Hi, this is Yeison Gonzalez, the new pastor of Johnston church. I am excited to be here, and I hope I can connect with each one of you. Let me tell you a bit about me. I was born and raised in Colombia on the 4th of July 1989 (an easy birthday celebration day :)). I was born into an Adventist home, but I decided to get baptized when I was 13 years old. Mom wanted us to take the decision to follow Christ by ourselves, so I took it when I was in my early teen years. I felt the call to study theology and be a pastor when I was 15 years old, so I decided to move to Medellin, Colombia where I did my 5 years of college. Those were excellent years when I saw many provisions of God in my life that strengthened my faith. In 2011 after finishing college, I spent my first year away from home teaching English in a SDA School in a very remote area in Colombia. One year after, I accepted the call to be an associate pastor for two churches in a place called Duitama. These was a very exciting and yet challenging moment in my life. I tried to let God do his part and help me navigate my first years in ministry.
In 2014 I took a position as a chaplain in the only boarding school the church has in Colombia. There I learned to love teaching and being around teens and young people. They challenged me to grow as a person and professional.
Two years after I decided that I wanted to get some graduate education so I went to the Philippines. There at AIIAS (Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies), I completed my Master of Arts in religion with an emphasis in Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). I learned a lot with professors and so many different cultures, people who shared my love for Christ in different languages and ways.
In 2020 I came back to Colombia. I was planning to do a quick move to a PhD in Europe or the States but God said no, hold on a second, then, Covid came and I spent that year in Colombia. In 2021, I came to Boston for a Master of Sacred Theology at Boston University (School of Theology). I finished that second master this year by May. Last year, when I came to Boston, I met Maxine, who is today my wife. We spent a little bit more than a year dating and two weeks ago we got married. She is a woman of faith, and I am happy to be sharing my life with her.
I am glad that the Lord gave me the chance to be your pastor and servant in this church. I look forward to spending more time with you all. I like preaching and for sure you will see me a lot in the pulpit. Among the different things we are going to do is to do sermons more interactive. Below is a an online form for you to leave your reactions and feedback for each sermon, or if you need pastoral support, please fill it in and I will get back to you.
God will make a way for us to continue our faith journey, and I am sure he will use each of us to work for his kingdom. God bless you!