Called and Equipped: A Testimony from Argentina

In 2 Timothy 2:15, the Apostle Paul instructed his disciple Timothy with these words: “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” 

Like Timothy, every preacher of the Word bears this charge. He who wishes to instruct and encourage others must commit himself to faithfully studying and obeying the Scriptures. Without sustained perseverance in holiness and Christlikeness, his growth and his impact will be stifled. 

Juan Marcos Wlasiuk, a 2025 graduate of The Expositor’s Institute in Argentina (IDEAR), came to this conviction through a long ministry journey.

A Conviction to Serve

From a young age, Juan Marcos and his siblings observed ministry up close. In the 1990s, their family moved several times in southern Argentina for work. In each city, his parents found a local church—and committed to serving there. Eventually, they settled in Bariloche, where Juan Marcos’ father helped plant a Baptist church. Later, Juan Marcos' brother would become a pastor there. 

“We were helping as kids, teenagers, and young people before going to college,” he explained. “I saw the testimony of my parents serving wherever they were, and with whatever they had." 

“I grew up with a conviction that I wanted to serve the Lord,” he said. 

In college, Juan Marcos became a leader in campus ministry, where he met his future wife. Together, they joined a missionary team in the southern African country of Angola for a year and a half. After returning, they were married.  

“I had the desire. I had devoted time and paid all the necessary effort, but I didn’t have the training, the focus, the clarity that I think is necessary for ministry.”

But despite the opportunities, God did not allow the Wlasiuks to continue in either missions or campus ministry. In hindsight, Juan Marcos is thankful for this delay. 

“I think the Lord was gracious to me in that I didn't move forward into full-time ministry, because it probably would have been a disaster.” 

He explained, "I had the desire. I had devoted time and paid all the necessary effort, but I didn't have the training, the focus, the clarity that I think is necessary for ministry."  

To change that, God led the Wlasiuks to California in 2008, where Juan Marcos began his PhD studies. When they landed, the friend picking them up at the airport invited them to attend his church—Grace Community Church in Sun Valley.   

Though they had been planning to join a Baptist congregation, the Wlasiuks agreed to visit. 

“That changed everything,” Juan Marcos said.

At Grace Community Church, the Wlasiuks met Henry Tolopilo and fellow Argentinian Alejandro Peluffo, key leaders in the Spanish congregation. Initially, Juan Marcos recalled, their family came back because of those relationships.

But week after week, as he sat under consistent expositional preaching, the emphasis on the Word of God as the foundation of life and ministry began to affect him. Juan Marcos saw areas of his own theology and practice that had drifted away from Scripture, influenced by movements in the Argentinian church.

“Many Baptist churches had moved more towards the charismatic and pragmatic strategies, so they started to preach what they thought people wanted to hear, and they stopped preaching about many concepts or doctrines that they thought didn’t fit well with the current culture. So I realized I had started to buy some of those ideas.”

Juan Marcos came to a conclusion.

“We should go back to studying the Bible and interpreting the Bible correctly.”

A Need to Preach the Word 

In 2013, with Juan Marcos’ PhD completed, the family returned to South America. With a new sense of clarity, they began to ask if this was the right time to return to ministry. Juan Marcos now also had the desire to be trained at The Master’s Seminary. But while he was working in Chile, the Wlasiuks became connected with the pastor of a church in Santiago.  

“The church was very little,” Juan Marcos explained. “There were less than thirty people. But we saw he wanted to preach the Word.”   

Knowing that this emphasis was present, the Wlasiuks began serving wholeheartedly in the church wherever needed. As opportunities arose, Juan Marcos supported the young pastor in encouragement and teaching.  

“For the first time I felt, this is real ministry,” Juan Marcos said.    

But still, he wanted formal training. In 2017, he received an invitation from Alejandro Peluffo to join a training center TMAI had just opened in Argentina. Recognizing that studying in South America was the best path to continue ministry, Juan Marcos enrolled in IDEAR’s Diploma of Bible and Theology program. 

“The Wlasiuks determined to start a church that would be set apart—distinguished by the preaching and application of God’s Word.”

In February 2023, with the church in Santiago flourishing, the Wlasiuks returned to their hometown of Mendoza, Argentina. Juan Marcos now had years of ministry experience, but he also had a firm understanding of the area’s spiritual need. 

“I think the common feature of all churches in Mendoza is they are preaching less and less from the Word," he commented. “They are not maturing in the churches because the gospel and the whole counsel of God is not being preached.” 

The Wlasiuks determined to start a church that would be set apart—distinguished by the preaching and application of God’s Word. Under this distinctive, Iglesia Bíblica Redentor has grown from a few families to 70 attendees. Juan Marcos says that his time at IDEAR not only strengthened his teaching but has also encouraged other men to pursue training themselves.  

The blessings of teaching, leading, and discipling others with conviction are the fruit of clear focus. Though Juan Marcos had the desire to serve, God knew he also needed the necessary instruction and preparation to be effective. The Apostle Paul instructed Timothy not simply to be eager, but to “be diligent” as a workman, because the impact of a pastor and the maturity of a church depends on the accurate handling of God’s Word. TMAI continues to invest in the training of men like Juan Marcos around the globe, so that the church may be joyfully built up as “an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God” (Phil. 4:18). 

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