Just added the latest newsletter to the site. Check it out!
In case you are interested …………. Anita and I just celebrated 33 years! See pics here!
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/photo.php?pid=31412305&fbid=1480435124327&id=1037255471
Cuban leader using PowerPoint to display how GU fits into plans for Cuban A/G
Cuban Assemblies of God sought out Global University because of it’s accreditation. They wanted something that they can show the government that is recognized around the world. Their hope is to be recognized by the government as a university and having a course of study that is accredited will help them accomplish that dream. They also want to train their leaders to be missionaries to the rest of the world so having a degree that is recognized in other countries will enable them to go to the “mission” field when Cuba is opened up and they are allowed to come and go from the country freely. They believe that this will happen soon as they anticipate a change in the government. They said that several people high up in the government are reaching retirement age and are disillusioned with the promises they were told but have yet to see come to pass. So they are looking for other ways and ideologies that give them greater hope for the people of Cuba.
The leaders at the Bible school are planning for 400 students to begin studying Global University courses in January 2011. 300 of those are undergraduate and 100 will be graduate students. They told us that there are 2,500 more students who are waiting to take these classes. However, with the limited resources they have, they cannot offer this course of study to that many so they are on a waiting list. They are giving high priority to pastors to be first in line to get the training but there are thousands of lay people in the church who have expressed a desire to study these courses.
Technology and building the church in Cuba
This is Juan Amilio who will be one of the instructors for GU undergraduate courses in Cuba. He is currently in our master’s program which is all in English. He is not comfortable speaking English but can read and understand it. He studied to be a boat captain and worked for the government before he came to Christ. He was diagnosed with HIV and ran out of hope. A doctor at the hospital witnessed to him and he was saved in the hospital. God has since healed him from HIV. His sons do not have HIV either. He is a pastor now. His son is a worship leader and musically talented. One of his sons graduated at the top of his class but the principal of the school could not give him what he deserved because of his family’s faith in God. However, she gave him an award of excellence instead and commended him on his grades. In other words, she could not give him what he earned because of his faith but still made a statement by recognizing him in public for his achievements. This is just an example of how the believers in Cuba are persecuted for their faith.
Juan is being shown how an iPad works. The guys from Speed the Light suggested getting iPads into the country loaded with PDF files of books. Right now, getting religious study material is difficult in Cuba. They have a couple libraries within the church but they each only have 200-300 volumes. In order for the Bible school to be recognized as a university, the government has deemed that they need at least 10,000 books in a centralized location. Juan and the other A/G leadership are excited at the possibility of so much material that can be brought in on an iPad just for study and reference material for the students there.
(One thing you must know about Cuba is there is access to education. Everyone is well educated.)
This is Maoises Deprada and he is a scientist that was involved in cloning. He said that “no matter how many experiments he was involved in, they could not make something out of nothing.” He came to the conclusion that only God can make something out of nothing. He is the Director of Post-Graduate and Graduate Theological Studies in Cuba. He is currently enrolled in Global University’s Master’s program.
Even though education is readily available to Cubans, theology is not a recognized valid course of study in the universities. The Cuban church is trying to get a jump start on getting this course of study recognized by the government there. They need to acquire 10,000 books for a centralized library as a starting point to be recognized as a university there. Just week ago, the church had a meeting with the religious affairs committee which granted them permission to have books brought into the country from the USA baring any books that are black-listed by the government. This is a great answer to prayer as now they are allowed to bring in the needed study guides for the first 400 Global university students who will start taking GU courses in January. They were trying to figure out a way to print the study guides there in Cuba but have had difficulty getting paper into the country.
The Cuban church is anticipating great change in the country in the way of allowing Cubans to live and work outside of Cuba. They sought Global University because of it’s accreditation and being recognized in other countries. The Cuban church has a great desire to send out missionaries to other parts of the world and having a degree or certificate that is from an accredited institution will give them the ability to go to other countries easier than if they did not have something that was recognized or accredited.
They are building a new A/G headquarters in Havana which will house a study center where students will be studying GU courses.
A/G headquarters room where GU study center will be
Cuban A/G Superintendent Hector Hunter
This is Rev. Hector Hunter. He is the A/G superintendent for Cuba. He had the chance to leave the country but chose to stay and continue the work God had for him there. His dream is to see pastors trained with degrees that will allow them to be better leaders; be able to give answers to false doctrines and become missionaries to the world. He has had a dream for a Bible school to be built in Cuba for 40 years and now sees his dream coming true with study centers being built and Global University curriculum becoming available to them. (thank you Julie Stoecker)
North Central Higher Learning Commission granted Global University full regional accreditation February 22. “Global University was commended during the accreditation process for its unique, high-quality programs and distance education delivery,” says missionary Gary Seevers, Global University president.
More than 60 years ago, the Assemblies of God recognized the need to train U.S. AG believers who sensed God’s call to ministry but could not attend a resident Bible school. Berean School of the Bible, which began in 1949 under the direction of Frank M. Boyd, filled the gap by providing a biblical education for hundreds of men and women.
In 1967 AGWM missionary George Flattery began International Correspondence School to lead people to Christ and train believers around the world to serve as pastors, evangelists and Bible school teachers. Several million people have since come to Christ through ICI’s evangelism outreaches.
Berean and ICI combined in 1999 to form Global University, providing U.S. and overseas believers in 180 countries with a biblical education and ministry skills. Evangelism, training for new believers and in-depth college courses are offered in 124 languages. “We are discipling people in the power of the Holy Spirit,” says Seevers. “The new accreditation from the North Central Commission makes the distance learning model increasingly attractive to prospective students.
Milan Buban
Bible school director Milan Buban’s (http://milan.buban.cz/) testimony about Global University in the Czech Republic. See their webpage at http://globaluniversity.cz/
“For us in the Czech Republic, Global University is a blessing we accepted from the hands of the Lord. At the time of communism, the Czech Pentecostal movement worked underground. Since 1989 we live in a democracy and our church is going through a thorough reformation of thinking. The Pentecostal church is gradually moving from the periphery of Czech society right into its heart.
In this special time theological education is one of the most important tools. We recognized that the study material of Global University represents a balanced theological perspective. Even more, distance education is one of the main trends of the Czech educational system. Thanks to Global University, we are reaching dozens of people who cannot study in the residential program of the national Bible school. A lot of work is waiting for us at the Czech Global University,
If God wills, we would:
- translate all the key bachelor subjects into the Czech language.
- form a team of qualified instructors who can guarantee the highest quality of distance study.
- provide teaching of Global University subjects via the Internet.
With the help of Global University material, we share the Gospel with Czech sinners and teach Czech believers to live with Christ.”
Morrison's and Czech Republic student, Pavel
Because my circumstances did not allow me to study the residential program [at the national Bible college], I am very thankful to God for the distance program of Global University. I work full-time as an associate pastor and therefore I need education. We decided together with my wife to study Global University.
After several subjects I was absolutely shocked how superficially up to that time I had read the Bible. I would read the Bible a lot, but in our country there was never a Pentecostal school of theology. The word “theology” here usually was joined with the liberal streams in big traditional churches and therefore theological education was rather a scorned subject. Now I would call theology an absolute necessity for every pastor.
I grew up in one small independent church. The theology there was always built from different books, which a person could buy in the store. On the shelves were books from Hagin, Prince, Yongi Cho, Watchman Nee and many other various authors, so maybe you can understand the confusion.
When I read the textbook, “Principles of Biblical Interpretation,” I was really excited. It opened up to me an entirely different approach to the study of the Bible. I thought that I already knew a lot about that, but I saw how much I still needed to learn.
There aren’t words to express how much I feel the need for such a program [like Global University] for our Pentecostal church. I went through a painful experience of confusion in that independent church and because of this, I realize what kind of power the Bible has in the life of a person. I regard theological education as absolutely indispensable to preventing confusion in the church, especially with newly saved people.
I am glad that our church has Global University, and I am thankful for missionaries who help with this. I thank everyone who works for Christ’s work and is building in Christians a love for the Scriptures.
(Thank you to Jason & Andrea Morrison, missionaries to the Czech Republic)
This video retells the story of a letter written by a Vietnamese pastor after we visited him.
