(Picture: McDowell teaching in Caracas, Venezuela)
Venezuela (1992)
In 1992 Stephen McDowell was invited to speak at two conferences sponsored by a number of national Christian organizations on igniting the flame of Godly reformation, one in Caracas and one in Maracaibo. Organizers translated into Spanish and printed 1000 copies of Principles for the Reformation of Nations (an earlier version of Liberating the Nations) for use as a tool for those attending the conferences to train others. Hundreds of people attended these multi-day conferences, and they in turn greatly impacted many others.
In 1993 a Frenchman working on his doctoral dissertation on the influence of evangelicalism on government and society in Latin American visited us in Charlottesville. He told us that while in Venezuela doing research he had come across numerous people and groups who were using the Spanish edition of our book. This significant impact on so many people is one reason he came to interview us and learn more about our work.
In 1996 Mark met with Cesar Espanol in Charlottesville who returned to his country and oversaw the publication and wrote a chapter on the history of liberty in Latin America which was included in a Spanish edition of our book Liberando las Naciones. It was printed in Venezuela in 1998. Our representative, Cesar Espanol, saw this as an invaluable tool for equipping Christians in Venezuela with the principles necessary to bring Godly reform to their nation.
Stephen returned to Venezuela in the early 2000’s to teach a seminar and at various churches.
(Picture: Stephen McDowell teaching in Brazil)
Brazil (1991, 1994, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2018)
Stephen spoke in Brazilia in 1991 and then returned in July 1994 to both Brazilia and Sao Paulo. Fabio Batista in Brazilia organized a series of seminars and talks at which Stephen McDowell spoke. About 100 people, many in training for the ministry, attended an in-depth two day seminar on “Liberating the Nations” that was held in the national capital. McDowell also conducted a seminar in Sao Paulo and spoke at various churches in both cities.
Fabio Batista of Brazilia had attended a Providence Foundation training course while in school in the United States. Upon returning to his home as our representative in Brazil, he established an organization in 1994 to facilitate Godly reform. He and his team put out a newsletter, organized classes, and presented many talks and seminars. Fabio appeared on national television and spoke to a state meeting of the Four Square Church attended by 600 pastors.
In 2007 our book Liberating the Nations was translated into Portuguese and 5000 copies were printed and distributed at a large transformation conference.
In March 2011, Stephen spent about 10 days in Brazil teaching in seven cities in the three southernmost states. His main purpose was to teach at the newly formed Transformation Institute. Rodrigo Tapia started “Instituto Transforma” with the long-term vision of raising up a new generation of leaders for the nation. His intensive year-long training program, followed by a year of practical application, will equip leaders in a biblical worldview so as to transform every spheres of life in Brazil. He has a similar vision to what we do at the Providence Foundation, with a desire to partner with us. Stephen’s sessions were filmed and are being used in the Institute.
Vishal, Stephen, and Rodrigo with student organizers of a Truth and Transformation seminar held at UFMA University.
Stephen and Vishal before speaking at a Transformation Institute conference in Brazil.
Vishal, Mark, and Stephen with leaders of the Gravatai police force.
In May 2012 Stephen was in Brazil for 10 days teaching at meetings in four cities spanning the length of the country, from the southern city of Cachoerinhas to the northern city of Macapa, which is located on the Amazon River. While in the capital city of Brasilia he went with a small team of Christian leaders to the Supreme Court of Brazil where they were able to pray for 30 minutes. This was the first time something like this has taken place.
Brazil is experiencing great revival. Not only are many people being converted, but a growing number of Christians are recognizing their duty to disciple the nation at large. The founder of Transformation Institute, Rodrigo Tapia, invited the Providence Foundation to train pastors and leaders how to do this very thing. He is putting together a training program to distribute throughout the nation. This includes various teachings that Stephen and many other reformers have done at his institute, plus he has translated numerous Providence Foundation booklets that he will be printing and using to educate others.
Stephen returned to Brazil in 2013 and 2014, spending about two weeks teaching in a variety of venues, but most importantly working with the Transformation Institute to solidify their ongoing training program.
During the end of August and beginning of September, 2018, Stephen traveled to Brazil at the invitation of Rodrigo Tapia and the Transformation Institute. The trip began in the southern city of Gravatai where Stephen and Vishal Mangalwadi taught a two-day conference, at a pastors’ gathering, and at a YWAM base. They, along with Mark Beliles, conducted a half-day training event for the mayor, members of the police force, and over 100 members of the city government.
Vishal, Rodrigo, and Stephen then traveled to the northeastern coastal city of Sao Luis, where they conducted a multi-day conference on transforming Brazil to hundreds of people, spoke at a pastors’ breakfast, and taught a two-day seminar to many students at Federal University of Maranhão (UFMA), the leading university in the area. These were attended by many pastors, lawyers, government officials, future leaders, and others desiring to see Brazil discipled. They also spoke at the largest churches in the area and while visiting a local Huguenot Museum learned that French Protestants played a part in the beginning of the city, erecting a cross for prayer when arriving in 1612 and writing laws based upon the Ten Commandments.
Two of our books (Liberating the Nations and Watchmen on the Walls) and six PowerPoint presentations are available in Portuguese.
(Picture: Representatives from Germany, Trinidad, and Brazil)
(Picture: Stephen teaching in Trinidad)
Peru (2008)
In the summer of 2000 a missions team from Morning Star International ministries visited Peru and used some of our materials and a slide presentation to train the city leaders of Taraporto. A member of the team, Daniel Strand, wrote: “We are so thankful for the material you sent to us! We were able to translate the “Liberating the Nations” presentation into Spanish. We made a presentation for the Mayor and her government department heads for the city of Taraporto, Peru. We had about 25 at that meeting, and after the presentation they asked so many questions on how to change their government, they stayed for another hour of question and answer!.” Another team member met with the Dean of the only university in that region and gave him a copy of the Spanish version of Liberating the Nations.
In 2008 Stephen traveled to Peru, where he taught church and government leaders in Lima and at a pastor’s school in Iquitos. A couple of our books were published in the country for use in the school for biblical economics.
(Picture: Stephen & Hector Pardo)
Columbia (2008)
A multi-day School of Transformation was conducted for leaders in church and state in Hector Pardo’s church in Bogota. Hector is a leading Pastor in the nation. Since he became a Christian around 1960, the Christian population in Columbia has risen from 15,000 to 8 million (about 20% of the population). Hector’s desire is to continue to train the rapidly growing Christian populace in Biblical transformational principles.
Stephen returned to Colombia in 2015 to help launch the Transformation Institute of Colombia, which will provide ongoing training in Biblical worldview. While there he also spoke at churches and was interviewed for a number of radio and television programs. [See first section above for more on our work in Colombia.]
(Picture: McDowell with Foundation representative from Bolivia)
Bolivia
In 1990, Pedro Moreno, having studied under Mark and Stephen in Charlottesville for a few years and then returned to La Paz, began working for the government there and organized the first national Protestant Prayer Breakfast at which he and the President of Bolivia spoke. Moreno opened an office for PF and started an ongoing study group. Hundreds of pastors and government officials, including the President and numerous national leaders, attended the prayer breakfast. Zarco’s desire to train Christian government leaders, as well as all Bolivians, in a Biblical worldview led him to travel to the United States to meet with us and discuss working together. When Zarco heard Stephen McDowell speak at a training course in the fall of 1999 and read some of our books, he discovered the materials he needed to help him in training others. He started a class for about 15 politicians teaching them the material in Liberating the Nations and Watchmen on the Walls. Soon after that pastor and former Congressman Orlando Zarco was named the Providence Foundation representative for Bolivia. Zarco has been working for many years to bring Godly reformation to his nation.
In the summer of 2017 Stephen spent three days in Cochabamba, Bolivia, teaching biblical principles of societal transformation to pastors, government officials, educators, and business leaders. Those in attendance included a man and wife who founded and run a Christian school in La Paz. The wife, Cecilia, recently wrote us:
“I would like you to know, that I shared your teachings with my teachers and students. The study of the law of God, of the Ten Commandments, opened my eyes to integral salvation and the essential subjects in a Christian education, we are also deepening this study with other authors. We are implanting these teachings very slowly but consistently in our Christian School, with my husband Oscar teaching the students in class and I teaching the teachers.
Now, we are starting a school of Christian leaders, where we will plan to teach biblical worldview, reasoning and fallacies, basic theology, history, and biblical designs. It is aimed at pastors and young Christian professionals. If you could help us it would be wonderful.
We are watching from Bolivia to your country, very happy of the changes that are happening, and with the hope that in Bolivia we can also see the hand of God one day and we can return to the biblical designs, which we know start with changed hearts.
I am sending you this letter to thank you and to tell you that the seeds that you planted here in Bolivia gave good results. Thank you, many congratulations and blessings from Bolivia.”
