About Preacher Sam
I will never regret the day I surrendered my life to the Lord. I spent much of my life believing I was a follower of Christ and yet I never fully trusted in Him. It wasn’t until June 4, 2017, that I relinquished my throne, by God's grace, to the true King and Lord, Jesus Christ. I came to trust that the Word of God was truly God-breathed and free of error and just as relevant today as the day the words were first written thousands of years ago. One of the first of many lessons I learned was that I myself could not earn or merit my salvation and that salvation is a truly gift from God that leads one to genuinely believe in Jesus, the Son of God and the Savior of us all.
As I compared my prior theology with the original source of truth, the Holy Bible, I realized that although many of my previous beliefs created a barrier in my relationship with God, approaching the Word of God with child-like faith helped me experience God’s great love and mercy in a new way, leading to the demolition of many of those barricades and affirming what many scholars and theologians have identified through the five solas of the Protestant Reformation: Sola Scriptura (by Scripture alone), Sola Fide (by faith alone), Sola Gratia (by grace alone), Solus Christus (Christ alone), and Soli Deo Gloria (glory to God alone).
Almost instantly after being saved, I strongly desired to follow the calling God instilled in me; a calling of being a preacher and shepherd. I placed my faith fully in the Lord, realizing that “nothing will be impossible for God” (Luke 1:37). I looked forward to the journey of serving in pastoral ministry, and the expository preaching of the Word of God that I now have the honor to practice under the service of our great God.
I studied at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS) where I received a Master of Theological Studies (MTS). I am currently pursuing a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree at SWBTS.
I am an ordained and licensed minister who is currently serving as Pastor at Bethel Baptist Church of Gorham, NY, where I deliver weekly sermons and lead the adult Bible study.
My theology lines up with the Doctrines of Grace (also known as Calvinism or Reformed Theology) and I adhere to The 2000 Baptist Faith and Message and 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith. So, I consider myself a Reformed Baptist.
I am blessed to be married to my loving wife, Mercy. We reside in the Finger Lakes area of NY and are blessed with two adorable and loving daughters.
Take care and God bless,
Pastor Samuel Farag
