By Miles Layton

Several years ago, I met Hertford Baptist Church Pastor Dario Ruvarac – he impressed me with his faith and dedication to Christ. And, Ruvarac has an amazing hero “origin” story — he’s from Croatia and was introduced to the Gospel in 1993 through a Billy Graham crusade broadcast in Germany. Many years later, Ruvarac would be preaching the Gospel in Hertford — that’s God’s plan in action.

HERTFORD — On a quiet Sunday morning in downtown Hertford, longtime deacon Gene Madre stood before the congregation at Hertford Baptist Church and shared a story shaped by faith, hardship, and grace—setting the tone for a service that would challenge worshipers to consider whether following Christ is about convenience and crowds, or commitment through pressure, prayer, and perseverance.

The sanctuary became a place of reflection, testimony, and challenge as Pastor Dario Ruvarac preached from the Gospel of Mark, guiding the congregation through the pressures Jesus faced and how ordinary people can be called to accomplish extraordinary work. The service wove together Scripture and lived experience, asking a central question: Are we fans of Jesus, or faithful followers?

Madre spoke first. “Good morning,” he began as he looked out from the pulpit at the congregation. “This is not a place I normally would like to be. I think maybe it’s been 17 years, so it’s been awhile. I never did good at public speaking, but it is an honor to share my testimony of what Jesus has done for me.”

His story was inseparable from Hertford and the church itself. “I’ve always been here, grew up here. I grew up in this church, I’ve never been anywhere else,” he said. “I’ve never worked outside of this county. I’m working on my third, hopefully third and final career. But I always worked within the county.”

He spoke of a childhood grounded in faith and family. “I was so blessed coming up to have grown up in this family that I did. Wonderful parents, God-fearing parents, a hardworking dad. A mom that took great care of us,” he said, recalling grandparents who lived nearby and a church community that shaped his values. That foundation led to a defining moment. “On a hot August night in 1978, I was probably sitting three or four rows back on this side,” Madre said. “And I asked Jesus into my heart. I could feel a tug of Christ talking to me, the Holy Spirit working on me. So I came down here to give my life to Christ.”

Ruvarac later emphasized the importance of that distinction. “Here’s the question for us this morning,” he said. “Are you a fan of Jesus, or a follower of Jesus?”

Madre described how faith was nurtured through steady habits, particularly prayer. “Every Sunday he would say, ‘How many prayed one day this week? How many prayed every day?’” Madre said. “A daily prayer life is important. God wants us to talk to Him on a daily basis.” Ruvarac echoed that point. “Worry amplifies pressure, but prayer moves your focus to God’s promises and perspective,” he said. “So let prayer be your first response during high-pressure situations.”

Madre’s life, like many in the congregation, was not without hardship. After years of working alongside his father on the family farm, marrying young, and raising two sons, his life took an unexpected turn. “All of a sudden, divorce happened in my life,” Madre said. “That was very tough on me, tough on my children. As tough as it was, it brought me closer to God.”

He testified that the support of the church carried him through. “I’m not supposed to be 60 years old,” he said. “But I’m thankful. I still have letters and cards people sent to me letting me know they were praying for me. That just meant so much. The Lord brought me through that.”

Years later, faith again shaped a turning point when he met Lisa, who would become his wife. “If you boys want to have a woman, a good woman that you like, pray, start praying for her now,” he said. “I made sure I did that this time.” They will soon celebrate five years of marriage. “I’m so thankful for her, thankful for our family, for welcoming me,” Madre said.

His testimony culminated with a reflection on the hymn He Keeps Me Singing, written by Luther Burgess Bridges after losing his wife and children in a house fire in 1911. “He Keeps Me Singing was not written in the calm, but in the storm,” Madre said. “It’s a hymn that reminds us that Christ does not always deliver us from pain, but He does walk with us through it.”

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Ruvarac then guided the congregation through Mark chapter three. “Because of the crowd, He told his disciples to have a small boat ready for Him, to keep the people from crowding Him,” he read. “For He had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch Him.”

From the outset, Ruvarac framed the passage around pressure, drawing on commentary by Kent Hughes, who titled this section of Mark, “Jesus, Pressured Jesus.” “In this text, we see an intensely pressured Savior,” Ruvarac said.

He explained that Jesus faced pressure from two primary sources. “First of all, Jesus’ conflicts with the religious establishment created intense pressure,” Ruvarac said. “The Pharisees met with some members of Herod’s party and they made plans to kill Jesus.” The second source came from His popularity. “Large crowds were coming to Jesus from all regions,” Ruvarac said. “They were convinced that merely touching Jesus would bring the healing they desired. Jesus was in a physical danger of being crushed. Expect the pressure by those who want something from you. This will often be an experience of those who are faithful servants of God.”

He warned that many in the crowd were interested only in what Jesus could do for them. “They are fans of Jesus, but their dedication to Him did not go beyond what He could do for them,” Ruvarac said. “They are primarily interested in Jesus’ works, not in Jesus’ words.”

Ruvarac guided the congregation through how Jesus coped with pressure: prayer and committed relationships. “He went up to a mountainside to pray,” Ruvarac said. “He prayed to God all night.” By choosing twelve men to follow Him closely, Jesus modeled the importance of intentional, supportive relationships. “Committed relationships can diffuse pressure by fostering open communication and offering a system of support,” Ruvarac said.

The pastor emphasized that Jesus’ disciples were ordinary people. “They were common individuals from a variety of personalities and backgrounds,” he said. “They were just 12 ordinary men.” From that, Ruvarac drew two lessons: “Jesus calls each of us to be part of a team. There is no plan B. Jesus uses ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary work.”

The congregation, between 100 and 120 souls, reflected on the church’s long history as well. Since the 1800s, Hertford Baptist Church has served the faithful of Perquimans County. Located at 124 Market St., the church offers Sunday school at 9:45 a.m. and worship at 11 a.m.

“One characteristic that attracted me to the church, was the huge commitment to missions – reaching people across the globe – but the people are the most important part of any church,” Ruvarac said to me all those years ago — that comment stuck with me. “Hertford Baptist consists of loving people that want to please God with their lives.”

Founded April 6, 1854, by five men and twelve women with a dream of training believers to apply Christian truths in daily life, the church has maintained its mission across generations. Its recessed baptistery behind the pulpit has seen countless members dedicate their lives to Christ, a tradition Madre personally experienced decades ago.

Before coming to Hertford, Ruvarac led Kenly Missionary Baptist Church in Kenly, a small town in Johnston and Wilson counties. Originally from Croatia, he was introduced to the Gospel in 1993 through a Billy Graham crusade broadcast in Germany. “Growing up in a Communist country and meeting Christ as Savior during Yugoslavia’s civil war greatly affected my desire to communicate the Gospel in ways that engage both the heart and mind,” Ruvarac said to me when I interviewed him all those years ago. His ministry focus is to encourage believers to become fully devoted disciples impacting others locally and globally.

Ruvarac closed the service with a challenge that tied Scripture and testimony together. “Let’s not be fans of Jesus,” he said. “Let’s be committed followers of Jesus Christ, allowing Him to use us so we can change the world around us.” As the final song echoed through the sanctuary—“I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back”—the message lingered: faith is not about proximity to Christ, but commitment to walk with Him through both calm and storm.

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