Andres and Stella Casanueva
Andres & Stella have been members of CTEN for several years; they are natives of Chile where they serve with FCBH- [Faith Comes by Hearing]. Their goal is for diverse people groups in South America - including Brazil which is half of the continent - and Cuba to hear the Gospel in their own language.
Andrés is a university professor of History and has specialized in Cultural Anthropology and Cross-cultural Missions. Stella has a degree in Social Service and is recognized both at the university level and in the national government. They have 3 sons and a daughter: Felipe (28) is an Anthropologist and serves in FCBH as Manager of Linguistic Research and Digital Initiatives; Mateo (24) is finishing Medical School; Pablo (23) serves in Digital Initiatives; and Catalina (21) is a fourth-year law student at the University. After serving several years in Mexico, the U.S., and Costa Rica, they have returned to live in southern Chile and serve Latin America from there.
Andres & Stella have served previously with Wycliffe Bible Translators for almost 14 years, being part of the team translating the New Testament for the Mapuche Indians (southern Chile and Argentina). They also served in mobilizing the Latin churches to get involved in Bible translation to the world.
Currently and for the last 15 years they have been serving with FCBH. Their ministry focus is to establish and equip groups of people - believers and non-believers - to be exposed to the Scriptures: these groups meet weekly, hear the New Testament in their language, interact collectively and begin to be discipled directly with the Word of God. Listening groups make a commitment to hear the entire New Testament systematically from beginning to end, in their own language, which can take up to a year. These groups can be formed by a congregation, students in a school, prisoners in jail, workers in a factory, a group of neighbors, members of a family, etc. whether they are believers or not.
FCBH uses this format as a basic strategy to plant churches, disciple believers, evangelize non-believers, train leaders, etc. Part of Andres' work is to establish collaborative relationships with denominational leaders, local pastors, para-church ministry leaders, missionaries, government officials, Bible translation agencies and organizations (such as Wycliffe, Bible Societies, etc.). Agreements for audio recording of translated languages, initiation of Oral Bible Translation projects, implementation of Scripture listening programs, etc., are achieved.
Along with the above, Andrés is a Professor of Cultural Anthropology focused on Missions in several Seminaries and Biblical Institutes in Chile and abroad; he is a member of the Board of the Bible Society of Chile; also, of the International Missionary Society. He is the Director of the Lausanne Movement in Chile, and the Continental Leader of the New Anglican Missionary Society (NAMS). In this role, Andres and Stella planted a local church with a missionary focus, called A la Luz de la Palabra (ALP), which is growing steadily, and supporting the birth of new churches in Cuba, Peru, and Uruguay. They already have 5 local preachers; 4 of which are studying in Bible Seminars, and preparing to plant new churches inside and outside the country.