Bermudez, Rudy Bautista (1939–2016)

Rudy Bautista Bermudez was an Adventist minister and administrator who served in the Philippines and North America.

Early Life

Rudy Bautista Bermudez was born on March 6, 1939, in Tagum, Davao del Norte on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines.¹ He was the second of seven children born to Pedro Padua and Caridad Bautista Bermudez. His father was a humble Adventist farmer from La Union, Luzon. His siblings included Danny, Esther, Letty, Loving, Norma and Melanie. Bermudez was two years old when the Japanese bombed Davao. Japanese occupation made life difficult during his early childhood, but the Bermudez family remained faithful members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church throughout World War II.²

Education and Marriage

Following World War II, Bermudez enrolled in Tagum Elementary School where he studied through fourth grade. He later transferred to Palma Gil Elementary School in Davao City before continuing his high school education at the Mindanao Colleges (now University of Mindanao). It was during his high school years that Bermudez decided to accept Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Saviour at the age of fourteen. He was baptized on October 13, 1953, by Pastor R. B. Cahilig, in the Davao Central Church.

Bermudez attended Mountain View College where he enrolled in the ministerial course. He graduated in March 1962 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. Later that same year, on August 5, he married Merlinda Tangjal. Four children were born to the Bermudezes: Lindy Joy (1963-) Rudy T. (1964-), David T. (1966-), and Mary Ann T. (1972-).³ Bermudez continued his education at Philippine Union College (now Adventist University of the Philippines or AUP) where he finished a Master of Arts degree in systematic theology in 1975.⁴ His commitment to higher education was an inspiration to his children who all became health science professionals.

Career

Upon graduation from Mountain View College in March of 1962, Bermudez served as a ministerial intern in the Northern Mindanao Mission (subsequently renamed the Northern Mindanao Conference, and currently the North Central Mindanao Conference). In 1969, after seven years of experience in the field, he was called to serve his alma mater, Mountain View College, as an instructor. Three years later he became Ministerial Secretary and Communication Director in charge of radio and television ministries for the South Philippine Union Mission (now Conference) in 1972. On July 1, 1979 Bermudez was elected president of the Northern Mindanao Mission, a position he held for two and a half years.⁵ In 1981 he returned to the South Philippine Union Mission and his former duties as Ministerial Secretary and Communication Director. He remained in these positions for three years.⁶

In 1985, Bermudez accepted a call to the Hawaii Conference in the United States where he served as the district pastor for several churches on the islands of Oahu and Hawaii from 1986 to 1990. In 1990, he moved to the Southern California Conference where he became senior pastor of first, the Glendale Filipino Seventh-day Adventist Church, and then in 1993, the Loma Linda Filipino Church. Finally in 2000, Bermudez was elected Vice-President for the Asian Pacific Ministries in the Southesatern California Conference (SECC). He was simultaneously responsible for Sabbath School, Personal, and Prison Ministries until his retirement in 2010. During his time in the Southeastern California Conference, Bermudez also served as liaison for the SECC Prayer Partners Network. His committee membership included the SECC Ethics Committee and the North American Division Asian Pacific Advisory Council. Bermudez was president of the North American Division Filipino Adventist Advisory, the Filipino Adventist Ministerial Association (FAMA), and the PUC Asian/Pacific Coordination Council.⁷

Later Life and Contribution

After his retirement, Bermudez lived in Loma Linda, California, where he enjoyed time with his family. He remained active in evangelism, returning to the Philippines several times with evanglist teams, before his death on October 4, 2016.⁸

Bermudez was a church leader, pastor, committee member, and missionary. He was a man dedicated to service and loyalty to furthering the cause of God.

Sources

Employee Service Record. South Philippine Union Conference.

“Rudy Bermudez obituary.” Pacific Union Recorder, December 2016.

Seventh-day Adventist Online Yearbook. “Northern Mindanao Mission.” Accessed April 17, 2019, http://documents.adventistarchives.org/Yearbooks/YB1980.pdf.

Notes

1. Employee Service Record, South Philippine Union Conference; “Rudy Bermudez obituary,” Pacific Union Recorder, December 2016, 31.↩

2. Shari Mayne T. Lachica (Bermudez’s niece), interview by author, Upper Carmen, Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines, October 5, 2017.↩

3. Employee Service Record, South Philippine Union Conference.↩

4. Ibid.↩

5. Ibid.; Seventh-day Adventist Online Yearbook, “Northern Mindanao Mission,” accessed April 17, 2019, http://documents.adventistarchives.org/Yearbooks/YB1980.pdf.↩

6. Employee Service Record, South Philippine Union Conference.↩

7. Lachica, interview.↩

8. “Rudy Bermudez obituary,” Pacific Union Recorder, 31.↩