Luis Palau Institute Makes Major Announcement

News Staff : Jun 27, 2016
Luis Palau Association

The new development "comes about because of an immediate and strategic need. The Luis Palau Bible Institute was born out of a pressing need, and it has adjusted to new needs several times in the past two decades." -Carlos Barbieri 

(Beaverton, OR)—[ASSIST News Service] After 20 years of providing online Bible courses to more than 43,000 Christian leaders throughout Latin America, the Luis Palau Bible Institute is planning an historic gathering in Cuba this November. (Photo via ANS)

The program, which will focus on live training for hundreds of local pastors, will be a first for the region. It is being accomplished in partnership with the International Bible Society (known as Biblica), Logos Christian University, the Luis Palau Association, and local leaders.

The Spanish-language news outlet Noti-Prensa recently held an exclusive interview with Pastor Arcadis Solano, Cuba Coordinator for Luis Palau Bible Institute, who is in charge of organizing the on-site classes in Santiago, Cuba; and Dr. Carlos Barbieri, director of the Luis Palau Bible Institute since its inception in 1995.

Noti-Prensa: For years, we have closely followed the work of the Luis Palau Institute in its mission to serve those who serve. And now, after 20 years of offering classes via video, you announce the onsite class model. Will this change affect the courses online, or is just an added option?

Carlos Barbieri: Definitely it is an option that is added to what we have online. And, of course, it comes about because of an immediate and strategic need. The Luis Palau Bible Institute was born out of a pressing need, and it has adjusted to new needs several times in the past two decades.

Noti-Prensa: Explain to us in more depth how you have reacted to the need, and in what way you have changed in the past.

Carlos Barbieri: I remember in 1994 we received a serious report from an organization that studies churches and their growth in Latin America. It said that in one country in South America the growth of Believers in Jesus Christ had exceeded the infrastructure of the church. In that year, in that country, there were at least 13,500 pastors and ministry leaders and only about 400 of them had had formal theological teaching.

Upon seeing the need, the Palau Association decided to do something. A year later, in 1995, we began filming a 60-hour course that we called Ministerial Self-improvement Course. For the next year, we made available a huge package of 30 videos with a heavy manual. After the VHS tapes came CD's, and later DVD's. Later on, we continued adding more courses, and some years later, the Institute was born on the web. Now it is all digital, with new and expanded courses, manuals, and many more options. We have simply been adjusting to the need and to the new times.

Noti-Prensa: What compelled you to create onsite classes?

Carlos Barbieri: To offer Bible study options in Cuba, we need to be creative. The internet is not widely available yet. The costs are too high for most of the population of the island. So we need to advance another step and prepare a live training, with professors from the Institute who travel to Cuba and offer their knowledge in a completely free event.

Noti-Prensa: Pastor Arcadis, what is the state of the Church today in Cuba? Tell us how this effort will help the Cuban Church.

Arcadis Solano: After some 25 years, the Church in Cuba is experiencing exponential growth. Hundreds of churches have opened along with thousands of homes where the Gospel is preached and where help is given to families in need. The Gospel is spreading and reaching daily more people who give their lives to Christ. But as with all growth, this is also bringing its pain as we pastors see the great spiritual need of the people, and it hurts us to not have...

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