PhD student Fretes desires to use education to train young pastors in Paraguay

Federico Fretes’ journey to Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is one of dedication, faith, and unwavering commitment to learning as much as he can. A native of Paraguay, he has walked a path that has taken him from being a young believer to a PhD student with aspirations of shaping the next generation of church leaders.

His story is not just one of academic pursuit but of a lifelong calling. Born and raised in Paraguay, Fretes grew up in a Christian home.

“I grew up in a Baptist church,” he recalls. “That’s the context. The church was planted by Southwestern Baptist Seminary missionaries.”

His father worked in a bank before shifting to local politics, while his mother was employed in the tourism industry. Both remained active members of the church, helping to foster Fretes’s faith from an early age. Fretes remembers giving his life to Christ at the age of six and it was during his teenage years that he felt the call to ministry.

“Very early on, even before high school, I already felt that God was calling me to a special kind of ministry,” he said.

Initially, he pursued economics in college, but after two years, he felt overwhelmingly that he was meant to be somewhere else and he transferred to a Bible college, a decision that would set the course for his path to Southwestern. Fretes’s theological education first led him into pastoral ministry, where he spent over a decade serving a congregation.

“I pastored for five years and then became the lead pastor of a medium-sized church in the capital,” he said. Asunción is Paraguay’s capital.

His love for the local church was profound, yet his desire to teach and train others kept growing, and this feeling was validated when he was invited to teach pastoral-related classes at a Baptist seminary. At the same time, he pursued a Master of Theological Studies (MTS) program through Southwestern online.

“That’s when I realized how much I loved teaching. I was already in ministry, but I knew I needed to continue my education to train others better,” he said.

Following his MTS, Fretes still felt an overwhelming desire to further his studies, wanting now to go in person, though initially some obstacles stood in his way.

“It was almost an impossible situation for me,” he said. “Financially, it was hard, and coming to the U.S. felt like a dream.”

He continued to pray for an answer and one day a conversation with his father out of the blue turned the tide.

“He asked me, ‘And now what?’ I told him I had no other option unless I could go there. And he said, ‘Why don’t you? What do you need to do that?’” And with some initial support from his father and encouragement from his wife, doors began to open.

By the end of 2020, Fretes had applied to Southwestern and was accepted for the fall of 2021. “The dream became a plan,” he said.

He and his family moved to the United States and he began his Master of Divinity (MDiv) program. Many of his MTS credits transferred, fast-tracking his studies and setting him on the path to a PhD. Fretes’s connection to Southwestern was deeply rooted in the history of leaders he had met and knew of in Paraguay.

“People always ask me, ‘Why Southwestern?’ The connection between Paraguay and Southern Baptists is strong,” he said. “Many missionaries came in the 50s and 80s, planting seminaries and churches. Southwestern was always a reference point in our community.”

His goal was not just to earn a degree, but to equip himself with the skills and abilities to train the next generation of church leaders in his home country. Currently pursuing a PhD in New Testament with a minor in Old Testament, Fretes is deeply passionate about biblical theology, with his dissertation focusing on the biblical theology of marriage in the New Testament, particularly from the perspective of Second Temple Judaism and its influence on early Christian teachings.

On top of the hours of work that comes with pursuing a PhD, he also serves as a biblical language tutor at Southwestern, working with students one-on-one as he helps them learn Greek and Hebrew.

He is also actively involved in pastoral work at Nueva Vida Baptist Church, a Hispanic congregation in Joshua, Texas.

“I’m not officially the associate pastor, but I do a lot of the work,” he laughed. “I love being the kind of person I wish I had when I was pastoring, someone to count on.”

Outside of his studies and ministry, Fretes loves spending time with his wife, Ledy, whom he met at church. Fretes said he believes he fell in love when he was about 13 years old, but did not act on it for another 10 years. They eventually started dating, married in 2012, and now have four children.

“She’s the only reason I can do this PhD program. It’s very challenging, and she keeps everything together at home.”

In his limited free time, Fretes enjoys spending time outside with his family, going on walks in parks, and playing soccer, which he explained brings the international community of Southwestern together.

He also dabbles in fishing, though he admits, “I’m still learning the science of fishing here, it’s very different from Paraguay.”

Outside of pursuing his degree, Fretes feels he has found a supportive community at Southwestern. He recalled a moment while working in the Registrar’s Office that solidified his appreciation for the seminary.

“A student came in with a concern about their classes,” he said. “But then we started talking about deeper issues in their life. My coworker and I just stopped and prayed with them. That’s when I realized, this is a special place.”

Currently, Fretes is on track to complete his coursework by December 2025, take his comprehensive exams in 2026, and submit his dissertation by early 2027. His expected graduation is in the spring of 2027. As he moves closer to reaching that goal, his mission remains clear: to teach, train, and equip the next generation of pastors and missionaries.

“I love teaching, and I love the church,” he said. “Wherever God leads me, that’s where I’ll go.”

With his steadfast dedication, Federico Fretes desires to leave a lasting impact on the theological and pastoral landscape of Paraguay and beyond. His journey is a testament to faith, perseverance, and the importance of theological education to a more faithful ministry.

“I love the local church, and if God tells me to go back to just one church, I will,” he said. “But if I have the opportunity to train pastors, I want to multiply that impact.”