Making Plans for Conference in Paraguay
April 10, 2025
Dear friends and family,
With all that is going on in our native land, Kentucky, and the surrounding counties, please let us stop and pray for all those affected by the storms and the flooding and the families who have lost loved ones. What a tragedy. Kentucky has been hit by floods and tornadoes, and there have been loss of lives because of the storms.
Now some news from our Bluegrass Baptist Seminary. We have received news from our pastor-contact in Paraguay and he has his group ready for a conference and are now waiting on us for a confirmed date. God is AWESOME!! We are looking at sometime in September! Put this conference on your prayer list as this could add a great number of students to our seminary enrollment.
We are hoping we can work out the seminary graduation for this year at that same time. We have several in this semester’s class that will be completing their courses, and we are looking forward to them applying for their diploma.
This also could be the dedication of the new building for the church there in São Paulo with our pastor-friend Pastor Marcos. Hopefully we can work all of this out in the same time period. If God is willing, we will do all of this in one trip—and we know Who is in control.
We are working on getting another translator for our classes. As all our classes are now online, it is important not to come up short with our translators. They are all residing in Brazil and they are the only paid workers of the seminary. As you know, our professors are all located in the United States and are pastors with degrees. Each of them are volunteers. The seminary classes are attended in four different countries: Brazil, Paraguay, Africa, and Canada (attending there is a missionary from Brazil). How AWESOME is the God we serve!!!
With all this hopeful planning, we are depending on your help in praying for everything to come together as we have planned so we can do less traveling to get more done in less time.
Barbara and I are not getting any younger and are trying to do many things, so please pray for us to stay in good health to continue God’s work till He comes.
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
Introducing Many Pastors to Bluegrass Baptist Seminary
March 10, 2025
Dear friends and family,
Hope this letter finds each of you in good health. For us, the travel and the dental surgery in Brazil is over for a while. But during this time, Pastor Derek and I were in Fortaleza attending a conference of Brazilian Baptist pastors and, though it was tiring, it was successful.
We met many pastors and were able to get information about our Bluegrass Baptist Seminary in the hands of many of them to take back to present to their churches. We were able to schedule meetings with some of their churches and we are working on those meetings. It is just going slow, as all things do in Brazil. The bulk of these meetings will be in Paraguay and, at that meeting, the pastors hope to have 40 or 50 other pastors in attendance.
These pastors that we were able to talk to were very excited for the prospect of having the availability of a seminary in their town. Here we are looking for much interest and for the seminary to reach many more students. At this conference we did not have a speaking role, but as I said we were able to talk to many interested pastors.
Our semester is starting on March 10 and we will have four different classes in the Master’s Program with an enrollment of approximately 50 pastors! Also, the Doctor of Theology program for this semester has grown; we now have SEVEN students. God is AWESOME!! Going back to our upcoming meeting in Paraguay, it will hopefully be in June. We are waiting on our pastor friend, the pastor of the Bible Baptist Church in São Paulo, to set the date. All this will be decided around the dedication of their new church building.
We are trying to get as much done as possible in this time period as we can. We will have three more pastors complete their Master’s Program. So, as you can see, we will be very, very busy so I ask for your prayers during that time.
While we were in Fortaleza, we had a Brazilian helper who helped us with some of the administrative paperwork. All the volunteers make this seminary program really work. The professors, the U.S. pastors with PhDs and doctorates, one Brazilian pastor professor, and our translators help get the classes to the online system which allows all those who want to learn more about God and His Word do so. We are now presenting these classes in THREE countries, and we are looking forward to adding the fourth country, Paraguay, in the future.
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
Opportunities to Present BGB Seminary at Brazilian Conferences
January 10, 2025
Dear friends and family,
I hope all is well with our families and friends and that a wonderful time was had by all during the Christmas season. Now, we’re looking forward to the new year of 2025. We were blessed this year to have our family all together for the first time in two years, both from Kentucky and from Brazil. God is so good and AWESOME.
So, to all: I hope your New Year’s resolutions come to the conclusion you have wished, dreamed, and prayed for this New Year!
With these celebrations and holidays behind us we can say this has been a wonderful year for the B.G.B. Seminary also. We have been in Brazil 3 or 4 times this year with Mission Conferences in São Paulo, Brazil and in Manaus, Amazonas, with the Bible Baptist Fellowship. In those two conferences we had over 300 in attendance at each conference. We were able to present the B.G.B. Seminary to those who were present. And through them, we have been able to increase the number of students interested in our seminary.
Now for January 2025, we are invited to participate with perhaps the largest convention of Baptists in all of Brazil. There will be more than 2,500 (YES, 2,500) pastors in attendance, many of whom are interested and desperate for affordable theological education. As of now, we have been invited to set up a kiosk with literature about Bluegrass Baptist Seminary. At some time during the conference, we will have a slot to speak to the group about our goals and objectives for the seminary. This will be the 104th assembly of the Brazilian Convention in Fortaleza, Brazil. The dates are January 29 to February 2. I will be traveling on the 28th of January with Dr. Derek Coleman, one of our principal professors, and we covet your prayers.
While there, we will be interviewed by 3 different Brazilian seminaries about our seminary. These seminaries are interested in our Masters Programs to help them with advanced degrees they do not have. Please pray for this trip, as with the other conferences, we have seen an increase in the numbers of students in our seminary. So with this being the largest conference we have participated with, we are in high expectations! GOD IS AWESOME!!!!
This year we have 37 students for our March semester. This is our rebuilding after COVID. Keep the seminary in your prayers. With this conference there is great potential for more students for B.G.B. Seminary. GOD IS GOOD.
Remember in our last graduations we had 9 students (pastors) who received the Masters of Arts in Pastoral Ministries and 13 others received Masters of Arts in Biblical Studies—AWESOME!!! And we have 6 students in the PhD program. Within these 6, we have one student who is two years into the program. He is a missionary to the Jews in São Paulo, Brazil, so keep him in your prayers along with myself and Barbara, our professors (there are 5 of them, all of which are volunteers), and the students. Pray also for the traveling we will be doing this year, and for our health and finances.
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
An Awesome Trip to Brazil
November 12, 2024
As we prepared to go to Brazil this month, we also had to make another type of preparation. We were told that a hurricane was slated to come right over our town, so we needed to prepare our trailer for this destruction that we were told was coming our way. So, we prayed and prepared what we were told to prepare and put our 7 bags in the car and started on the 3-hour trip to Miami airport.
On this trip, we were unsure even when we arrived in the airport if it would be open or shut down because of the hurricane. About halfway to the airport, we looked out the right side of the car and saw what we thought was a tornado looming there. Believe you me, we upped our prayers, stepped on the gas, and kept one eye on the twister and one eye on the road. By the grace of God, we outran it and got to the airport; it was open and we flew to Brazil. As we were waiting for our flight, we saw on the news that the tornado passed across the road we were on and wreaked havoc as it passed across Florida. This was my first time to see a tornado up close and personal and hopefully my last.
This trip to Brazil turned into an AWESOME trip. Not only was the Bluegrass Baptist Seminary business conducted but we were able to do much, much more. The first part of our trip was to expose the church where we attend in Florida, with the Pastor, his wife and two young adults to the ministries in Brazil, the church plants, mission, and the Guarani Indian group that we have worked with in the state of Rio. Then we had the fun privilege of helping the Church in Caraguatatuba to host the Children’s Day festivities where we did face painting, popped popcorn, and made cotton candy and hot dogs. Amid all this fun, the church pastor, his wife, the youth director, his wife, and the youth brought several skits that told the children of the love of God and the plan of salvation. A GREAT TIME was had by all!!!!
In those 7 suitcases we carried shorts and t-shirts for the Indian children and another group of children that the missionaries work with. Also, we carried lots of American candies, many school supplies, paint supplies, and wooden things to paint. All of this was given to the children in Caraguatatuba to help with their school needs and for their fun activities for Children’s Day. God is so good all the time and all the time God is good. Just the looks on the faces of the children when they received these things were without a doubt too precious to imagine. Thank you to all who contributed to this trip.
One of the purposes for this trip was to meet others who have an interest in the Seminary. We also met with some churches with the same interest. The churches were interested in how they could be involved as a church. I also met with a friend who has given his life to the ministry and will be ordained this month. He wants to enroll in this upcoming semester. How AWESOME is the God we serve?!?
While we were there, we had a small glitch with our communications systems in the Seminary. As the students were taking one of their exams, their test scores became scrambled, and the computer crashed (the students were in a panic). The problem was solved in about 45 minutes. All’s well that ends well.
Next summer’s trip will be involved in much traveling to several other Seminaries in Brazil. It looks like we will be going there at least 3 different times. Pray for the future students and for our health and for the Bluegrass Baptist Seminary. We also ask that you pray for one of our Pastor friends in Brazil; his name is Pastor Markus and he has been in the hospital for a week now with heart problems.
As we were concluding the trip I became sick with what they call “grip” (a bad cold) and when we got back to the States, Barbara also became sick. It turned out to be pneumonia and she has been sick for over 2 weeks. She has been to the doctor’s office twice now. Pray for her recovery.
Just to complete our trip, we came home with no damage to our home, just the loss of everything in our refrigerator and freezer, but we have a good friend who came and cleaned out everything so we did not have to come home to a stinking mess. Thank God for good friends.
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
The Close of a Semester and Planning for the Next
October 8, 2024
Dear friends and family,
As we are approaching the end of the semester (October 31st), please be in prayer for our students (pastors, church workers, and leaders) as they prepare themselves for exams. This is somewhat of a stressful time with all the other things they are involved with: economics, pastoring, working, and everyday family necessities.
We are thanking the Lord for Bluegrass Baptist Seminary and the conference we were able to participate in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. There was lots of interest created, so we are looking forward to more students signing up for classes. As you know, after Covid, we were hit just like the churches with lower attendance; however, thanks to the AWESOME GOD WE SERVE, every semester there has been increased student applications.
As this semester is closing, we already have next semester’s planning in motion. There will be four classes offered and they will be: 1. Systemic Theology 2. New Testament Survey 3. Old Testament Survey 4. Pastoral Ministries
These classes will begin on the fourth day of February 2025. As our planning is in process, pray for the professors, the students, and the Zoom process to reach all the students effectively. Sometimes our communications systems are somewhat of a challenge and especially for me. And please remember the interpreters as it is super important that they do their job well, and also the many who volunteer in this endeavor for Christ.
Our church here in Florida, Second Baptist, is planning a trip on the 9th of October to Brazil. As you will know, Florida has experienced hurricanes and are expecting one on that day. So, if we have made the trip with no incident, please THANK GOD for His safe keeping and ask for His continued safe keeping. We are planning to see if our church can partner with Caraguatatuba to help expand the ministry there. Barbara and I will be staying after the others return back to the U.S.A. to take care of more business with the Seminary. Sounds as though our departure date may be complicated by a category 3 hurricane making landfall around noon. So, unless it turns north, we may be delayed. Keep us in your prayers.
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
New Seminary Student from the Jungle
September 9, 2024
Dear friends and family,
With the conference and the first graduation for the Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministries behind us, we must get back to the work at hand. But just let me say what a blessed accomplishment it all was. AWESOME!!!! The end of classes for this semester and the completion of exams. The classes were Theology of Missions and Lexicon Hebrew. All passed with flying colors.
We are truly blessed because God has sent us a Brazilian to be one of our professors. He will teach for the Bluegrass Baptist Seminary in the class for Pastoral Ministries. He also is the Pastor of the Bible Baptist Church in the center of São Paulo.
This church sold their old building and are now in a construction project that hopefully will be completed in June of 2025. The plans for the grand opening is to coincide with the graduation of the first Zoom classes we were able to have after COVID. This opened a new era for us there in Brazil. These are friends of the Seminary and our friends also.
We would like to introduce you to one of our newest students. We met him in Manaus in July and he showed great interest in entering into the Seminary. We soon discovered that there would be some LARGE hurdles to jump but we always say, “There is nothing too big for God to conquer,” so the class is taught at 7 o’clock and that is 8 o’clock in Brazil. Not such a big obstacle, but this student lives and works in the jungle. And he only had solar powered energy so he could only receive the classes in the daylight hours. Not such a big deal, right? So, we are now recording the classes and he can listen during the day when the sun is shining. God will make a way, He is AWESOME!!!
Barbara and I will be returning to Brazil on October 9th with the church we are attending here in Sebring, Florida on a fact-finding trip. Our church wants to see if God is calling them to find a place where He is working and join with them to further His kingdom. We will be going to visit Caraguatatuba and see our family there and then go to Rio de Janeiro to visit an Indian tribe there.
We covet your prayers on this trip. Though we have been missionaries for many years there, we have always received the visitors, not been the people visiting. So, this will be a new journey for us.
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
Pastor from Angola Blessed with Seminary Textbooks
August 6, 2024
Dear friends and family,
What a fast month this has been! We have now completed our first graduation of the Masters of Arts in Pastoral Ministries. What an AWESOME accomplishment, congratulations to our 9 graduates! I can only imagine their accomplishments to come and the lives they will influence. To God be the glory!
This trip was a multi-functional trip, the graduation and a Pastoral Conference in Manaus Amazonas. Dr. Derek, one of our principal professors, gave the first speech at the conference and spoke on the importance of Bluegrass Baptist Seminary and the impact it can have on the Pastors and Church leaders of Brazil.
In this conference I got to meet the Brazilian Pastor/Missionary we have previously mentioned who is serving in Angola, Africa. He was a very quiet, humble person and he will be returning to Africa in November this year. The four of us with BBS decided to bless him with textbooks for the classes he will be taking for the next seven classes. He was overwhelmed with this gift and could hardly speak of his gratitude without crying. You know, sometimes it is the smallest things that bless your heart. It is just AWESOME when you can be a blessing in another’s life. This was a present from all of you who support BFM who give for missionaries’ lives. AWESOME is the God we serve!!! We will never know the influence of this gift until we get to Heaven.
Now back to the graduation in São Paulo, Brazil. The families and Pastors were excited about their accomplishment. We were glad to hear how they have overcome the many moments that Satan had thrown at them. Please pray for these Pastors as they continue in God’s service.
Some of these Pastors who just graduated are beginning a new Seminary there under the auspices of BBS. This will be called ETEBABI. An acronym for Escolar Theolagical Bablical Batista Theological. English it is Biblical Baptist Theological School. This is an offspring of our Seminary which is AWESOME!!! Continue to pray for our Seminary and this new Seminary as we both endeavor to teach the Bible to the Brazilians.
There is a photo included of the Pastor from Angola. There was also a special presentation of an Honorary Doctorate Degree to me. I was taken by surprise and so thankful for this honor.
Pray for us as we continue this ministry and for all those who make this ministry possible. Also keep praying for us as we plan our next trip in October with our church here in Florida.
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
Bluegrass Baptist Seminary Prepares for Graduation
July 5, 2024
Dear friends and family,
As we here in the USA are getting ready to celebrate the 4th of July, Barbara and I are making our final plans and travel arrangements for the First Pastoral Graduation. This graduation will have 11 Pastors receiving their Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministries. This is such an accomplishment! These Pastors have been in class since before the Covid pandemic, which is the reason for the delay in this graduation. The first master’s class graduation was this past year and it was for the Master of Arts in Biblical Studies. In this graduation we had many church leaders and others who just wanted to extend their personal Bible knowledge, AWESOME!!!
These Pastors who will be graduating in July have had additional classes they were required to take for the Pastoral Ministries Degree, those being: thesis writing, Greek and Hebrew, and the completion of their chosen thesis. I send a hearty congratulations to them and thanks to all who helped sponsor, and for the many prayers sent up for this ministry. AWESOME is the God we serve!!!
I am trying to keep this letter short because the next one will be filled with pictures of this labor of love and the Pastors who have stuck to the plan. Bluegrass Baptist Seminary has many things planned for the rest of this year and the next! So as you go to your prayer closet, remember us in your prayers—the students, the professors, the translators, the volunteers, the facilitators, BFM, the many supporters of BFM, the AWESOME God and prayer warriors who make all this happen.
Barb and ask for prayers as we go. There will be many challenges on this trip. Also pray for our health as we are no longer in the spring of our youth. Pray for connections as we travel over the country of Brazil. There is one more request regarding our travel: we have just been informed that there will be a change in the cost of additional baggage. It has always been $100.00 for each additional suitcase but now they will be charging $400.00. And if you know how Barbara packs, you can just imagine that she has three we will be needing to carry and pay for—things the churches need, Seminary needs, and personal requests from Pastors and our family. This will add a great cost for this trip, but we know that God is in control.
Thank you in advance for the prayers.
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
