Preparing for Seminary Graduation
June 3, 2024
Dear friends and family,
Many Brazilian pastors and church leaders have limited theological instruction. Pastoral education has been identified as one of the most critical needs in spreading the gospel in Brazil. Bluegrass Baptist Seminary is diligently working to ensure an efficient, effective and economical resource in support of evangelical training for the evangelical churches of Brazil. Here is the testimony of one of our Brazilian students’ best friends: “These courses will provide me with knowledge of incomparable quality that l would never have access to under normal conditions.” What an opportunity! Praise God!!!
With that being said, these pastors encourage me to keep on keeping on! It is just amazing how our Lord and Savior can help equip His saints! That I can be a small part of this training—AWESOME!!!!
Our spring semester has just concluded, and I am already thinking about the next semester, classes, schedules, professors, translators and so forth. Then there is the upcoming graduation!
Our second graduation will be on July the 20th and there are nine pastors in this group. They chose to delay the graduation so some pastors could complete some courses that they had missed in the year. The degree to be completed is a Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministries, which is a degree for Pastors “Only”. The previous graduation was for a Master of Arts in Biblical Studies. Eleven received this degree which included church workers and pastors. Below is a picture of one of our classes before Covid 19. We had great success until we could not join together, but God provided a path for us to continue teaching via Zoom and we are gradually getting back to the numbers. When the devil closes the door God opens a window. What an AWESOME God we serve!!!!
One of the Pastors in this group, a lawyer, was in the make-up class and someone asked him why he was making up this class. His response was “I don’t only want a degree, but I also want all the information they are offering so I can use it for my betterment”.
Just before this graduation in São Paulo, we will be traveling to Manaus to attend a Pastors Conference. There we will encounter many new Pastors and tell them about Bluegrass Baptist Seminary. We will be there for five days getting to know many pastors and church workers. It is our prayer that God will present the opportunities for Bluegrass Baptist Seminary to be included into those seeking more knowledge of the Word and the way to make it clearer to their people. We will be available to those who want to talk to us about Bluegrass Baptist Seminary and we will have a table full of information for them to take home and also read about us. We are invited to speak in the conference also. So, there will be many opportunities to spread the word about the opportunity to study more about God. Pray that we can be a blessing to the pastors in that area as this will be the first time for us to reach that area, and pray that we can be a blessing for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in our conduct and our presentation.
We need your prayers as this trip will be a very tight travel agenda dealing with plane connections as we travel to Manaus then to São Paulo. Each location has its own agenda and each is important to various people.
Barbara will not go to Manaus because of finances but she will spend some time with Mary, Walmir, and the family. It is so necessary to stay connected with the girls as you just turn around and they are grown. The oldest will be 16 in October and the youngest turned 13 in March.
All this is made possible by your generosity and your prayers, and also by the support of all the people who donate to Baptist Faith Missions. We are we mindful of those who love God and want more people to know Him also. We are a part of those who take Him and His word to the foreign fields and you are a part of that by your prayers and generosity.
In His service,
AJ and Barbara
CONTACT INFO
AJ & Barbara Hensley
30524 Mimi St
Sebring, FL 33870-0530
AJ: 859-539-2302 | Barbara: 859-539-1424
ajcaragua@gmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
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The Best Job
May 12, 2024
Dear friends and family,
In one month, we will be looking back to the month of June when we stepped off the plane in Brazil to begin the journey of a lifetime. I will be the first one to admit that I was the reluctant part of this couple. We started our service for Christ in the town of Garça and are serving out of Caraguatatuba now. There have been 28 years and they have been the most fulfilling years of my life. We started helping Odali and Kathy Barros with an orphanage and I fit in there because all my young life I always had more children around me than was normal. So, working in the orphanage made me just at home.
I think I can say I have received more Happy Mother’s Day greetings on this Mother’s Day than the normal mother. Not only from the orphanage children, but from each church where we have served. The children adopted us as mother and dad.
I have continued for these years to gather children like a piped piper. Not only caring for them like a mother but nurturing them in the Lord which has more lasting effect.
I want to thank my blood children for being willing to share me with these children around the world. I have often heard AJ say that if he were choosing people to be missionaries, he would not have chosen him. I am here to confess that I would not have chosen me either. But He has been able to use us in spite of ourselves.
As this is the month of Mother’s Day, I can say that being a mother has been my best job and I am glad that He chose me for this job, not only for my children, but for all my Brazilian children.
Here are some pictures from our time in Brazil with some of the Brazilian children.
Thank each of you all for trusting us to do the job God called us to do.
In His service,
Barbara Hensley (Missionary Wife of AJ Hensley)
CONTACT INFO
AJ & Barbara Hensley
30524 Mimi St
Sebring, FL 33870-0530
AJ: 859-539-2302 | Barbara: 859-539-1424
ajcaragua@gmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
Read more
Brazilian Pastors Reaching People for Christ
March 9, 2024
Dear friends and family,
Who would have thought that a Seminary could have gotten started for the training of Brazilian Pastors to reach their people for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?! However, that is what is happening! We serve an AWESOME God!!! With Him all things are possible! “AMEN!”
We had one pastor who had signed to do the Doctoral Program and I prayed for the Lord to double the number of students. He did—and now—guess what! We now have four pastors signed to start the program this month—just saying, “What an AWESOME God we serve!!”
The last month we have been working on our tickets for travel to Brazil this year—boy, has it been a mess, for lack of a better word. Then “I” must remember who is in CONTROL.
This trip we will have 5 people traveling: two professors, a friend named Steve, and Barb and I. We are all from different parts of the country. We will have several different flights as we will be going to a Pastor’s Conference in Amazonas (and we can’t get there from here, so two flights to get there), then another flight to get to the graduation in São Paulo for 10 Pastors as they receive their Masters of Pastoral Studies. AWESOME!!! And these will be future professors for the Seminary. Then we will travel to different areas for the three different pastors to preach in different churches. God is at work in so many different areas. Then I remind myself, “Why not?” Oh me of little faith.
Now our prayer requests:
#1) I have completed most of my medical exams and all have come back NORMAL. I only lack the MRI, which won’t be done until April). Also pray for Barbara as she is suffering from vertigo.
#2) For the trip we will take in July as all the connections are critical with all that is planned.
#3) As with everything, the financial part is always a necessity for us and the Brazilian Pastors involved.
#4) The BFM support group on whom we depend for these different ministries and Bluegrass Baptist Seminary to go forward.
Each and every one of you are a part of our life and our work for God here in Brazil. We thank you for your love and prayers. Continue lifting us up to the Lord as we continue working in the fields for the Lord. Know that we love and appreciate you.
In His service,
AJ and Barbara
CONTACT INFO
AJ & Barbara Hensley
30524 Mimi St
Sebring, FL 33870-0530
AJ: 859-539-2302 | Barbara: 859-539-1424
ajcaragua@gmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
Read more
Spring 2024 Classes for Bluegrass Baptist Seminary
February 8, 2024
Dear friends and family,
The holidays are over and some of our New Years resolutions are upon us! Well, all I need to do with mine is quit eating! With the holidays and trip to Brazil, my waistline has been enhanced. So—— well, I need not to go into explanation.
Our calendar for academia Spring 2024 is planned and the courses that will be offered have been finalized. The courses that will be offered are: Old Testament Elective, Introduction into Apologetics, New Testament Elective, Writing your Thesis, and Greek. They will be presented in March through May.
To better help the Pastors and others interested in a better understanding of the Scriptures, we are offering these courses 100% online and live. Hopefully and prayerfully this “online” offering will make our Seminary more accessible to all who are interested.
So, with this in mind I want all to understand our mission statement: “Our mission is dedicated to providing excellent training to enhance Pastors and Church leaders, empowering them to boldly and effectively spread the truth of the Gospel!”
Our second semester for the academic year 2024 will begin in August. Our prayer is for the Seminary to expand and reach out to many areas of Brazil. So, we are endeavoring to attend Pastors Conferences, Mission conferences and towns where we have previously had classes before COVID to help accomplish this goal. We went to a conference in November and our plans are to go to another in July this year.
There is a new four-year basic Seminary in Brazil that has been started by three of the graduates from Bluegrass Baptist Seminary. Its name is ETEBABI and it is backed by the Bible Baptist Church in São Paulo. Isn’t that AWESOME?!!!!!
I would like to ask for your help. Please pray for our progress with the Seminary and all our planned expansions. And for other countries to get interested in Bluegrass Baptist Seminary even though it’s accreditation is only in Brazil.
I went to Kentucky to have a promotion for Bluegrass Baptist Seminary so I took advantage of being there and went to my cancer doctor. He did all the necessary tests and even though they all seemed good he wanted me to have them done again. So, I am asking for your prayers for these tests and also for our travel. As per usual, please pray for BFM, for the supporting churches, and for those who help us with Bluegrass Baptist Seminary. We serve an AWESOME God and He uses each one of us to accomplish His purpose here on earth. So, pray for where He can best use you in His Kingdom’s work.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara
CONTACT INFO
AJ & Barbara Hensley
30524 Mimi St
Sebring, FL 33870-0530
AJ: 859-539-2302 | Barbara: 859-539-1424
ajcaragua@gmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
Read more
First Meeting at New Mission Point
CONTACT INFO
AJ & Barbara Hensley
30524 Mimi St
Sebring, FL 33870-0530
AJ: 859-539-2302 | Barbara: 859-539-1424
ajcaragua@gmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
Read more
Nothing “Just Happens”
December 30, 2023
Dear friends and family,
With God nothing “just happens”—and so it is with our seminary. I thought I could give you some insight on how the seminary began.
I was with some Brazilian pastors at a morning meeting (breakfast). The topic of sermon preparation was being discussed and I asked them about their preparation time. I was not expecting the answer I got. The three pastors that I was talking to replied like this, “When we get to church on Sunday morning, we sit, and each of us open the Bible and read the passage where we open. Then we decide which of us has the best reading and that one is the one who will give the sermon.” Well, after I picked up my jaw from the floor and tried not to show my shock, I started to seek God and the Holy Spirit’s guidance on how to help in this situation. The pastor who I was working with and I began to hold classes in our church. We invited pastors and others who were interested in studying the Bible to better present the gospel.
Then we got a visit from a church in the States and their new pastor asked me, “What do you need here in Caraguatatuba?” My immediate response, “A seminary.”
This was the beginning of Caragua Seminary. We got pastors to come down and teach the classes, and there were four planned classes per year: Old and New Testament, Theology and Pastoral Ministries. We gave certificates of completion for each class.
After many growing pains, trial and errors, searching for pastors who could pay for their own way to Brazil, and doubts of how we could accomplish this mission, the Caragua Baptist Seminary came into existence. This provided excellent training to pastors and church leaders empowering them to boldly and effectively spread the truth of the gospel.
Then, in trying to get the Seminary certified in Brazil, we had to change the name to an American name, and thus Caragua Baptist Seminary became Bluegrass Baptist Seminary. The certificate evolved into diplomas with accreditation and all professors have Doctorates and PhD’s from the States. AWESOME!!!! Just another in the many miracles. With God all things are possible!!!
This is and has been an evolving ministry and continues to be due to the Lord. This year our plans are to go into the next phase—our PhD program! God is AWESOME!!! None of this is possible without you and your continued prayers for each of the Pastors and their continued work in the seminaries and our continued health as we go to Brazil to carry on the work for the seminary there. And we want to thank BFM for their continued faith in our work there in Brazil.
If you would like to contribute to Bluegrass Baptist Seminary just designate your offering to Bluegrass Baptist Seminary through Alex and Barbara Hensley to Baptist Faith Missions.
In His service,
AJ and Barbara Hensley
CONTACT INFO
AJ & Barbara Hensley
30524 Mimi St
Sebring, FL 33870-0530
AJ: 859-539-2302 | Barbara: 859-539-1424
ajcaragua@gmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
Read more
Bluegrass Baptist Seminary Adding PhD Program
November 20, 2023
Dear friends and family,
This month we made a trip to Brazil to attend a missions conference. We were granted the privilege of telling about the Bluegrass Baptist Seminary to over 200 Pastors and Missionaries from various countries. We had a wonderful time and the Lord we serve was AWESOME with His presence there. It was even better than we had prayed for in that we got to talk to everyone there and many were interested in participating in Bluegrass Baptist Seminary. For example, there was a missionary from Argentina and they have a Seminary there in Argentina, and want all 15 of their teachers/Pastors to enroll in Bluegrass Baptist Seminary’s Master’ s program. Many of their Pastors/ teachers have completed a four-year Seminary but their schools are not accredited; but for a window of time they can take a State course to get that training accredited, and that is important because we require an accredited diploma to enroll in our Master’s program.
Also present was one of the lead pastors from Temple Baptist Church in São Paulo City and we got to sit down with him and plan another graduation for the pastors there in São Paulo. Nine of them have finished their thesis and are now ready to receive their diplomas. It will be a grand ceremony for the Master’s of Pastoral Ministries, which is only given to pastors. AWESOME!
Also in January 2024 we will be initiating into Bluegrass Baptist Seminary an accredited Ph. D program. AWESOME IS THE GOD WE SERVE!!!! NOTE: we already have two students ready to enroll, one of which is a missionary to the Jews in São Paulo City.
We were able to set up a table with all our information about the Seminary and the classes for the coming year. The classes begin in January. Our family there in Caraguatatuba were a big help in manning the tables and talking to those interested in the Seminary.
As you know, it has been an uphill battle to get this Seminary running. Many prayers, tears and much sweat and dedication of our professors (all of whom are doctors and PHDs and are from the USA). These Professors donate their time as a gift to the Bluegrass Baptist Seminary. THANKS!!!
All this being said, it would have not been possible without Baptist Faith Missions and all of the AWESOME people who give regularly and pray for the missionaries and the works of Baptist Faith Missions.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara
CONTACT INFO
AJ & Barbara Hensley
30524 Mimi St
Sebring, FL 33870-0530
AJ: 859-539-2302 | Barbara: 859-539-1424
ajcaragua@gmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
Read more
Enhancements to Seminary Classes
October 16, 2023
Dear friends and family,
Sometimes I sound like a repetitive bell ringing. However, with the addition of the PhD program, we are encountering some changes that are needed in the curriculum. So, what is going on now? We are working on changes that are better suited for the enhancement of our NEW program addition (PhD).
Mainly our Greek and Hebrew classes are to be changed to be a more basic structure and we will also be adding an additional class to our Master of Divinity program. The class will be the Dead Sea Scrolls.
An exciting sidenote and a prayer request we are going to attempt to include Africa in our program. This will be done completely by Zoom. We will probably be doing just a certificate in the beginning then grow into being accredited. The problem we are facing is that we require an official bachelor’s degree for entrance into the Master’s program if accreditation for the class is wanted. Otherwise, we can only give a certificate of completion for the course.
All things great and small have a small beginning. Pray for the seminary to be able to assist many more Pastors in their quest for better information (Biblical training and education) to better reach their respective areas with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. AWESOME is the Lord we serve.
As Barbara and I are traveling at the end of this month and through November to Brazil, please pray for us and for the Pastor’s Conference and the meetings for the Seminary.
Also pray for Israel the Hebrew Nation.
We are anticipating the year 2024 to be an AWESOME year!!!! Prayer makes all things possible.
In His Service,
AJ and Barb
CONTACT INFO
AJ & Barbara Hensley
30524 Mimi St
Sebring, FL 33870-0530
AJ: 859-539-2302 | Barbara: 859-539-1424
ajcaragua@gmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
Read more
