STN Latin America – Shepherding the Nations

Latin America Report

March 26, 2025 By sleinen

-Eddie Bueno

All classes resumed this month, the students’ spirits have not declined, and we hope to have a year full of blessings.

Below I share with you the books that they are currently studying and how many students there are in each institute.

Honduras. Book 5. 22 students
Mexico. Book 7. 16 students
El Alto, Bolivia. Book 1. 40 students
Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Book 1. 25 students
Panama 1. Book 3. 33 students
Panama 2. Book 2. 26 students
Panama 3. Book 2. 18 students
El Salvador. Book 2. 17 students

This gives us a total of 197 students.

As I shared previously, I will be traveling to Bolivia with David Nelson to attend 2 graduations in Santa Cruz and La Paz. We are very happy to reach this point and plan the planting of new churches for the glory of God.

Also in Bolivia I will be giving training to Pastor Roberto Carageorge, He is the pastor of the Evangelical Christian Church in the city of Beni, Bolivia. This is a city in the north of Bolivia closer to Brazil, Pastor Roberto Carageorge shares with me that there is no seminary or Bible institute there and that the need for theological education is very great. The church that he pastors has about 200 members and the desire is to be able to open a new institute this summer.

In the city of San Salvador in El Salvador we have a new prospect, Pastor Israel Carranza, he is the pastor of the Baptist church in a place called Sonsonate, 2 hours from the capital. There, God is also guiding us to open another institute, since Pastor Israel Carranza has a great desire to teach and prepare new leaders for church planting. In this place, we would also like to start classes in the summer of this year. We will plan the training for the next few months.

As always, I ask each one of you for your prayers, so that God blesses and uses each teacher and student, and so that from these students come pastors who plant churches and who can also teach the word of God with love, dignity, and a sound biblical doctrine.

I also ask for your prayers so that on the trip to Bolivia, God takes care of us and gives us the health that we need, since Bolivia is a country at a high altitude above sea level.

What’s Happening in Panama

December 1, 2024 By Tammy Werth

All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, And they shall glorify Your name. For You are great and do wondrous deeds; You alone are God.
Psalm 86:9-10

by STN Board Member, Tammy Werth

In October, I had the privilege of traveling to Panama. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I am thankful the Lord allowed me to join Pastor Eddie and his wife, Xiomara, in Panama. I’ve always wanted to see the Panama Canal, and the city and the people exceeded my expectations. The start of each group brings the exciting opportunity to meet new pastors and students.

It was a blessing to meet Pastor Moreno, his wife, and his brother, who welcomed us with hospitality and made us feel like family. The joy of the Lord is evident in Pastor Moreno, who always has a big smile and a contagious laugh. His beautiful wife Giovanni is gentle and quiet and the mother of seven. Pastor Moreno’s brother, Kenny, graciously became our driver, and tour guide and even cooked us a special meal.

I couldn’t contribute much because I don’t speak Spanish, but the Lord allowed me to experience Panama’s beauty. Unlike the densely packed streets of India, Panama presented a different kind of busyness. Its roads were filled with much traffic but had a more relaxed Caribbean atmosphere. I truly appreciated your prayers; I felt safe throughout my travels and the Lord’s comforting peace as we explored this exciting country.

The American influence is evident, especially near the canal, but I didn’t sense the spiritual oppression I’ve often felt in other cities. Even while driving through a dangerous neighborhood near the historic area of Casco Viejo, I felt the Lord’s peace. Our driver, Kenny, on the other hand, experienced quite the opposite when he was forced to take unexpected detours that forced us into unfamiliar streets. We traveled through El Chorrillo which is a red zone area, and tourists are advised to avoid it. We saw many neglected, overcrowded apartment buildings, noticeable poverty, taxis everywhere, dusty streets, and lots of people sitting outside or walking around. These scenes are typical in impoverished areas or countries. The contrast was striking against the backdrop of the beautiful preserved colonial area of Casco Viejo and the sparkling modern and affluent downtown Panama.

On Friday, we attended a class that just started. Over thirty-two students are participating at this small church, which is impressive. There are now two more classes in Panama, one has thirty-six, and the other has twenty students, which is equally exciting. I thought I’d be able to grasp a few familiar words from the teaching in Spanish. I quickly realized I couldn’t understand anything until the end when the students recited the names of books in the Bible. I even tried using Google Translate and about halfway through the class, I leaned over to Xiomara and asked, “Are you following this?” She replied, “No.” It turned out the teacher was speaking many words in an Indigenous language from Panama, which made it impossible for me to understand anything. 🤦

On Saturday, our drive to the church was interrupted by strong winds and heavy rain from Hurricane Nadine in the Caribbean Sea. Although the hurricane didn’t make direct landfall in Panama, the area still experienced its effects. Pastor Moreno called his wife, Giovanni, who was driving me and Xiomara, and asked her to pull over to safety because strong winds and heavy rain were approaching. This prompted us to pray and ask the Lord for travel mercies while we waited. Until then, we had only experienced light rains, heat, and a lot of humidity in the afternoons. The dangerous winds and flooded impassable streets made the journey to church dangerous. This serves as a vivid reminder of how quickly life’s storms can catch us off guard but He is with us and our hope is in Him.

Please pray for the pastors and students in the three new groups that launched in Panama in the fall of 2024, as well as for the new group that started in El Salvador. These dedicated individuals passionately serve the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Latin America Institutes

May 13, 2024 By sleinen

by Eddie Bueno

Earlier this year, I planned to go to El Salvador to train a pastor to start a new STN Institute. Unfortunately, the pastor needed to undergo back surgery and we had to postpone the training. The pastor is recovering well from the surgery and will be joining me in Panama in late May where I will train him and some other men from Panama. The plan will be to launch new STN Institutes both in El Salvador and in Panama this summer.

In addition to the new Institutes, all the existing institutes have now resumed classes. Join us in praying to God that this year will be a great blessing and tremendous time of learning for all the students. As always, I ask for your prayers that God guides and encourages and opens the doors so that healthy new churches can be planted that teach biblical doctrine honoring our Savior and Lord.

Please pray especially for Tapachula, Mexico, as there is beginning to be a lot of persecution of Christian churches. Also, pray for the immigration problems since Tapachula is on the border of Guatemala. This is the pathway of entry into Mexico for that all the people who try to reach the United States. This is bringing a great crisis to Tapachula. But Pastor Marco wants to take advantage of this situation to share the word of God with those who need it most.

El Alto, Bolivia, BTCP Book #6:

Santa Cruz, Bolivia Book #5:

Tapachula, Mexico, Book #3:

Honduras, Book #3:

Santa Cruz – Bolivia
Pastor: Richard Buitrago Students – 30 Book #5

El Alto – Bolivia
Pastor: Jhonny Villarroel Students – 31 Book #6

Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Pastor: José Pino Students – 25 Book #3

Tapachula – Mexico
Teacher: Marco Antonio Muñoz Students – 16 Book #4

Posible New Institutes:
San Salvador, El Salvador
Pastor: Jorge Burgos Classes will start this summer

Panama
Classes will start this summer

2022 was a great year and 2023 is off to a great start!

April 21, 2023 By pbrown

by Paul S. Brown, President, Shepherding the Nations

2 Corinthians 8:1-5 (NASB95) “Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality. For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints, and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God.”

Can you believe it has been three years since the Covid-19 pandemic started?

A few months before it happened, STN was experiencing significant growth in India, Nepal, and Latin America. Nearly 300 BTCP students graduated, we had an incredible conference on expository preaching in India, and churches were being planted. Then the pandemic began, and everything slowed down. But the Lord has heard our prayers and He has opened doors for STN to impact even more people in India, Nepal, Mexico, Honduras, and Bolivia.

2022 was a big year with over 1,000 students in our BTCP training classes and over 450 of them graduated.

Several of those graduates are planting new churches and others are preparing to do so. Pastor Eddie Bueno (director of STN Latin America) made a few trips to Mexico and Bolivia to train new trainers, encourage current trainers, and participate in graduation ceremonies. Ryder Kumar (director of STN SE Asia) also made trips to India for strategic meetings, training conferences, and a series of graduation ceremonies.

2023 is off to a great start.

Pastor Eddie recently went to Honduras for a graduation of BTCP students and spent time with some of them that are planting new churches. Pastor Ryder just got back from a trip to India where he met with key leaders, helped lead some training conferences, and met with committees who are planning some major conferences in 2024 and 2025. They are also preparing to expand to other countries in SE Asia (possibly Pakistan, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka).

Please pray for the Lord to provide wisdom, key leaders with integrity, favor with governing authorities, and necessary finances. Some new churches and individuals joined in supporting STN in 2022, but with the growth of the ministry, our current expenses are $75,000 per year more than income. We are using reserves to make up the difference, but we would love to see more people and churches become ministry partners. Please share the ministry of STN with family, friends, bible studies, and churches. And if you know of any foundations that support ministries like this, please tell us how to contact them.

Thank you for joyfully and generously participating in this work. We love you and are grateful for the privilege of serving our Lord and His people with you.

“Having come to these classes, our ministry and preaching is transformed.”

Latin America is Opening Up Again!

October 14, 2022 By pbrown

by STN President, Dr. Paul S. Brown

STN began its work in Latin America in 2016 under the direction of Pastor Eddie Bueno (Hispanic senior pastor at The Bridge Bible Fellowship – Iglesia Cristiana Puente de Vida). At one time we had a total of six training institutes in four countries offering BTCP courses. Several groups completed the 10-volume curriculum, we held some graduation ceremonies, and we were ready to offer courses to new people. Then 2020 came and most of the work came to a halt due to Covid-19 restrictions. Pastor Bueno and I were supposed to travel to a graduation in Tapachula, Mexico in late March 2020 but all flights were canceled.

The Lord has once again opened the doors! Classes are being offered again in Bolivia and Honduras. By the time you read this, Pastor Bueno will have gone to Santa Cruz, Bolivia (Sept. 26 – Oct. 1) to offer a Teacher Training Workshop (TTW). BTCP requires this training for anyone who is going to use their curriculum to teach others. One of the men attending the TTW already has a group of 20+ students waiting for their new class to start in October.

Pastor Bueno will also be going to Tapachula, Mexico (Dec. 1-4) to preside over the graduation ceremony we were supposed to have 2 ½ years ago. The trainer in Tapachula is preparing to start a new BTCP class early in 2023 with 20+ students. There is a possibility that I will join Pastor Bueno early in 2023 for a graduation ceremony in Honduras. And there are other men and locations we are evaluating for possible STN Institutes in the future.

Thank you for your prayers for STN’s ministry in Latin America. Please continue to pray for Pastor Bueno’s health, for wisdom in restarting some of the Institutes and launching new Institutes in new regions. Ask the Lord to use STN’s training to raise up many new church planters who will go to currently unreached areas all over Latin America. And give Him praise for allowing us the privilege of resourcing native workers to reach their own countries with the gospel. To God be the glory great things He is doing!

Latin America Update

June 25, 2019 By sleinen

by Pastor Eddie Bueno

STN Latin America continues to work with five institutes in Mexico, Honduras and Bolivia.

BOLIVIA

Last October almost 50 students graduated from three different institutes. We thank God because as a result four new churches have been planted in Santa Cruz and they are in the process of growing. These churches were planted by brothers that have graduates from our institute.

Cochabamba has planted two new churches. La Paz planted a new church that is located four hours from the city in a totally secluded place and where no pastor has been willing to go, but a student from the STN institute has decided to go there to preach and plant a church.

We also ask for your prayers for the political situation in Bolivia, this year there will be elections and the current government is a socialist government that is fighting to eradicate religion in Bolivia. Pray that this does not happen, nor affect the on-going training.

HONDURAS

We ask for your prayers for pastor Jose Antonio Pino who teaches at the institute in Honduras, he suffered a serious motorcycle accident and was about to lose his arm, but thank God that after three surgeries they managed to save his arm and he is now recovering and receiving therapy and will continue teaching in the STN institute of Honduras.

STN in Latin America – Update

October 6, 2017 By sleinen

Bolivia

In Bolivia the institutes are already entering the second phase of the program, the attendance is varying. In Santa Cruz it remains with 24 students, in Cochabamba 22 students, La Paz has dropped a little because some students had to travel 90 minutes to reach the Church. For this reason we are seeing the possibility that next year we send a teacher to the city of “El Alto” and there we would have more than 20 students. La Paz now has 12 students since 10 no longer could travel the distance. But still the institutes are doing well.

Guatemala

Pastor Karel Golcher visited our church this year and was the preacher at our Family Camp. The Institute he directs in Guatemala is already starting the third book and they have 18 students.

Honduras

Honduras had to stop classes for two weeks due to heavy rains but they are back in class. The Honduran Institute is outside of town and has 45 students.

Mexico

Classes were also stopped for 2 weeks due to bad weather and the first earthquake of 8.2 that hit Mexico. The Church did not suffer damages, although some students and families of the Church suffered some damages in their houses, but thankfully no injuries or loss of life.

STN in Latin America

March 28, 2017 By sleinen

I am thanking the Lord that everything is going according to plan! Shepherding The Nations is thriving in Central America and Mexico. Pastors came from Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. Dr. David Nelson and another pastor came from Miami, Florida to bring the training (January 16 – 19, 2017). They were all very eager to start and were greatly impacted. Unfortunately, I was not able to participate in this training as I had hoped, due to health issues. My desire and prayer is to be able to attend the start of classes of all three institutes – that is if God allows it and my health situation improves. Further BCTP training institutes started on Friday, February 24 with a minimum of 20 students per institute.

The three STN institutes in Bolivia took an end of the year break and started classes again in February, beginning with book #4. The zest and enthusiasm from the pastors has not diminished. Pastor Daniel Ortiz from Cochabamba has asked me if I would open another institute on an additional night in another area of the city. He said that there are about 10 students who would like to take the course but it would be easier if he travels to them.

1st row: Translator, Pastor from Guatemala’s wife, Pastor from Mexico wife; 2nd row: Pastor from Guatemala (burgundy shirt)
Pastor from Southern Mexico (blue shirt), Back row: CCI Guest, David Nelson (CCI), CCI Guest, Pastor from Hondoruas, CCI Guest