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As I shared in my last prayer letter, I have started teaching at a different seminary in Brazil. I am now able to share more of the background story.
Within the Brazilian Baptist Convention is an order made up of ordained pastors. It is up to this body to decide on the requirements for ministerial credentials within the convention. In September of 2024, a decision was made to increase the number of credits required at the seminary level. For the seminary where I have served since 2004, this would mean doubling the number of credits we offer in our Pastoral Formation program. It also happened that last year our state’s sister Baptist seminary opened a satellite campus in the same city where we are located, offering a distance education bachelor of Theology degree, which meets the new requirements for ordination. Therefore, in March, the board responsible for our seminary decided to close the Pastoral Formation program I have been coordinating and teaching for since 2016.
Teaching at the Southern Independent Baptist Theological Seminary.
Way before knowing any of this was going to happen, in April of last year, our field started having conversations about another possible partnership with the Southern Independent Baptist Theological Seminary in a city just outside the city where we are located. Through these conversations, my colleague Brandon Jones and I were invited to become professors as of 2025. Looking back, we see God’s provision and confirmation that we are still in the place he wants us!
So, in March, I started teaching at this new seminary. It is part of the Independent Baptist Convention of Brazil. The first missionaries to plant the churches that became this convention were from Sweden. It feels like part of my heritage, as my paternal grandmother grew up in a Baptist church of Swedish immigrants in Canada. Teaching these young people has been a wonderful experience. They come from different parts of Brazil, and I even have a student from Angola!
Even with this new partnership, we remain partners with the Rio Grande do Sul Baptist Convention and look forward to plans, especially in lay leadership training and church planting later on this year. We also celebrate the 100th anniversary of the convention, which will be commemorated at their annual meetings from April 30 to May 3.
In April, my colleague Marci and I had the opportunity to visit a Bible study for Venezuelan immigrants in the city right next to ours. It is part of a nonprofit organization helping 300 families to get settled. We are praying with their leader, Tania, about helping to start a church among this people group.
Thank You All For Your Continuing Partnership And Support!