassion for the poor, but Major Ivan Wild’s passion is winning lost souls for Christ. He serves as the Personnel Director at their College for Officer Training in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA. Ivan has a heart for the lost and will labor to reach them with the gospel. He says, “Through Christ, I want to live so close to hell that I pull them from the fire and save them.”
As Executive Pastor of Cosmopolitan Baptist Church in Oakland, Dr. Roy Wilford is responsible for the day-to-day operations, assisting the senior pastor and trustee board in all aspects of administration. He leads the adult Bible study class, implements Bible study workshops and leadership training seminars. His goal is to prepare church leaders for the 21st century. He regularly leads workshops at the annual Bay Area Sunday School Convention and has taught Church Leadership at Patten University.
As a missionary in Romania through World Venture, John Vatran combines pastoral ministry and academics. He serves as the pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church of Hateg and teaches at the Baptist Seminary in Romania’s capital city of Bucharest. John and his wife Estera face hardships typical of struggling Eastern European countries: rampant disease, poor medical care, economic and political uncertainty. But their love for Jesus outweighs the hardships.
What do all these people have in common, in addition to their obvious passion to serve Christ? They are all alumni of the Bay Cities Bible College! Our students are diverse in their backgrounds and ministries, but they all share a common commitment for knowing Christ and making him known to a world in desperate need of the gospel.
So you’ve read their stories. What’s your story? We’d love to hear how God is working through you in your ministry. We may be a small school, but our graduates often do big things because we serve an awesome God.
In addition to telling us about how God is using you in ministry, we’d love for you to tell others how Bay Cities Bible College has helped prepare you for the ministry in which you serve. You may be leading others in ministry who may be ready to take the next step in their theological education.
Finally, we need your prayerful support. Please pray for God to send us the students He wants us to equip. And if the Lord leads you to send us a financial gift, we would really appreciate it, as our tuition covers only about a third of our expenses.
We invite you to join with us as we continue equipping God’s people for God’s service.