Rolly & Elisa Pelayo
Missionary Rolando Garcia Pelayo was born on June 12,1965 in Lubao, Pampanga, Philippines. He grew up in Tondo, Manila, which has a reputation as a center of gang activity and crime. Growing up in such an environment, he struggled with many evil vices until one day he was invited to attend a Fundamental Baptist Church. It was there that he heard the gospel and continued attending until, on August 25, 1985, he was saved through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. His new-found relationship with God flourished through study of the Bible. Shortly thereafter his work moved him to Saudi Arabia, where Bro. Rolly Pelayo worked until 2000. Work then moved him to Verona, Italy, for the next 15 years. It was there that Bro. Rolly Pelayo met and married Elisa on March 30, 2002.
Whenever they visited the Philippines, they attended the Great Plains Baptist Divinity School in Cubao, Quezon City. It was under Dr. Jeff Blust’s preaching and teaching that Bro. Pelayo learned of true church doctrine – that of Independent Unaffiliated Baptist Churches. Bro. Rolly Pelayo felt a deep desire to serve God and knew God called him to preach but ignored it and continued his work – out of the will of God in Verona, Italy. His conscience ate at him to the point where he started a mission work while there, but he knew he was not properly trained and sent as the Scripture teaches.
After much struggle, in August 2014, Bro. Rolly Pelayo and his wife Elisa surrendered fully to the Lord for a full-time ministry and moved to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where they would be trained and tested while at Empire Baptist Temple. Under their pastor, Dr. Erich McCandless, they fervently prepared for the ministry the Lord had called them to. Due to legal visa issues, they had a very limited timeframe by which they needed to be back in the Philippines.
On August 30, 2015, Bro. Rolly Pelayo was ordained and commissioned by Empire Baptist Temple to the Bicol Region of the Philippines to plant and establish a local New Testament Independent Baptist Church. He started the mission work of Sound Doctrine Baptist Church (Titus 1:9, 2:1, 10; 2 Timothy 4:3) in the Bicol region of the Philippines on October 4, 2015.
The Pelayos are seeing several people mature into the work of the Lord, who have been saved and baptized. They have several ministries established as outreaches into the area, including jail ministries, school ministries, and many weekly in-home Bible-studies. Their desire? To please the Lord in the establishing of a true church in the Bicol region of the Philippines. Your prayers for this family are deeply appreciated!