This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Thy faithfulness. "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I have hope in Him." The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the person who seeks Him.

Lam 3:21–25

I am forever grateful to the Lord our God for using Reformed Baptist Seminary to teach truth. I was born into a Roman Catholic home in the state of Rhode Island. We were familiar with the name, “Jesus,” but never studied the Word of God. After many trials and failures, God did a marvelous work in our lives. My wife Karen and I came to know the Lord about the age of 30. We began a home Church in N. Dartmouth, MA, home Bible studies, and eventually got involved in organized religion. Even through the various denominations, God continued to work, showing us the truth of His Word. After moving to Mexico, Maine in obedience to the call of God, we started attending an independent Baptist church. It is here where I attended online studies and received a Master of Arts in Theology from Liberty University. Before graduation, I worked on a term paper about predestination. I learned that it wasn’t about me saying a prayer of salvation, but the election of a sovereign God, Who works all things after the counsel of His will (Ephesians 1:11). Since then, I have become the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Mexico, Maine (FBCM), the very same church God led us to some twenty years ago. I have been blessed to be in this position for the last ten years, working and growing with precious brothers and sisters in the Lord. The Lord has truly blessed FBCM. Since the Covid pandemic, we have had the opportunity to study the Word of God more diligently than ever before. Reformed Theology was impressed upon many of us. After much prayer, consideration, and study (which included R.C. Sproul’s “What is Reformed Theology?”), the church and I set off on a journey to understand our new passion and excitement for our sovereign God as I began studies at Reformed Baptist Seminary. What a blessing to learn under the direction of such devoted men of God.
Now that the truth of God has been revealed in much greater ways, we no longer have zeal without knowledge. After experiencing small congregations, large congregations, many denominations, inter-church ministries, and other attempts at uniting the Body of Christ, I came to understand that only the Word of God can unite us in Jesus. The Word became flesh…

Even so, come Lord Jesus!

Pastor Tony Rea