Student Ordained; Planning Seminary Classes
The Hensleys have spent nearly 20 years serving in Brazil. They have established a church in Caraguatatuba and mission points throughout the city. They have also recently started a seminary to train pastors.
February 18, 2020
Dear friends and family,
This has been a time of planning for the year of 2020. The calling, traveling to set new places for classes, and planning the dates has been much busier than expected.
However, that is AWESOME. This means that we will be reaching many more pastors and church workers than we reached last year—and to do this we need to be out and about.
Bluegrass Baptist Seminary is reaching new areas and this means that plans sometimes have to be changed, revised and sometimes we are having to say, “Not now, but please be patient. We will get to your area soon.” Bluegrass Baptist Seminary with its accreditation in Brasil is an AWESOME blessing for pastors and church workers. Pray with us as we attempt to reach as many “areas” of Brasil as is possible.
We are continually trying to find more economical ways to travel, find hotels, and rental cars so we may reach more areas and train more Pastors. One way all may help is to donate to BFM and designate your donation to Bluegrass Baptist Seminary. But the most important thing that you can do is pray.
We are in Brasil doing this work because of BFM and their support and all they do for missionaries. Without them this ministry would not be possible.
Let me digress for a bit and tell you about an AWESOME bit of news. We are posting a picture of a family in the mission point of Natividade da Serra. This family attended the Seminary about two years in Natividade da Serra and this month the husband was ordained to the Gospel ministry. This is just one more example of how God is using the Bluegrass Baptist Seminary in Brasil.
Our God is an AWESOME God.
We ask all of you to continue pray for the ongoing ministries in Brasil, for strength and travel mercies as we travel to the many locations, and also for the future locations that God is putting in our paths and the future students. We are excited about this new year and the ministries that God is sending our way.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]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
Traveling Stateside; Planning 2020 Classes
The Hensleys have spent nearly 20 years serving in Brazil. They have established a church in Caraguatatuba and mission points throughout the city. They have also recently started a seminary to train pastors.
January 23, 2020
Dear friends and family,
When I was a young child and our parents said that we were going on a road trip we three boys would jump into the car screaming “shotgun”. This means that that person would get to sit beside the driver. And because we all said it at the same time, we would proceed to wrestle for the position.
It seems that for the last week we have been on one of those kinds of trips. We started in San Antonio Texas where we visited with an old Pastor friend, Jason Hamlin. We first met him in Brazil when he and his wife Stacey were searching for the area that God wanted them to serve in Brazil. They had a meeting with several Pastors and Missionaries and each of us gave them reasons why they should work in our work. As you can see, they chose us and Caraguatatuba. We had 3 to 4 years working together then Jason and family had to come home to the States because of health issues with his mom. He has since started to work with a non-profit organization and we got to meet those with whom he is working. We do not know if anything will come out of these meetings, but it never hurts to try plowing new fields for support.
From San Antonio we went to Bastrop, Texas. We spoke to a supporting church there. And met with Dr. Edge the pastor there and our seminary professors. Also, we were able to visit my brother on this trip as he and his wife are members of the church there.
From Bastrop we flew to Orlando, Florida, where we attended the Winter Conference for Baptist Faith Missions at Park Ridge Baptist Church.
During this time Barbara has not once called “shotgun” so I have always gotten the best seat during the trip. We both are feeling like gypsies, but we are having an AWESOME time. We are meeting new friends and renewing old friendships.
We are working diligently to put the schedule for Bluegrass Seminary together for the year 2020. It is going to be a VERY busy year. We will start out in São Paulo City, then on to Campinas in March. This trip we will give two classes, then we will return to the States. Then in April we will head to Manaus, and from there will fly to Porto Velho in another State. On this trip we will be doing four classes. After these classes we will return to the States. Then in June we will return to Garça, giving one class. Then in October we will do six classes spread out in São Paulo, Manaus, Porta Velho.
Pray for us as we endeavor to reach Brazilian Pastors and church workers. This is a very strenuous schedule and much travel, but the return is AWESOME.
Thanks to you and those who support Baptist Faith Missions with your prayers and your finances.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara Hensley
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]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
Seminary Stats for 2019
The Hensleys have spent nearly 20 years serving in Brazil. They have established a church in Caraguatatuba and mission points throughout the city. They have also recently started a seminary to train pastors.
November 20, 2019
Dear friends and family,
It has been an AWESOME month and one half for our Seminary. First of all, we have a new name. Because of the accreditation process there in Brasil, we have to have an American name. So, we are now Bluegrass Baptist Seminary. The students are having a good time discovering what bluegrass is.
I want to use this letter to give you a yearly report on our work in Brasil. The cumulative report provides impacts for the Seminary and preview of the upcoming work.
Here are the Seminary statistics through the Fall of 2019:
- 32 classes, delivering 9 courses in 6 different cities since our beginning.
- Total enrollment is 277 students including pastors, church leaders and missionaries.
- Students are from 90 churches who have memberships of more than 10,011 people total
- These Churches are located in 34 cities and in 5 States
- 84 students have graduated with a certificate in Pastoral Ministries. This includes the first 4 courses: Systematic Theology, Survey of the New Testament, Survey of the Old Testament, and Pastoral Ministries
- 51 students at 2 locations are enrolled in our Masters Program. We have students in São Paulo and Orlandia that are in the middle of their Masters courses and will continue these courses in 2020. There has been an increased interest in the Masters Program. HOW AWESOME is the Lord we serve!!
- We have 3 new locations for classes in 2020: Ribeirao Preto in the state of São Paulo, Manaus in the state of Amazonas, and Porto Velho in the state of Rondonia. In Rondonia, we will be working with missionaries who work in missions established in the high jungle or North Western Brasil.
As planned in 2020, we are expecting to have an AWESOME year! It would be good to have you, our prayer warriors, praying for me and our Professors: Derek Coleman, Raymond Edge, Russell Zik, Terry Leap, Steven Scherer, and Greg Waltermire, as there will be much traveling this upcoming year. Also pray for the Churches of these pastors who send their pastors to help in this ministry. Without these Churches and these pastors, we would not have Bluegrass Baptist Seminary.
This ministry, Reaching Brasil, is made possible because of caring people like you giving to Baptist Faith Missions. Thank you for your generosity and your prayers.
Happy Holidays!
In His service,
Aj and Barbara
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
Like them on Facebook.
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
Seminary Classes in São Paulo
The Hensleys have spent nearly 20 years serving in Brazil. They have established a church in Caraguatatuba and mission points throughout the city. They have also recently started a seminary to train pastors.
October 27, 2019
Dear friends and family,
This month has been fast and furious. Barbara left on the 1st of the month and I and Pastor Russell Zik from Durbin Memorial Baptist Church left on the 10th. We went to Caragua to visit the grand kids and Pastor Zik preached at Caragua Baptist Church.
We left Caragua Monday morning, driving to Garça, São Paulo. We got there around 6:00 and the first class started at 7:30. We were expecting 5 to 8 students and God sent 20. There are so many times that we sorely underestimate the Lord. The class that was taught was Pastoral Ministries. Out of the 20 students there were 8 pastors. The rest were church workers. This class was to be the last class taught in Garça but God had other plans for this area. We now have 21 students interested in continuing the seminary there in Garça. Again, we underestimated the Lord. During this week, one of the students called us to ask if we could come to his work to present the gospel. We found out that he works at a prison and the warden wanted us to preach to the prisoners. We did not hesitate nor think twice. Pastor Russell brought a salvation message and there were 12 inmates that made commitments. These inmates were getting ready to be released so God’s Word will be going home with these 12 people. There are many ways to spread the Word and we do not think of not even half of them. We serve an AWESOME God!
Pastor Zik and Barbara came back to the States and I met Pastor Greg Waltermire and Pastor Derek Coleman at the airport. And with this, we begin another week. Pastor Coleman of Gardenside Baptist Church is headed to Campins where he will be teaching Survey of the New Testament. And Pastor Waltermire of Heritage Baptist Church will stay in São Paulo to teach History of Christianity.
There were 29 students in the São Paulo class. One of the students got to class late on Monday and he told us that he had left home at 4:00 in the morning and only got to São Paulo after 7:30 that night. How many of us would travel that far to study God’s Word? He is staying with local pastors for the week. Another of the students is the Doctor that was in the class last year. The students hosted a birthday party for her 83rd birthday. In this class there are 7 different denominations represented. Each of them will be taught Baptist doctrine this week and if they stay for next week’s classes, they will also hear the same Baptist doctrine. Again, God works in wondrous ways His miracles to perform.
In Campinas we were looking for 20 students and there were only 11 students that showed up. But like the preacher who preached his whole sermon when only one person came to church, when he was asked why, he explained it this way: if you went to feed your cows and only one came you would not go home without feeding that one. So, the students received the whole class even though only less than half of the students showed up.
In these two weeks we will have had 5 classes in three cities to 60 students. More than 25 of these of these are pastors, serving 22 churches. It is hard to say how many people will be reached through these men.
I told you last month of my doctor’s appointment. Well I have had that appointment and the report is as follows: the test for the PSA is non-detectable, which means the cancer is not showing up on their test. What an AWESOME God we serve. I will have another checkup in 6 months and I am expecting to hear the same news.
Here are some pix.
In His service,
AJ and Barbara
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
Like them on Facebook.
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 Spreads in Brazil
The Hensleys have spent nearly 20 years serving in Brazil. They have established a church in Caraguatatuba and mission points throughout the city. They have also recently started a seminary to train pastors.
September 21, 2019
Friends and family,
This month has been more than busy. I will start with the end of the month and reconstruct it backwards.
Pastor Derek and I were invited to a Pastor’s conference in Goiânia, Brasil, where I was able to represent Bluegrass Baptist Seminary. This was an opportunity sent from God because we were trying to incorporate a visit to this area this year to spread the word about the Seminary. As a result, we were able to talk to representatives from six different churches. They are now going to send students to the Seminary in our location in Rebeirao Preto. This will be our first classes in August of 2020. This city is projected to be one of the permanent locations for Bluegrass Baptist Seminary. This is a very large city with an airport and in a central location to many cities. Pray for these new locations we are planning for the 2020 Seminary year.
The missionary conference in Goiânia, São Paulo.
Also this month we have put Manaus, Amazonas on our projected schedule for seminary classes. The invitation to Manaus came from the classes we are having in São Paulo, as some of the students had contacts in Manaus and spread the word about our classes. I have many friends there from language classes and work that I had done there for Pastor Paul and Wanda Hatcher.
This coming year promises to be a busy and productive one for the Seminary. Our plans are for being in Ribeiro Preto, São Paulo and Manaus, Amazonas as the new cities, and Campinas, São Paulo and São Paulo, São Paulo as the ongoing classes. With these four cities we will have eight different classes. Pray for all our professors and helpers. As you know our professors are Pastors here in the United States with their Dr’s and PhD’s and they are doing an AWESOME job. Because of their qualifications, they will help with our pursuit of accreditation for the Seminary. This is an AWESOME blessing.
My health issues continue to improve and I have an appointment in the coming weeks. Be in prayer for the latest results. I know that, as in all things, God is in control.
As you know, when you are trying to serve God, there are road blocks. My roadblock this month was on the road. Not literally, but I had an accident and totaled my car. The AWESOME news is that I escaped injury. Just a few bruises and minor scratches. Our God is an AWESOME God.
Just following up with Mary’s oldest daughter Chelsea, she went for a check-up last week and the Dr said that her spina bifida is getting better and she will not have to wear a brace. Prayer works!!! Continue to keep them in your prayers.
Please pray for Barb and I as we are going to be in Brasil for the month of October. Barb will go first to visit the grandchildren then to Garça with me for the first of three Seminary classes. Then I will finish the month in São Paulo and Campinas.
Thank you for your continued prayers for this endeavor for the Kingdom.
In His service,
Aj and Barb Hensley
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
Like them on Facebook.
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
Seminary Classes Scheduled in Manaus
The Hensleys have spent nearly 20 years serving in Brazil. They have established a church in Caraguatatuba and mission points throughout the city. They have also recently started a seminary to train pastors.
August 12, 2019
Dear friends and family,
Hope your summer has been a good one. Barb and I have had an enjoyable one with just a few hiccups. Have you ever heard the saying, “Man makes plans and God laughs”? Well, He has had a belly laugh on us this past month. We have been planning a trip to Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil for about two months now. The reason for this trip was to scout out new places to take the Seminary. Places where we could help pastors of Brazil. So we had a Pastor in Manaus get in touch with us and ask us to come there. We went into planning mode. Since myself and Pastor Coleman were going on this trip and it was not a teaching trip we thought it would be good to take the wives along. So plans were made. We have a person that graciously helps with our tickets when going to Brasil so we called him and set in motion the booking of the tickets. But as Delta does not fly to Manaus anymore, we had to book the second leg of the trip with another airlines in Brasil. I am telling you all of this to get to the REST of the story. You know the quote I wrote at the first of the letter? Well, it goes into effect now. Barb, Linda and I went to Louisville on the 19th to fly to Atlanta, but the flight was delayed because of bad weather, so we continued behind a long line to the ticket counter. By the time we got to the counter there had been another delay of the flight. The agent then told us even if we got on this delayed flight, we would miss our connection to Brasil. And to top that off we would not have a chance to fly out til the 21st. All that resulted in us missing the flight in Brasil to Manaus. By that time Pastor Coleman’s wife had decided to not try again but I was persistent and decided that Barb and I would drive to Atlanta. Well, guess what. We were unable to get on the flight there either. But Pastor Coleman had gotten on his flight on Sunday and was able to make all his connections. Therefore, we had one representative to do the research in Manaus. Thanks to Pastor Paul Hatcher and Wanda and Rosevaldo who took special care of Pastor Coleman. As I was saying, God had His way for this trip to be accomplished and He did it His way without my help. Not only were we able to meet with all the Pastors, and Pr. Coleman got to speak at the conference on the scheduled dates, he was able to set the dates for the Seminary in Manaus for next year. These dates not only include Manaus, but also the State of Rondonia. Now our calendar is full for the next 18 months. We have 14 seminary classes scheduled in five different cities. Pray for travel mercies and for the professors, translators and for me. We are still jumping through hoops to get accreditation for the Seminary in Brasil. One of the things we had to do was change our name. The Brazilian law says that to be an American Seminary with Brazilian accreditation we have to have an American name. So let me introduce you to Bluegrass Baptist Seminary. We have officially changed from Caragua Baptist Seminary to Bluegrass Baptist Seminary. As those requirements have been met and we have scheduled the classes for 2020 we now have another problem. We are going to be needing some more professors. The requirements are these: pastors with PhDs and with churches that are willing to let their Pastors go to Brasil and help finance his trip. But what an AWESOME problem to have.
Also, as the Seminary is getting known, we were having more and more requests for us to come to other regions to teach. Another AWESOME problem to have. Pray with us and for us as we continue to take God’s Word to Brasil.
We do ask that everyone continue to pray and give to BFM to support this work. Without faithful givers and prayer warriors we could not do this work we are doing.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
Like them on Facebook.
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 Opportunities in New Cities for the Seminary
The Hensleys have spent nearly 20 years serving in Brazil. They have established a church in Caraguatatuba and mission points throughout the city. They have also recently started a seminary to train pastors.
June 14, 2019
Friends and family,
It has been a very busy time at our house these past few weeks. We are completing our travel plans for July. Our trip for July is to Manaus to see if there is a need for our Seminary. As we are a traveling Seminary, we are in constant pursuit of another group of Pastors that would benefit from the learning more about the Bible. So, with that in mind, we have been in contact with various Pastors in Manaus. As a matter of fact, they contacted us. We will be meeting with them in July to discuss what we have to offer and to meet with them to begin to get to know them and to get to know their needs.
They have asked us to participate in a Pastors Conference in July with them where Pastor Derek Coleman will be one of the keynote speakers. They have conveyed to us the desire of 30 to 50 people to participate in the Seminary and think that after Pastor Derek speaks in July that that number will increase. God is AWESOME!!!!!!
During this trip we will be going to another state named Rondonia. The people have promised us two things for certain there and that is that it will be very humid there. Also, that they are very excited to meet with us and talk about having our Seminary there in the town of Cubia. Just as I always say, “What an AWESOME God we serve.”
Last month we went to visit the church where Pastor Sheridan and Anita are serving. We talked with them about the Seminary and how God is using it to educate the Pastors and the church workers there in Brasil. It was a good time getting reacquainted with old friends.
Also last month I was presenting our work about the Seminary one Sunday night with the mission committee also speaking about a mission trip to Brazil. I believe that every church should have people from their church go on a foreign mission trip because I believe that such a trip broadens their vision and commitment for missions.
As we entered the sanctuary, we were greeted by Odali and Kathy Barros who were also visiting Heritage. After church we went to have coffee and catch up with each other. You see, though we both serve in Brasil, it is rare to see them in Brasil. As we talked, we took the opportunity to invite Odali to be the translator for the planned upcoming Seminary classes in Manaus. Please make that a prayer request for us.
After July we will be back in Lexington, Kentucky for a couple of months and have some time to visit your church and tell you all about what God is doing through us and because of you and your support. If you have asked us and we have not gotten back to you, please reach out to us again. Both Barbara and I feel like we have not responded to someone and that is not our wish to forget anyone.
We will be back in Brasil in September and October for the next Seminary classes in the city of São Paulo and the city of Campins, along with classes in Garça, São Paulo. Please for these five classes and their professors and students.
As in all cases, I want to commend our professors for giving of their time and talent, and not forgetting their churches who allow them to participate in the education of our Brasilian Pastors. As you know, our professors are PhD’s and Dr’s and this is helping us in the accreditation process for the Seminary. We have been doing a lot of paperwork to get the accreditation in Brazil but to do this we had to give the Seminary an American name. We put much thought into this new name and finally settled on one. Our new name is BLUEGRASS BAPTIST SEMINARY. Continue to pray for us and the Seminary as we work to advance God’s kingdom in Brazil and wherever God leads.
The month of June I have become one year younger and I give God the glory. My health seems to be going good except for the occasional pain. Pray with us as we pray that this is not a problem. But above all I just want to say, “WHAT AN AWESOME GOD WE SERVE.”
In His service,
AJ and Barb
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
Like them on Facebook.
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
