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!