In North Mexico, Dozens of Students Asked to Be Baptized After Special Week of Prayer

June 10, 2021 | Montemorelos, Nuevo Leon, Mexico | Keila Urbano and Inter-American Division News Staff

Dozens of students in the North Mexican Union recently asked to be baptized after a special week organized by the Seventh-day Adventist schools across the territory. After a week of prayer and power under the theme “I Will Go — Extraordinary Mission Adventures,” 74 students were baptized as other 132 are getting ready to follow their example. Other 50 students and their parents are studying the Bible to learn more about God’s plan for their lives, regional church leaders said.

The virtual event this year took place April 19-23 and coincided with other evangelistic initiatives across the region, leaders said. The special week across the schools belonging to the Adventist Educational System in North Mexico (SEA UMN) drew more than 5,800 students and their close relatives for a week of worship, studying, and testimonies.

According to Lozano, it is essential to clearly share with new generations the Adventist identity and mission, so children can grow with a sincere desire of giving their abilities to God’s service. “Signs of the times show that Jesus is coming soon,” Lozano said, “and God is calling the new generations to join us in this effort to finish the task of sharing the gospel with the whole world,” he added.

For SEA MN academic vice-president Professor Enrique Dzul, it’s all about offering students top-notch spiritual learning experiences. “Our educational model seeks to offer our students the opportunity of surrendering their hearts to Jesus, and also to prepare them to become witnesses and disciples,” Dzul emphasized.

During the April program, students had the opportunity of getting to know various experiences of missionaries around the world, some of whom are former students in the Adventist Educational System. According to organizers, their goal was to promote the missionary focus of the Adventist Church around the world and motivate students to serve God locally and wherever He calls.

Organizers also shared that for the 2021 edition, students learned about the life of the Apostle Paul. “The goal was to let students know that God is looking for every one of us and calling us just as He did with Paul,” organizers said.

Cedric Arenas, one of the students who participated in the special week and asked to be baptized, shared his experience. “Every day, teachers would dedicate time to teach us about God and read the Bible to us,” said Arenas. “We watched videos, sang and prayed, all things that motivate me to grow spiritually and feel the wish of getting baptized.”

The resource distributed across SEA MN schools to be used during the special week was authored by Pastor Abimael Lozano, mission institute director and theology professor at Montemorelos University. The materials, planned for middle and secondary school levels, were also adapted for kindergarten and primary school students by Diana Ortiz, a teacher, and reviewed by Pastor David Hernández, a chaplain at Alfa and Omega School in the city of Reynosa.

There are 34 schools in the North Mexican Union. Recent statistics reveal that around 45 percent of students do not come from Adventist families. In 2020, schools ended up with 120 student baptisms across the region. Leaders expect that figure could be even higher by the end of the 2021 initiatives, as some of the students are waiting to be baptized together with their parents at the end of an upcoming national evangelistic across Mexico called “Hope Beyond Uncertainty” scheduled to end on June 19. The series will end with a week of evangelistic messages by international speaker Pastor Alejandro Bullón.

Throughout Mexico and the rest of Inter-America, leaders reported that Adventist schools have baptized hundreds of students and their family members during a special Week of Prayer in May.