Ministry Projects

Mua Buiti Garifuna Seminary

 

"What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us."

2 Timothy 1:13-14

In Garifuna, "Mua Buiti" means "good soil," referring to Jesus' parable of the sower. Based on the conviction that the Lord has prepared the hearts of Garifuna people to receive His Word, the seminary was founded in 2009 to provide theological training for pastors and church leaders.

Many students live and serve in rural communities, and they have had limited educational opportunities. As Garifuna churches continue to grow in number, it is crucial that leaders receive the necessary tools to provide solid biblical teaching and develop strong disciples to multiply ministry impact. Starting in 2012, the seminary began implementing BILD International's study program.

Fernando has served as director of Mua Buiti, and the Lord has used his undergraduate and graduate studies in teaching and administrative roles.

OneStory

 

"Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ."

Romans 10:17

The OneStory Partnership (www.onestory.org) provides mother-tongue Bible "story sets" for evangelism and discipleship among cultures with strong oral traditions. Each set includes chronological stories that communicate to a particular cultural audience God's redemptive plan of salvation. Stories may be taught informally or in fellowship groups, in which participants learn the story and discuss it together.

We are currently developing a story set in Garifuna, working with narrators, story testers, and a consultant to ensure biblical accuracy, a clear and natural oral style, and reproducibility. Our goal is to provide this story set and train others to lead story fellowship groups. We have seen that storytelling is a powerful tool for Garifuna seekers and believers to learn God's Word and understand the gospel clearly.

In 2011, we helped facilitate a storying workshop for Latino missionaries and anticipate serving as workshop facilitators and project coaches in the future (shown in the picture below). Alison continues to learn the Garifuna language and is interested in mentoring others' language and culture learning for OneStory projects in the future.

 

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