Adventist university’s largest student outreach initiative combined ministry training with evangelism in four countries..

June 18, 2026 | Alajuela, Costa Rica | Mariela Espejo and IAD News Staff

Sixty-three theology students from the Central American Adventist University (UNADECA) dedicated their recent vacation time to preaching the gospel in four countries across the region, resulting in 378 baptisms and impacting nearly 1,000 individuals through Bible studies and evangelistic outreach.

The student-led evangelistic initiative, now in its third year, sent students to Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Nicaragua in April, marking the broadest outreach effort in the program’s history.

Theology students Engel Rodríguez (left) and Angel Chojolán (right) pose with two newly baptized young people after their baptism in Lake Atitlán, in the Altiplano Guatemala Mission territory, during a student-led evangelistic outreach initiative organized by the Central American Adventist University (UNADECA). The university’s largest evangelism project to date sent 63 theology students to four Central American countries, resulting in 378 baptisms in April 2026. [Photo: UNADECA]
“This is the largest project we have carried out so far,” said Rudy Méndez, PhD, director of UNADECA’s School of Theology. “In previous years, we worked with about 30 students in a single country. This year, we mobilized the students across four countries simultaneously.”

The initiative, approved by the university board and launched by UNADECA’s administration, combines classroom preparation with practical ministry experience. While participation is required for final-year theology students, many underclassmen volunteer to join the outreach.

Four Countries, One Mission

The largest group served in the Central Panama Conference, where 29 students spent three weeks visiting homes, conducting Bible studies, and preaching in local churches. During that time, they shared biblical messages with 980 individuals and witnessed 133 baptisms.

“The greatest contribution was the support they provided our pastors in areas where we hope to plant new churches,” said Pastor Andrés Muñoz, secretary of the Central Panama Conference. “Their witness helped introduce the church to those communities while encouraging members who had drifted away.”

Pastor Mike de León, president of the Central Panama Conference, said the experience benefited both the territory and the students.

Twenty-nine theology students from UNADECA gather with church leaders in Panama before serving in 17 districts across the Central Panama Conference,[Photo: UNADECA]
“Without a doubt, these young people leave with a realistic understanding of pastoral ministry,” De León said. “Everything they accomplished during these three weeks helped advance the mission in our territory.”

Meanwhile, 14 students served in the Central South Costa Rica Conference, where 42 people were baptized. Five students worked in Nicaragua’s South Atlantic Mission, contributing to 30 baptisms, while 15 students ministered in Guatemala’s Highlands Mission, where 173 individuals committed their lives to Christ through baptism.

Local conferences and missions requested student evangelists based on ministry needs, church-planting goals, and evangelistic opportunities. Months before the students arrived, local churches prepared the territory through Bible studies and community outreach, laying the groundwork for the campaigns.

Local conferences and missions provided on-site support, while UNADECA covered travel and insurance expenses for the student evangelists.

Oscar Méndez, a theology student from Honduras, baptizes one of 15 individuals who accepted Christ during evangelistic campaigns conducted in churches throughout the Central Panama Conference. [Photo: UNADECA]
Learning Ministry in Real Time

For many students, the experience represented one of the most formative moments of their ministerial preparation.

Jorge Amalem, a third-year student from Guatemala, faced a unique challenge. Raised in an Indigenous Poqomchi’-speaking community in Alta Verapaz, he was assigned to preach nightly in Spanish at the Central Arraiján church in Panama.

“Although we began with only a few attendees, more people came each night until we had 32 visitors in a single evening,” Amalem said. “When I preached, I felt it was not me speaking. I truly saw God at work, and we celebrated 12 baptisms.”

Fourth-year Honduran student Oscar Méndez also witnessed God’s leading as 15 individuals were baptized through his evangelistic efforts.

“What helped us connect most with people was taking time to listen,” he said. “Just as we must proclaim the Word, we must also be pastors who know how to listen.”

Abel Garrido, a 17-year-old theology student from Nicaragua, celebrates with baptismal candidates during an evangelistic campaign at the Golfito Seventh-day Adventist Church in Costa Rica, where eight people were baptized through his outreach efforts. [Photo: UNADECA]
Pastor Humberto Cardoza, professor in UNADECA’s School of Theology, accompanied the students and observed that many of the people they met were seeking hope amid emotional struggles.

“When you create space to talk about emotional challenges, people listen,” Cardoza said. “Many young people are dealing with anxiety, stress, and depression. When you share biblical hope for those struggles, people become much more receptive.”

Abel Garrido, a 17-year-old first-year student from Nicaragua, saw eight people baptized while serving in Golfito, Costa Rica.

“On the first day I felt nervous and incapable,” Garrido said. “That night I told the Lord, ‘I know I don’t know much, but I know You will do the work.’ From that moment, I stopped focusing on my limitations and focused on His power.”

Theology students from the Central American Adventist University (UNADECA) pose together in their Sabbath attire in Nicaragua, where they participated in evangelistic outreach efforts that led individuals to Christ through Bible studies, preaching, and baptismal ceremonies. [Photo: UNADECA]
Preparing Future Pastors for Mission

For Méndez, the greatest value of the initiative extends beyond the baptismal results.

“I have witnessed the transformation these experiences produce in our students,” he said. “They do not return the same. It marks them for life.”

With 36 years of experience in urban evangelism in cities such as Panama City, Tegucigalpa, and Guatemala City, Méndez believes future pastors must learn to minister in diverse cultural settings and develop disciple-making ministries adapted to today’s communities.

The initiative also exposes students to the realities of organizing evangelistic campaigns, conducting Bible studies, helping individuals make decisions for Christ, and supporting church planting efforts in challenging environments.

Jorge Amalem, a theology student from Guatemala, gives Bible studies to two young people during an evangelistic campaign at the Central Arraiján Seventh-day Adventist Church in Panama, where 12 individuals were baptized through his outreach efforts. [Photo: UNADECA]
Graduates who have participated in the program during the past three years consistently affirm that the experience has had a lasting impact on their pastoral development, particularly in evangelism, university leaders said.

Cardoza emphasized that while the baptisms are encouraging, the ultimate lesson is one of dependence on God.

“We live in a highly competitive world, and sometimes that mindset enters the classroom,” Cardoza said. “We need to help young people focus on the process, not the numbers. The results belong to the Lord. We are simply His instruments.”

Following the success of this year’s initiative, university leaders have already voted to make Guatemala the focus of UNADECA’s official evangelistic mission trip in 2027.