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During negotiations, the guerrillas lowered their ransom demand by half, after checking on the church's bank balance. Family Christian's head pastor, Andrés Puerta, told a rebel who phoned the demands, "You can't kill him or touch him because he's a servant of God." The ELN had earlier agreed to not kidnap pastors. The rebel commander finally freed Villegas in exchange for a Bible, Villegas said.

He marked the first anniversary of his kidnapping quietly with a special meal at his parents' house. The anniversary of his release fell on a Sunday and he preached on the kidnapping, saying that God's purpose was fulfilled.

Villegas knows that what happened to him could happen to any pastor in Colombia. He estimates that because about 10 percent of Colombians are evangelical, then about 300 of the 3,000-plus hostages in Colombia are evangelicals, as well. He seeks to raise awareness of safety measures all should take.

In Family Christian Church, for example, all deacons take security classes and are vigilant of those who congregate in the 1,000-seat auditorium. The church does not publicize its plans for events as extensively as before.

And the church has not held a baptism since the day of Villegas' kidnapping.

In the months following his release, Villegas lived in fear that people were pursuing him. Those fears have faded. He values life more and draws on his experience to counsel families of hostages. Israel's ambassador to Colombia called him for advice on the ELN kidnapping of four Israeli tourists in September.

Villegas says with conviction that he could not endure another kidnapping. Soon after he was taken, he contracted leishmaniasis—mountain leprosy—a flesh-eating disease that is fatal without antibiotics. To Villegas, more deadly was the overall despair and grinding misery of finding himself captive.

"If this happens to me again, free me right then or kill me right then, because I can't suffer this again," he said.

Villegas is seeking to use his platform as a former hostage to bring peace to his war-torn homeland through the gospel. He sees that God had His purpose in all that happened to him. "If we didn't have the Lord, what would we do?"

Copyright © 2003 Compass Direct.

Copyright © 2004 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Also posted today

Forgotten Casualties of an Uncivil War | Three million Colombians are displaced, with few prospects

Why the FARC Hates Evangelicals | The terrorist group has many misconceptions about Colombian Christians.

Yesterday, CT posted two dispatches from Colombia:

New Life in a Culture of Death | Hope for Colombia dwells inside its most lethal killing field—Bellavista prison (Feb. 2, 2004)

'I Was Looking for Peace and Found it in Christ' | A converted felon in Colombia reflects on life in the guerrilla ranks. (Feb. 2, 2004)

More CT articles from Colombia include:

Kidnappers Release Two Christian Relief Volunteers in Colombia | Ransom demand paid for evangelical lawyer and businessman. (Jan. 05, 2004)

Colombian Rebels Kill Evangelical Pastors | Two church leaders ambushed in August. (Sept. 03, 2002)

Rebels Force Churches to Close in Colombia | Christians accused of political involvement in May 26 elections (May 16, 2002)

Missionaries Defy Terrorist Threat in Colombia | U.S. Embassy says North Americans are guerrilla targets. (April 30, 2002)

Missionaries May Be Target Of FARC Guerrillas | U.S. embassy in Colombia issues warning to missionaries and churches. (March 08, 2002)

New Tribes Missionaries Kidnapped in 1993 Declared Dead | Mission concludes Colombian guerrillas shot the three men in 1996. (Sept. 27, 2001)

Risking Life for Peace | Caught between rebels, paramilitaries, and crop-dusters, peacemaking Christians put their lives on the line in violent Colombia. (Sept. 07, 2001)

Hostage Pastor Released Unharmed In Colombia | Wife pledges to stay in Colombia because the kidnappers cannot stop the Lord's work. (Aug. 20, 2001)

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February (Web-only) 2004, Vol. 48