Chilean Philosophy Professor Finds Adventism Through Health Message

Cooking classes and music instruction lead to conversion, baptism

Posted December 26, 2016

By Gabriel Gamboa/ASN

A former philosophy professor at the Catholic University of Chile has joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church after a Center of Influence in his neighborhood offered courses in healthy cooking — and an opportunity to study the violin.

Francisco Rozas Bravo said that for many years he passed by the local Adventist church, but it didn’t catch his attention.

Finally, a time for decision had come: after study and participation in the congregation, Rozas was baptized on December 3

One day, he and his wife were coming back from their daily shopping. A sign outside the church offered a “Healthy Eating Course,” for which the couple signed up, not knowing the life-changing effect their contact with Seventh-day Adventists would produce. They met a young graduate from the Adventist University of Chile who urged Rozas to sign up for a violin workshop also taught at the center. After a while, the student gained Rozas’ trust and offered the professor Bible studies.

Rozas was no stranger to religion: he’d studied many religious philosophies over the years, completing a program at the University of Chile that earned him recognition in the field.

Finally, a time for decision had come: after study and participation in the congregation, Rozas was baptized on December 3, on the day a youth seminar was held highlighting the experiences of young Chilean Adventists involved in the “One Year in Mission” program.

The Centers of Influence launched in 2016 in Santiago, Chile, developed activities and courses to help the community. At present, more than 500 people have participated in activities related to health, food, education, computer training as well as in music.