Nothing is easy in this ministry

Carol, wife of our Academic Dean David, shared with me the single task of obtaining the food and preparing the meal for a week of seminary. In the US, we would simply make a list of items needed, call Sysco or some other company, and wait for it to be delivered. Not possible for this ministry. Here is her account of the process:

The Saturday before class I went with Marcia, G'ma Ana, Siloth and Amanda to buy the food for seminary week. (I hadn't done this before and wanted to see what they were doing.) We went to the open-air market held in Cabudare on Saturdays. It was dirty, exhausting, and took about 2 hours to find everything on the list. At least it had rained earlier that morning and wasn't very hot. Marcia gets G'ma Ana to decide on a menu for the week. Marcia and Ana figure out how much food that will be (10 Kilos of potatoes, 8 kilos of carrots, etc.) While we shop Marcia has the list, writing down how much we paid for each item. There are boys in the market with 'dollys' who will haul your stuff from food stand to food stand and then to your car. We didn't find one of the boys until we were all carrying huge bags of produce. G'ma Ana and Marcia are VERY careful with the seminary funds. If they don't like the price they move on to another vender. Marcia will negotiate with a vender for a better price since we are buying more than the average shopper. These ladies really put alot of work into providing meals for the students! After the open-air market we went to a local grocery store to get the things not found in the market, flour, butter, salt, etc. It all gets loaded into the Blazer, with Siloth sitting up inside and Samuel handing her things so that it will all fit. We then headed for the seminary where it was all unloaded, again with Siloth sitting up inside handing things out to us. They are very organized and I just tried to stay out of their way. They worked all the rest of Saturday prepping for meals for seminary week. On Samuel's urging they posted a menu in the classroom. The students really liked this. The love offering we give them doesn't begin to cover the work they put into this. Marcia washes all the dishes in a little concrete sink in the kitchen. There aren't any cabinets to put anything in. We couldn't do what they do where they are doing it.

First, we thank God for the faithful servants. Secondly, we pray for God's blessing on them as they give so significantly for the sake of the seminary students. Thirdly, we pray for more giving to the seminary so we can adequately pay our staff and provide for the classes. Please pray about what you can do. Send your gifts to Venezuela Now, Inc. at the address in the sidebar.

Report from Seminary Class

Carol reports from seminary:

"In September the students were made aware that Chef Ana ministers to the students by cooking out of the goodness of her heart, she does not make a 'salary' for this, though we do give her a love offering. The students decided to collect a food box to give to her at the end of the September class. This week they have collected food to give to Anna, our custodial services director. They will present this to her tomorrow at the end of class. This was orgainzed by Alex and Ama, pastors of the local UM church. Besides Alex and Ama there are 3 or more lay people attending seminary class from their church. Their ministry at the church includes 5 cell groups for children, the weekly average is over 100 children. Most of these children do not attend the church yet but are being touched with the love of Christ through these groups."

Thank God for these dedicated servants!

Seminary Remains Faithful

Academic Dean David continues to teach the essentials of the Christian faith to eager students at the Seminario Wesleyano de Venezuela. Between 30 and 40 students are taking this current class. David is teaching 8 hours a day, consulting and counseling with students and reading assignments. Pray for his strength. This is a grueling week.

However, the students are so appreciative and responsive to the excellent instruction they are receiving from the Seminary. Remember, this is the only accessible, affordable excellent undergraduate seminary education available in Venezuela. The students know this and are so grateful for the ministry of the Seminary.

You can help. Send a financial gift to the Seminary at Venezuela Now, Inc., PO Box 1655, Duluth, GA 30096. Your gift has eternal consequences. Give generously.

Next Week's Seminary Session

Academic Dean David will be teaching the full week next week as 40-60 students gather from across Venezuela for this next session of the Seminario Wesleyano de Venezuela. We are continually humbled at how dedicated these students are in getting to the campus in La Piedad (a suburb of Barquisimeto) and spending the week in serious study, learning and growing in their relationship with Jesus. Some travel over 20 hours by bus. Most are bi-vocational and give up a week's earnings to attend class. Many come as couples, securing childcare while they are away.

These students serve in a variety of types of ministries including pastors, Christian educators, youth ministers, lay leaders, church planters, social justice ministries, medical ministries and many more. Some of them have terminal degrees such as engineers, educators and medical doctors. Some do not have a high school diploma. Yet all work together in the exciting process of learning new and Biblically sound ways of doing effective ministry and thinking theologically. They also learn the very best of the Wesleyan Theological tradition, the theology of the largest Christian movement in the world.

Wives and husbands separate for the week as the women are housed in one dormitory while the men are housed in another. We simply do not have married accommodations at this time. However, the accommodations are so much better than where they stayed at previously rented facilities. They are comfortable, large, and perhaps most important, clean. New beds and mattresses, freshly laundered linens, clean bathrooms and fresh flowers welcome them to seminary.

The classroom where they will spend 32 hours together next week is a very spacious, beautiful room. It has air conditioning, comfortable chairs, large work tables, clean restrooms and great second story views! It is an ideal room for teaching and learning.

The students will be served three meals a day as well as given refreshments at mid morning and mid afternoon. Ana is the chef and provides some of the most wonderful food to be found in Venezuela. She does this as a volunteer since she is retired. It is a labor of love and such an improvement over the food at our previous location. Her husband has been a student in the seminary for the last several years even though he is a lay person and a retired educator. By the way, pray for Senor Luis as he has developed some very serious heart problems for which there is no medical cure.

Every morning and afternoon session begins with worship. It may be a full service or just a devotional. It always includes singing and corporate prayer. These worship times are some of the most meaningful spiritual experiences of this author's life. Corporate dynamic worship that touches the very soul and which connects the worshipper with the imminent presence of the living Christ is rare in many churches in the US, but not in Seminary classes at the Wesleyan Seminary of Venezuela.

After the week is over, the students will return to their places of service and increase their effectiveness in reaching the lost of Venezuela. They will preach the word, heal the sick, visit the imprisoned, love the unloved, embrace the lost and bring people into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, making disciples of Jesus all across Venezuela.

You can help! Be a part of this great ministry. Send your gift to Venezuela Now, Inc. at the address in the sidebar. Call me, Warren, at 770 889 6423 to discuss ways you or your church can become more involved in this life-changing ministry. God is at work in Venezuela, especially through the Seminario Wesleyano de Venezuela! Praise His Name!

October Seminary Next Week

Our Academic Dean, David, will be teaching this next's week of seminary classes. He was supposed to have help for half the time, but US UM Bureaucracy intervened and prevented the other party from going to Venezuela at this time. So David will teach the full 32 hours.

Thirty two hours of teaching may not seem like much to many people, but those are the ones who have never done it. It is physically exhausting, mentally draining and psychologically depleting, David will do this while still recovering from an invasion of parasites. He and Carol continue to fight the good fight.

Pray for David and Carol and the staff of the seminary.
Pray for the students who are traveling great distances.
Pray for funding. We need help.

The biggest opportunity facing us is the $30,000 annual mortgage payment due in two and one half months. We do not have the money. God will have to provide this. We are trusting in His grace and asking you to pray about being one of the ones he uses to meet this need.

How I miss being in Seminary. Maybe soon in 2010!

Back in the Saddle

God is faithful. Seminario Wesleyano de Venezuela continues to educate pastors and Christian workers in the only affordable and accessible under graduate full seminary experience in all of Venezuela. Our Dean recently taught over 40 students the "Inductive Bible Study Method," a prerequisite for all our Bible courses. In a couple of weeks, Kelly Falany Brumbeloe will teach a course in the lesser epistles and the Dean will continue with the regular curriculum.

As the primary writer of this Blog and acting President of the Seminary, I have been AWOL for quite some time. Last September I had emergency surgery. Subsequently I developed MRSA Staph infection. I was on an antibiotic IV for three months and heavy oral meds for a couple more months. God gave grace to defeat the Staph, Praise his name. Then on June tenth I underwent Gastric Bypass Surgery. The surgery went great. However, I developed several serious orthopedic and neurological problems. When I got home, I was totally immobile from the waist down. But again God is faithful. While I still have to get around in a wheelchair, I am SO MUCH better and I give glory the the Great Physician. Still not able to travel to Venezuela, but maybe soon...

In the meantime, we need to raise operating capital for November and December and we have a $30,000 debt service payment due on December 31. We are almost without any funds. So we need your prayers and major financial gifts. Please send a check to Venezuela Now at the address indicated above.

God continues to bless the nation of Venezuela through the seminary and the many ministries of our graduates and current students. Pray for the seminary and pray of the funds.

Seminary Students Reaching Out

Franklin and Hilde Peroza are students in the Wesleyan Seminary of Venezuela who serve as leaders in the married couples ministry of their local church in Barquisimeto. They have recently reported that this summer their church sponsored a special ministry utilizing the Fireproof film. The film was shown in their congregation, with a strong emphasis on inviting unchurched friends and family members. Following the film viewing, they entered a 40-day period of focusing on ways to fireproof their marriages. This 40-day period was concluded with a special event at the church that included Christian counselor and pyschologists being on hand for a long and very helpful question-and-answer period. Thanks to God's grace, 1200 people attend that event, many of whom were unchurched non-believers. We are thankful for the wide vision and strong faith that we see in so many of the Venezuelan congregations, and for the small role that we get to play as we partner with the Holy Spirit to provide training, encouragement, and support.

Report of June Seminary

Dan Dunn just completed a week of teaching Theology of Evangelism at the Wesleyan Seminary of Venezuela. 41 students participated in this intensive week of training, and they brought with them a strong passion for reaching non-Christians with the love and salvation of Jesus Christ.

The entire week went very well, as the students covered a wide range of topics related to evangelism. What is the gospel? What is the goal of evangelism? What are some possible ways to phrase an invitation for someone to become a Christian? How can we educate and motivate all Christians to participate with the Holy Spirit in evangelism? Is evangelism a specialized ministry or something all Christians have a role in? Especially exciting for Dan was hearing from one of the students who took a Church Growth course last August and told him this week that the Church Growth course invited she and her husband to get involved in a new church plant that is now ministering to 262 couples. This is a prime example of why we feel so strongly called to this work in Venezuela.




The Venezuelan Christians have strong faith and deep passion. With just a little guidance in the Seminary, they become empowered and motivated to do amazing things in cooperation with the Lord to help bring other people into the embrace of God's love.

June Seminary Fast Approaching

Over 50 students and pastors will gather June 22-26 at the Seminario Wesleyano de Venezuela in LaPiedad, Lara to learn from one of the leading authorities on Evangelism in the United Methodist Church in the US. He is none other than our own Dean of Students, Dan Dunn.

For years Dan has been a practicioner of effective evangelistic ministry, a student of the art of evangelism and a regular teacher of evangelism. His love for the sugject has resulted in the completion of 3 years of academic study leading to a PhD. in Evangelism. He has completed the classes and is now turning his attention to the dissertation.

Dan Dunn will help the students develop an in-depth Biblical perspective on The Theology of Evangelism. They will focus on learning how to make direct connections between Biblical insights and the daily life of witness that all Christians are called to.

For example, the Bible portrays God the Father as compassionate and proactive in His attempts to reach out to lost people and restore/reconcile them to Himself. Christians, therefore, must be proactive and compassionate as they share and the good news of reconciliation with non-Christians in their relational network.

The Bible portrays God the Son as the Incarnate One, the One who was willing to come to earth and live among us in order to make God's love real to us. Christians, therefore, are invited to share the good news of Christ in a fully embodied way, digging deep into people's lives and becoming relationally invested with them. These and many other Biblical insights will be studied, plus the class will focus on daily prayer for God to use each student in His process of drawing lost persons to a fully redeemed relationship with Him.

What an exciting course propectus. The students love Dan and will be most responsive to his teaching.

Unfortunately, our Academic Dean, David, will not be able to be at the June Seminary session. He has had 4 orthopedic surgeries in the last 7 months, two knee replacements and two shoulder surgeries. The most recent shoulder surgery requires him to stay in the States longer than he had expected due to the severity of the injury, surgery and recovery.

However, Dan will handle everything very well along with our regular team in Venezuela. Please pray for this event.

Also, we still need money and work teams. If you are interested in helping, sent your checks made out to Venezuela Now, Inc. at the indicated address on the side of this post. If you would lke to take a team to Venezuela to work on the Seminary, let us know by posting a comment on this blog.

The Hunger in Venezuela

As many readers will know, Dan Dunn, our Dean of Students of Seminario Wesleyano de Venezuela is finishing his classes in the pursuit of earning a PhD. in Evangelism to enhance his teaching ministry, especially in Latin America and with Latinos in the US. One of the many books he has read recently is: CONSIDERING THE GREAT COMMISSION: EVANGELISM AND MISSION IN THE WESLEYAN SPIRIT edited by W. Stephen Gunter and Elaine Robinson. Dr. Gunter is a good friend who teaches at Duke Divinity School.

One of the most poignant quotes from the book is:

"In new Christian areas, there is a desperate need for religious instruction and for ethical reflection on the relationship between the gospel message and sociopolitical struggles. People may have joined the church, but their understanding of the gospel is limited by their lack of formation in Christian beliefs and practices. The hunger for basic teaching on the meaning of the Bible and the meaning of the Christian faith is overwhelming." (page 38)

This has certainly been our experience in Venezuela. The students and pastors in the Seminary evidence a hunger for basic teaching. This hunger is unlike anything we in the US have known in at least the last 50 years. This is not only true of the pastors enrolled in the Seminary, but seen vividly in conferences and seminars taught by this author in a variety of settings in Venezuela.

Since our faculty is primarily from places other than Venezuela they are often shocked by the intensity of this hunger. They have not observed this in their teaching experiences in the US or in many other countries. Often they say things like, "They are so open; They are so hungry for the teaching; They are so receptive; Etc."

One of the important tasks (perhaps the most important) in the fulfillment of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18) is to discover where God is working and become a partner with what God is doing.

God is at work in remarkable ways in the pastors and students associated with the Seminario Wesleyano de Venezuela. We are so blessed to be involved in this partnership. We are also blessed by those who support this work.

Given the current economic environment in Venezuela and the US the cost of a year of seminary education for one student at this institution averages about $2,000. That is the actual hard cost of travel, tuition, room and board and books. The soft costs include the facilities, administration, and equipment. Those soft costs are running an additional $2000 per student per year.

Therefore, we invite you to join with us in feeding the spiritual hunger of this very precious group of Disciples who give so much in service of the Master. You can send a check to Venezuela Now, Inc. at PO Box 1655, Duluth, GA 30096. Help us feed these hungry so they can feed the hungry of the nation!