Samuel Rodríguez leaves legacy of Hispanic Baptist ministry in Savannah

SAVANNAH, Ga. — After 31 years as pastor of Primera Iglesia Bautista Hispana de Savannah, Samuel Rodríguez was honored by a congregation, community members, and Baptist leaders who remembered his faithfulness, his love for the gospel, and his role as a pioneer in Hispanic Baptist ministry in the region.

The celebration marked the close of a long season of pastoral ministry, but it also pointed to a broader transition among a generation of Hispanic pastors who helped establish and strengthen Baptist churches in Georgia.

Rodríguez arrived in Savannah in 1995, when the Hispanic Baptist work in the city was still a small mission. Its first service was held in the basement of Bull Street Baptist Church, with eight people present. Under his leadership, that mission grew, was constituted as a church in 2000, moved to Gamble Road in 2001, and became known as Primera Iglesia Bautista Hispana de Savannah.

Javier Chávez, pastor of Amistad Cristiana in Gainesville, said Rodríguez belongs to a generation of ministers who helped pave the way for Hispanic Baptist ministry in Georgia.

“Pastor Samuel Rodríguez represents a group of pastors who were pioneers of Hispanic Baptist ministry here in Georgia,” Chávez said. “He has been faithful to the ministry, but also faithful to his denomination.”

Chávez said Rodríguez always maintained a clear Baptist identity and a firm conviction that God had brought Hispanic pastors to Georgia for a purpose.

Rodríguez was born in Coahuila, Mexico, the son of a Baptist pastor who served for more than 30 years. When Rodríguez was 6, his family moved to Guadalajara. At 8, after hearing a message preached by a North American missionary, he gave his life to Christ. He was baptized by his father on Dec. 31, 1968, at Iglesia Bautista Bethania in Guadalajara.

He began theological studies at 14, preached his first sermon at 16, and began teaching at the Baptist seminary in Guadalajara at 19. He later served as pastor of Iglesia Bautista Puerta la Hermosa in Guadalajara and Iglesia Bautista Getsemaní in Ciudad Juárez before coming to Savannah.

He was ordained to the ministry in 1986. In 1987, he married Martha Castillo, who has served alongside him through nearly four decades of ministry.

During his years in Savannah, Rodríguez not only pastored a congregation but also helped develop ministries to meet the needs of a growing Hispanic community. The church offered medical clinics, English as a second language classes, immigration legal assistance, festivals, and other community ministries. It also opened its doors to the consulates of Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Peru as they served their citizens in the area.

In 2008, the church built the Hispanic Community Center. In 2015, it launched Radio Pesca 94.7 FM, a Spanish-language radio station with 24-hour programming. The church also has participated in mission trips to Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Peru, where it helped build a church building in the Ica region.

Buddy Wasson, associational mission strategist for the Savannah Baptist Association, said he met Rodríguez about 15 years ago and was struck by his heart for ministry.

“He’s a doer, and that ministers to my heart,” Wasson said.

Wasson recalled the radio station, the free medical clinic, and the church’s efforts to bring attorneys from Atlanta to provide pro bono assistance for people seeking help with immigration issues.

“He’s always reaching out to the community,” Wasson said. “He’s a great man of God. And he just overwhelms me with what he’s able to do.”

Wasson said Rodríguez also helped churches across the association recognize the international mission field already present in their own communities. He recalled a meeting at Sand Hill Baptist Church when Rodríguez spoke to the association about reaching people from other nations who had come to Savannah.

“We don’t have to go overseas to do international missions because they’re here,” Wasson said Rodríguez told them. “If you want to minister to Hispanics, if you want to minister to people who speak other languages, they’re here.”

During the retirement celebration, held Saturday, July 25, at Immanuel Baptist Church in Savannah, pastors, church members, denominational leaders, and local officials gave thanks for Rodríguez’s life and ministry. Edgar Montaño, Hispanic pastor of New Hope Baptist Church in Senoia, read Psalm 90. Chávez opened the meeting in prayer, asking that the gathering exalt Christ.

“We are not here to carry out one more meeting,” Chávez prayed. “We are here because we are grateful, Lord, that throughout these years You used the ministry of Samuel Rodríguez and his family.”

Thomas Hammond, executive director of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, sent a video message on behalf of Georgia Baptist churches. Hammond thanked Rodríguez for his faithfulness in preaching and teaching God’s Word, his commitment to the gospel, and his partnership with Baptist churches across the state.

Chatham County Sheriff Richard Coleman also attended the celebration and recognized Rodríguez as “a true man of God.”

“You’ve done wonderful things in this community,” Coleman said. “You deserve to be honored.”

Coleman said Rodríguez’s leadership and message of love, peace, and unity would not be forgotten.

“Whatever it is, I know your work is not done with the Lord,” Coleman said. “So stay strong, my friend. Stay in this fight.”

Isabel Haring, a member of Primera Iglesia Bautista Hispana de Savannah since its mission days, spoke on behalf of the congregation. She recalled that Rodríguez arrived as a young pastor with his wife and two small daughters, “not to build his own kingdom, but to work for the Kingdom of God.”

Haring said Rodríguez came to pastor “a small flock of eight sheep” and that, through the years, the church saw the faithfulness of God.

During Rodríguez’s ministry, she said, the congregation saw him faithfully preach God’s Word, baptize new believers, perform weddings, dedicate children, make home visits, offer counseling, pray, and make difficult decisions for the growth of the ministry.

“More than remembering events, we want to recognize a pastor who sought to be faithful to God’s call,” Haring said.

Other pastors spoke of Rodríguez’s personal impact on their own ministries.

Montaño said Rodríguez has been a mentor and friend since he arrived in Georgia in 2016.

“He is a Christian in whom you see practical fruit,” Montaño said, pointing to Rodríguez’s family, hospitality, and pastoral faithfulness. “That has impacted me.”

Samuel Medina, who now serves as pastor of Primera Iglesia Bautista Hispana de Savannah, said he is grateful to have had an eight-month transition alongside Rodríguez.

“I feel surrounded by his wisdom, his presence, and his counsel,” Medina said. “I really feel covered.”

Medina said Rodríguez helped him better understand the challenges of pastoring an international church made up of people from several countries and cultures. Even Rodríguez’s effort to use a more neutral Spanish, Medina said, reflected his love for the people he served.

“All of that speaks of the love he has for souls,” Medina said.

The celebration also recognized the sacrifices of the Rodríguez family. Jarrín said that behind every sermon were hours of preparation, behind every visit was time given and sacrificed, and behind every decision was prayer and dependence on God. She also expressed gratitude for Martha Rodríguez and for the couple’s children, who shared many of the burdens of ministry.

Rodríguez, speaking near the end of the celebration, said retirement does not mean the end of his service to the Lord. He cited Numbers 8, where the Levites stepped away from certain responsibilities but continued helping their brothers at the tabernacle.

“You can keep working, and you should keep working,” Rodríguez said.

The new season, he said, will involve work that is “quieter” and “different,” including counseling pastors, helping others, preaching, teaching, preparing people for ministry, and taking time to write.

Medina prayed for Rodríguez and his wife, asking God to bless them in this new season and open new paths of ministry before them.

“Humanly speaking, we say they are retiring,” Medina prayed, “but we know the ministry You have placed in his heart will not end until You call him to Your presence.”

The church presented Rodríguez with a plaque of recognition and gratitude for 31 years of faithful service, tireless dedication, and fruitful ministry devoted to the work of God. The plaque cited 1 Corinthians 15:58, urging believers to remain steadfast and immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.

For the congregation Rodríguez pastored for more than three decades, the celebration did not simply mark the end of one season. It was a moment to give thanks for a life invested in the work of God and to look ahead to a mission that continues.

“You are taking your hand from the plow,” Medina said. “I am taking it and continuing along the path.”

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