Q&A with Scholarship Recipient Roy Vargas

Roy Vargas and Family

Where are you from?

I was born and raised in San Jose, Costa Rica. I’m an international student living on campus with my family.

What are you studying?

I am earning my Master’s degree (MDiv) in International Church Planting.

Why did you choose Southeastern?

Southeastern has a strong leadership that stands on the authority, inerrancy, infallibility and sufficiency of Scripture and has a passionate faculty currently equipping leaders to go serve the Church and to fulfill the Great Commission, which is Jesus’ last marching orders.

How has this scholarship freed you up to focus more time and energy into your studies?

The news that I was given the Mercy Scholarship came as my wife and I were praying for God’s provision. Thanks to this scholarship, I will be able to focus more time and energy into my studies to get my master’s degree, pursuing God’s will for my life to serve him for his glory. Also, it has given me more time to be there with my family and lead Bible studies and prayer meetings at church.

What have you loved most about your program of study?

I love the way by which the MDiv in International Church Planting has a great balance between theological education grounded in biblical sound doctrine and global missions learning to complete the missionary task of evangelism, disciple making, church formation, and leadership development.

Is there a class or professor that has impacted you and your ministry?

All my classes I have taken are Great Commission classes, and I have been very impressed with the quality of the content. The evangelism class has changed the way I view my life and has replaced the perception by which I see Christian living. Dr. George G. Robinson is the Bailey Smith Chair of Evangelism and Professor of Global Disciple Making, and he has impacted my ministry by teaching me how to understand the Missio Dei (the mission of God). Today, I’m passing along the knowledge I have gained from him to other fellow pastors in Latin America without the opportunity to study at the highest theological level like I am at SEBTS.

What is something the Lord has been teaching you recently?

If I call myself a Christian, I must realize I live on mission. Seminaries are equipping church leaders, and it is a responsibility for the leaders to equip the Church to live on mission for God’s glory. Recently, I came to understand that evangelism is not a calling for the outgoing and extroverted Christian. Evangelism is the lifestyle of the follower of Jesus Christ.

How are you currently fulfilling the Great Commission and how do you hope to continue doing that in the future?

I’m an active member serving in the local church. Today my family and I are focused on engaging people to share the love of Christ. We are praying and reaching those that are close to us and far from God for them to know the greatest news ever found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I’m currently being intentional in seeking to meet new people and changing any conversation into a gospel conversation. I used to do business in India while I was not walking with the Lord. In the near future I want to go back to India as a missionary, but this time to share the gospel and to plant churches. After I was saved, I received an invitation to go to India to teach Biblical Financial Principles to a network of 140 churches, and while I was riding in a cab visiting the same places I used to visit while in the world, I started crying because this time I was not staying in five-star hotels; this time I was staying in the houses of dirt-poor pastors. The Lord showed me that this time I was in India for his glory and not for my own glory, and he was showing me he could use me in the 10/40 window to preach and teach the gospel.

The Mercy Scholarship Makes an Eternal Impact

One of the ways that donors of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary play a tremendous role in students’ lives is through scholarship funding for students to participate in theological training for the ministry to which God has called them.

One such scholarship was created in 2020 by an anonymous donor of Southeastern to continue Great Commission ministry in North America and around the world. The Mercy Scholarship seeks to fund students pursuing degrees in preaching and evangelism, furthering the school’s Great Commission focus. In addition, this scholarship funds the education of students seeking to be faithful church planters, pastors, and ministers. Financial aid gives these students the ability to focus wholeheartedly on their training before they are sent out to serve in churches throughout the world.

Because of the Mercy Scholarship, students like Roy Vargas have been able to devote more time to getting equipped and gaining practical ministry preparation in the local church. “Thanks to this scholarship, I will be able to focus more time and energy into my studies to get my master’s degree, pursuing God’s will for my life to serve him for his glory,” said Vargas. Since its inception in 2020, the scholarship has aided 101 students seeking Master of Divinity degrees with emphases in pastoral ministry, church planting, evangelism, and missions. Each student who receives this scholarship is expected to affirm Southeastern’s doctrinal confessions, the Lordship of Jesus Christ in his full deity and humanity, salvation by grace through faith alone, a belief in biblical marriage between one man and one woman, and maintain a personal commitment to evangelism and the local church.

The Mercy Scholarship seeks to fund students pursuing degrees in preaching and evangelism, furthering the school’s Great Commission focus. To give to the Mercy Scholarship, go to sebts.edu/give and put "Mercy Scholarship" in the comments.