Introducing Santiago Benavides!
I am excited to introduce you to Santiago Benavides, a graduate of the BSC who is having a great impact for the gospel in Latin America (see my interview with Santiago here).
Santiago was born on November 8, 1977 in the city of Bogota, Colombia, though he grew up in the town of Limón in central Venezuela.
An important moment in Santiago’s journey of faith came at age 15 when he attended his first church service for his father’s baptism. One particular testimony of a man released from alcohol touched him deeply. As he stated, “once I came to church that day, I never left.”
Santiago always felt called to minister through music. He attended the Biblical Seminary of Colombia because he wanted to be biblically well grounded before he began to compose his songs.
He recounted that one of the seminary’s greatest gifts to him was the way it balanced academic rigor with passion for ministry.
Santiago is a singer, songwriter, producer and not the least a pastor who has toured extensively throughout Latin America, with a few stops as far away as Kuala Lumpur, Budapest and London to share the gospel with music.
He mixes Colombian folk with an acoustic flair and penetrating lyrics to present the gospel in an honest, biblical, down-to-earth and humorous way that really touches people where the are.
You can check out my interview with Santiago below. His music is available through ITunes and on his own site: http://santiagobenavides.com/