By: Isabella Lagos
For 25 years, hundreds of Southern students have stepped up to local and global pulpits to
share their personal testimonies. Now, Alex Castillejos, director of Evangelistic Resource Center
(ERC) Missions, is compiling decades of student sermons into a published book.
“We have a lot of records of students’ experiences,” Castillejos said. “So I said, ‘You
know what? Let’s [turn this into] a book to put the stories of the students and what they went
through.’”
The book organizes student testimonies into distinct chapters centered around common
themes, such as forgiveness, miracles and personal transformation. Castillejos said the structured
layout is designed to resonate with readers at different stages of their own spiritual journeys.
While the project is still underway, Castillejos hopes readers will grasp the core mission
of ERC, ultimately inspiring readers to seek those same transformative encounters.
For students like Johnny Rojas, a junior engineering major, the project offers a way to
share the personal side of mission work.
“It gets me really excited because I think it’s easy for students here at Southern to see the
numbers of missionaries that go out to preach and to do a lot of stuff,” Rojas said. “But I don’t
think many of us realize the impactfulness of every single story. I know that my story is really
personal, but I really wish that others can hear it. So, I’m excited.”
During a mission trip to Lima, Peru, Rojas expected to focus on medical-related tasks.
Instead, his roles expanded to connecting directly with patients, offering them friendship, support
and spiritual care. Other students who served alongside Rojas last summer expressed the value of
compiling these diverse experiences into one place.
“I think it’s going to be a very beautiful thing seeing everyone’s testimonies in a book,”
said Celeste Mandujano, a junior social work major. “I think everyone’s story is very unique, so
I think that’s the beauty of bringing everyone together and building a relationship with God.”
Beyond preparation, the testimonies capture the internal emotional shifts that happen
when students step into foreign mission environments.
“To have a book that speaks about love and forgiveness and some of those experiences or
feelings that you could experience on a mission trip is truly amazing.” said Jacob Miles, a junior
social work major. “It provides an opportunity to look within yourself and at some of the flaws
that you might have within yourself to reconcile with yourself, to be the best that you can be and
ultimately get closer to God.”
Slated for its release and display around December, Castillejos said the publication aims
to capture the profound personal journeys of students who step out of their comfort zones to
preach. Beyond the sermons delivered and the communities served, the project highlights the
deep, unexpected bonds forged in the field, according to Castillejos. He said pages in the book
will document the quiet ways faith transforms lives when students choose to say “yes” to service.
“We want students from Southern to experience evangelism, so when they go, they come
back transformed,” he said. “That’s our beautiful hope.”
