Editorial: How YouTube Brought a Soul to Christ

As I arrived at the La Esperanza Spanish church (The Church of Hope) in Union City, N.J., one Friday evening for a youth program, the first elder introduced me to Carlos Saltos. He greeted me very kindly and directly said to me, “I’ve been looking for you, Pastor. I need to tell you something that has happened in my life.”

I took him to my office and said, “I’m listening.” Here is the story he shared with me:

I am Catholic and belong to a charismatic group where I direct the Bible studies. One day in my daily study of the Bible, I found there is a day of rest, and that day is Saturday. From that moment, I questioned myself and church as a whole. How is it possible that the sacred Scriptures speak of Saturday, and I keep Sunday. The Bible says it, and nobody realizes it.

One day after I returned from Bible study with the group, I opened my heart to God and told Him to show me the truth I needed. In my car I took my phone and opened up YouTube. A video came on of a pastor preaching. At that moment, I thought it must be the answer to my prayer. As I listened to it, I felt as if the pastor knew my life and the torments of my heart. I cried because I felt the voice of God speaking to my heart.

From that moment, I listened to this pastor every day. I learned about the Sabbath and other truths. I was surprised about every truth that I was learning. The Sabbath was the one I most admired, so I began to keep it. I stopped working on Saturdays and have been keeping the Sabbath for six months now. And I continue listening to sermons from that pastor. In one of his sermons, he told me (the listeners) that I should look for a Seventh-day Adventist Church. He also made a call for me to accept Jesus as my Savior and to give my life to Him through baptism so that I may see the kingdom of God. Pastor, that is why I’m here. For you to baptize me.

I was very impressed by Saltos’ testimony and asked him who the pastor was in the videos. “Pastor Alejandro Bullón,” he responded. For the glory of God, that same week I baptized him. From the day he got baptized, and despite the everyday struggles he experiences, he remains a faithful La Esperanza Spanish church member.

Joe Navarro is pastor of New Jersey Conference's La Esperanza Spanish church.