Partners in Sao Paulo: Providing Seminary Training Since 1957

By Pedro Evaristo Santos and Joe Arthur

The Dream Begun

In March 1957, the dream of ABWE missionaries in Sao Paulo, Brazil, became a reality—the establishment of a Bible school to equip Brazilians for the work of the gospel. The Baptist Seminary and Bible Institute eventually became known as SEBARSP, the Seminario Batista Regular de Sao Paulo (Regular Baptist Seminary of Sao Paulo). The goal was to train pastors, missionaries, and other workers in the very center of the largest city in South America, and they would then go on to serve in newly planted churches and to expand the ministry of the gospel throughout Brazil.

The primary visionary and first director of the school was ABWE missionary Don Hare, who led the Seminary for twenty years, until his retirement in 1977. At the start, the school used rented quarters, but in 1968, two floors of an office building were purchased near the most famous intersection in Sao Paulo, the crossing of Avenida Ipiranga and Avenida Sao Joao. Art Cavey then directed the school until 1982, when Dick Sterkenburg took the reins. During the next sixteen years, the Seminary was able to double its space within the same building. During these years, over a dozen missionary colleagues handled most of the teaching and administrative load of the school. With a view to the future, however, a constitution was put in place to guarantee that the makeup of the board of directors would become progressively nationalized.

The Changing of the Guard

At the retirement of the Sterkenburgs, the school chose its first Brazilian to lead the Seminary. In 1998, Pedro Evaristo Santos assumed the post of SEBARSP Director. The Seminary now employs Pedro full-time, and also pays qualified Brazilians who serve on staff as treasurer, dean of the bachelor's degree program, librarian, and secretary. The faculty of the school is over eighty percent Brazilian, and of the ten men on the Board of Directors, only two are missionaries.

This does not mean, however, that the relationship between ABWE and SEBARSP is coming to an end. On the contrary, ABWE and SEBARSP are working together on a number of fronts. The master's degree program, started by ABWE missionary Randy Cook in 1990, has contributed in a significant way to the school's development of its own Brazilian faculty. Missionary Joe Arthur continues as dean of the program, which has provided qualified professors not only for SEBARSP, but for other Brazilian seminaries as well. A ten-member committee formed to review the school's curriculum has been at work for almost two years. Though the committee is composed mostly of Brazilian professors, missionaries are also involved, with Ken Snare chairing the committee and Sharon Payne assisting in the area of Christian education.

Looking to the Future

Perhaps the biggest challenge facing the Seminary today is the changing demographics of downtown Sao Paulo. The costs of operating in the center of the city have risen, as have the security risks to students and staff. In order to expand its ministry, the board of SEBARSP has determined that the school will soon have to move to a more viable location. Though this will be a major undertaking and the costs will be significant, SEBARSP and ABWE Sao Paulo are looking together to the future, trusting our great God to provide at the proper time.

For more information on Brazil, visit ABWE's Brazil page.

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