From Prison to the Pulpit:
Brother Elias Correa grew up in Adrian, Michigan, and when he was still just a small child, his parents divorced. Bro. Correa lived with his dad, never attended church, and, as a teen, chose to live without direction or proper standards. Through a series of poor choices, he became very rebellious and, at the age of nineteen, ended up in jail. It was there when he attended a jail church service where folks from Berean Baptist Church came to preach to the inmates. Upon hearing the Gospel for the first time in his life, he readily accepted Christ as Saviour on February 28, 1990 and spent the next two years of incarceration getting to know the Lord. Daily he spent hours upon hours in prayer, Bible reading, became a student of the Bible, and had an unquenchable desire to grow. He began to witness to the other inmates the best he knew how. In the spring of 1991, a Muslim inmate who was getting released had a stack of preaching tapes that he hadn’t taped over with his rap music. They were all by a Baptist preacher, and he asked Bro. Correa if he wanted them. They were all by the pastor who came to hold the services at the jail, except one by Dr. Jack Hyles. It was through this tape that God called Bro. Correa to preach. He was rebellious, however, and told God that He couldn’t use him because he had "messed up" his life too much--but God was at work in his life. He was released from prison in January of 1992, and that first Sunday began attending an independent, fundamental Baptist church pastored by Dr. Mike Cox.
Bro. Correa was baptized soon after
that, and God was still at work. Bro. Correa knew He wanted to use him,
but he didn’t think he was a qualified candidate. He sought counsel from
his pastor and an assistant pastor who assured him that God could use
anyone He chose, and that “if God wants you to do something, the best
thing to do is to just go ahead and do it.” He surrendered to God’s will
for his life and made preparation to move to Northwest Indiana to
attend Hyles-Anderson College.
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Bro. Correa met his wife Robyn in 1989,
and were high school sweethearts who stayed together throughout his
incarceration. Dr. Cox’s wife led Robyn to the Lord on February 28,
1990, she married her husband September 1, 1992, and gave birth to their
son the following September.
In December of 1993, he moved his young family to Indiana, still unsure
how God wanted him to serve. God began to plant the seed of missions in
his heart, which he watered with prayer. As the seed grew, God directed
the family toward the mission field and confirmed it during a missions
conference held at the college. Bro. Correa went forward that Sunday and
surrendered his life to reach the world with the Gospel.
Bro. Correa started full-time deputation January 8, 2003, and graduated
from Hyles-Anderson College on January 29, 2003, with a bachelor of
science in pastoral theology. He was ordained into the Gospel ministry
on October 18, 2003. On November 29, 2005, the now-family of five left
for Ireland to start the Anchor Baptist Church. After turning this work
over to another man, God directed Bro. Correa to start a new Bible study
in another part of the country, opened several doors for him to help
other churches and ministries get started, and gave the family the
opportunity to minister throughout the country, as well as in several
places throughout Europe. The Correa family is honored to have had those
opportunities in the past and are excited for further opportunities to
serve Him in the future.
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Contact the Correa Family
Social Media:
Twitter
Facebook
Phone:
(517) 263-7725
email the Correas:
eliascorrea@fbmi.org
Mailing Addresses:
US Address:
2801 Tipton Highway
Adrian, MI 49221
Field Address in Ireland:
Farranasprig, Aghadoe
Kilarney, Ireland Co. Kerry
Birthdays:
- Elias: 10/30
- Robyn: 05/10
- Joshua: 09/09/1993
- Kendalle: 09/05/1995
- Suzanne: 11/30/1998
Wedding Anniversary:
- September 1, 1992
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