Seminary Graduation Marked by Faith and Sacrifice
October 6, 2025
Dear Friends and Family,
Well, October is here, and the Bluegrass Baptist Seminary has celebrated its graduation for the Master of Arts degree program. How exciting for these graduates!
This graduation included two degrees: one for pastors (Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministries) and the second (Master of Arts in Biblical Studies) for church workers and others interested in learning more about the Bible.
The ten who had pre-registered were the ones who participated in this graduation. The number may seem small, but think of the dedication of these students—the time to study, the expense, the workload at home, family time, ongoing ministries, etc. It can become overwhelming while pastoring a church.
The 2025 graduation was held in São Paulo at the Bible Baptist Church in the Indianapolis neighborhood. None of the graduating students were from São Paulo, demonstrating how the seminary—through its online class format—is reaching Brazil, Africa, and Canada with biblical education. This program has unlimited possibilities. AWESOME!
Then you ask, “How many were able to participate in person?” — only four. The other six will receive their diplomas via the post office. Of the four, three were pastors and one was a church worker—my daughter, Mary Katherine Hensley Quaresma. In total, six pastors and four non-pastors received their degrees. This reflects the economic realities of the times. Please PRAY for these students.
The graduation was AWESOME, and there were many stories from pastors about the challenges they faced to attend. One story stood out to me. As I stood in the crowd listening to these men speak, a pastor who had traveled from North Amazonas to São Paulo—a great distance—testified about how God had provided for him and his wife to make the journey. He spoke of the trip, the cost, and the pain of not having the money. I felt his sorrow.
His desire to be at the graduation was amazing. He had spent 10 years working toward his diploma and wanted to receive it in person. AWESOME! But even more amazing was his faith. He had spent nearly all his money to get there and stayed in private homes and churches to conserve travel expenses. When someone asked how he planned to get back home, his answer made me feel small (I cried inside). Simply, he replied, “With what money I have—and FAITH.”
And now, the rest of the story: You—givers and contributors to BFM—helped him with his return. Sometimes it’s AMAZING, AWESOME, what a good Kentucky handshake can do! You were part of his faith. God uses many people to show His mercy and goodness.
We do not realize the blessings that will be credited to your account in Heaven. Simply giving, simply praying, simply sponsoring the BFM missionaries and the projects they undertake—AWESOME!
I don’t have words to express my gratitude for your support, so I will just say thank you and ask for your continued support and prayers that make this ministry work.
In His service,
AJ and Barbara
P.S. Here are some photos from the trip, with more to come in future letters. We also got to spend some time with our grands on this trip.
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 the yellow “Give” button on our homepage.
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Honoring Faith, Family, and Seminary Milestones
September 8, 2025
Dear Friends and Family,
Graduation is upon us! Notices have gone out to all who have completed their requirements for the master’s program. There are fifteen possible graduates, and with one week left, only ten have contacted us. Monday is their deadline to register for the graduation ceremony. We need their registration because of the apostille required to certify their degrees, which must be obtained from Frankfort, Kentucky.
However, for me, even ten is an AWESOME number! As of Saturday, we have four candidates for the Master of Arts in Biblical Studies and six for the Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministries!
I’ll admit I’m a little disappointed that not all have responded, but then correct myself and tell myself: “Don’t get ahead of the Lord—it’s all in His timing.” And we are in Brazil! I also need to remember the seven students in the Doctoral program. So yes, I may be hung up on numbers.
Moving on—next week is graduation, plus four conferences about the Seminary in Paraguay that could greatly benefit its future. We’re also scheduled to meet with a Bible college to discuss incorporating our Master’s program into their seminary for their advanced degree.
I had a wonderful surprise from our daughter—she’s signing up for graduation this year! She’ll be receiving her Master of Arts in Biblical Studies. How AWESOME can it get?!
I’d like to ask everyone to pray for these students. Sometimes we (especially me) forget that they have families, workloads, and are taking classes to deepen their theology. AWESOME! This past semester concluded with 37 enrolled students, plus the seven in the Doctoral program—bringing the total to 44. God is good!
Please pray for us as we travel to Brazil—leaving on September 9th and staying for about four weeks. There will be lots of in-country travel as we seek more students for the Seminary. Pray for good health, and for God’s grace and mercy. A special blessing for Barbara and me is that we’ll get to spend some time with our two Brazilian grandbabies while we’re there.
We continue to pray for Dr. Raymond Edge, our Hebrew instructor and Dead Sea Scrolls authority, in the loss of his wife.
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 the yellow “Give” button on our homepage.
Read more
From Graduation to Greater Vision: God’s Work in Paraná and Beyond
August 7, 2025
Dear friends and family,
This has been another busy month planning for the graduation and the Pastors’ Conference we are going to be doing in Paraná, Brazil. The graduation has grown from nine to fifteen. How AWESOME is the God we serve!!!! And another blessing is there are 40 pastors already signed up to participate in the conference.
With this class that is graduating in September, there are nine Pastors receiving their Masters of Arts Degree in Pastoral Ministries and the other six will be receiving their Masters of Arts Degree in Biblical Studies.
The new program we are starting to use (experiment with) is proving to be a great addition for the Seminary. Changing times, changing methods—but the message remains the same! Our translators are, however, being used even more now as their duties are also occasionally to monitor the classes. Sometimes the Biblical terminology is difficult to translate, and since they are all live, we do not have time to lose in searching for an easier translation; there needs to be a more ready translation for them. So, this new program is that ready translation.
Speaking of speed, I think about the end times, how everything is faster (communication, travel, etc.), and that helps me to be more focused on the Seminary giving pastors more tools to help them reach the people effectively, which is needed as never before.
As we are talking about reaching more—out of the September class, we have four of the pastors who have signed up for our Doctoral program. Again, AWESOME!!!!!!! That brings it to 10 Pastors in the Doctoral program!!! That has almost doubled!!!
Now I could use a lot of prayers because I will be giving the challenge to the September graduating class. That seems like an honor, but I am a little bit ANXIOUS. So take me to the Lord in your prayers at this time please.
While on the topic of prayer, our family in Brazil needs lots of prayer. Our daughter Mary is having lots of problems with the pressure in her eyes. Our younger granddaughter Ashley—the problems she had a couple of years with intolerance of MANY foods has returned in a different twist. Our oldest granddaughter Chelsea is on heart meds and is now having eye problems like her mother. So, when it is family, it makes praying even more important. So, thanks to all for your prayer support. Keep praying for BFM, the contributors, our professor Dr. Edge in Texas as he just lost his wife to cancer, Bluegrass Baptist Seminary, our health, and our upcoming travels.
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
Equipping the Called: Bluegrass Baptist Seminary Prepares for New Semester
July 9, 2025
Dear friends and family,
July for me is always a good month— why—I love July the 4th celebrations, the food. That is the one time of the year I get to eat a lot of “hot dogs” and of course I know how good they are health wise for me— it’s the 4th!!!
The students in Bluegrass Baptist Seminary are happy for the intermission. No classes!! We are anticipating around 50 to 65 students in our classes starting in August. There will be four classes. Our professor who teaches two of those classes may not be able to teach this semester due to his wife’s cancer. Today they found out that she will be leaving the hospital tomorrow. They were planning treatments; radiation and chemo, but the cancer is so accelerated that she has elected NOT to do any treatments. She is in lots of pain and now is just waiting to go home to be with the Lord. Pray for her peaceful passing and for Pastor Edge.
The classes for this upcoming semester in August are: Evangelism, Discipleship, Biblical Proclamation, and Survey of Church History. Please pray for the students and the Professors (especially if Dr. Edge is unable to teach this semester).
For the Graduation in September we have ten students prepared to graduate of these 10 three will receive Master’s in Biblical Studies and seven will receive a Master’s in Pastoral Ministries. All seven are pastoring churches here in Brazil.
Our September is going to be a very full month. We will be having this graduation on Saturday night then on a Sunday, we will be a part of a new church dedication, then Tuesday we will fly to another state here in Brazil to attend a Pastors’ Conference for three days. Our part in this Conference will be to give them information on Bluegrass Baptist Seminary and how they can be a part of it. Getting the word out—how AWESOME for these pastors to learn how they can better spread the Word. Our God is an AWESOME God!!! With all that is going on in our world today we need more and more well-trained Pastors.
This seminary is only possible because of Baptist Faith Missions and those who donate financially and with the faithful prayer warriors. Thanks to all.
Our prayer requests for the month: Pastor Edge and his wife in Texas, Barbara’s health, the work of BFM and their missionaries, the travels in September, and health for ALL.
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
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
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
