Celebrating the election of the first Hispanic president of Synod
In a historic synod, this election is a sign of hope for unity in the gospel as the body of Christ.
The Reformed Hispanic community celebrates that our beloved denomination has appointed Jose Rayas as president of Synod 2022. Our joy is not selfish, but a necessary motive to embrace the hope of ethnic unity.
Before Rayas entered the ministry and joined the CRC, he lived eight years in Mexico. Upon returning to the United States, he studied Industrial Mechanical Engineering and worked on Defense contracts. From 1997 to 2001, he studied and graduated with a Master of Divinity from Westminster Theological Seminary in California. He has served voluntarily in different areas of the ministry until 2002 when he was ordained as a Commissioned Pastor. Finally, in 2014, he was ordained as a Minister of the Word as part of the first generation of the modified EPMC program.
Rayas was a volunteer brother serving at Synod for several years on diverse committees. In 2016, he was elected Vice President of the Synod. It was a historic time since it was the first time a Hispanic member of the CRC was elected as Vice President. Later in 2019, he served as secretary of Synod. Rayas also collaborates with Consejo Latino to assist, train and prepare Hispanic leaders for the ministerial call and guide them to the ordination as Commissioned Pastors in the CRC. Rayas knows that mentoring Latino leaders falls short of the need in Hispanic communities to learn about Reformed doctrine and faith. The demand is great, but Rayas believes that mentoring can guide new prospects into the development of healthy churches and the solid proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ for the transformation of their communities.
We pray that Rayas may lead the Synod meeting of this year with a sense of unity and faithfully guard the biblical truth at each point in the agenda. The Synod 2022 represents the body of Christ, and its members have the responsibility to lead the church into the integral transformation through the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is the celebration of the election that we express with an Amen, Glory be to God!
