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(HQ-General Director) God Is Working for Good in Venezuela

Aug 19, 2026
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By Pastor Ron Ward

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).

Greetings dear brothers and sisters in Christ. For the last four years we have wanted to visit Venezuela and see the work of God there. But it was not possible to get visas. Suddenly and unexpectedly, the door opened this year. Dervilla and I visited Venezuela with Pastor Juan Seo from August 4-11. We attended the Caracas summer Bible conference and visited the site of the recent earthquakes to deliver relief offerings and medical supplies. Missionary Juan Baek, the director of Venezuela UBF, and his wife Susanna welcomed us warmly and hosted us generously. I want to report briefly about God’s work through the conference and how relief offerings have been used.

Coworkers in Caracas began preparing the summer conference early this year. They prayerfully chose the theme, “Creados con Propósito,” that is “Created with Purpose” based on Ephesians 2:10. The messages and programs were well organized around this theme. However, on June 26, severe earthquakes struck north-central Venezuela. Many large buildings collapsed. More than 6,000 people have died. One of them was Marisol Vera, a faithful mother of prayer in Caracas UBF.

Conference preparations were halted for a time to conduct Marisol’s homecoming ceremony. Thankfully, she was the only UBF member who died. However, there were other relatives and friends of our UBF coworkers who died as well. Several people I met at the conference were grieving someone they loved. The often unspoken question of their hearts was, “Why? Was this judgment or punishment?” Only God fully knows the “why” of this terrible and tragic event. One thing is clear. It humbled the Venezuelan people in a profound way. After prayer, Venezuelan UBF leaders determined to continue preparing the conference by faith.

From the beginning of the conference, it was clear that God himself was speaking to the Venezuelan people. Franklin, Kennier, Martha, Hirely, Samantha, Maria, Ellana, and Jose all encountered the Lord personally as they prepared their messages. They spoke with the power of the Holy Spirit. Quietly, gently, the word of God flowed through them one by one, and touched conference attendants, planting assurance of God’s love and his good purpose. As they wrote and shared their testimonies, they accepted God’s love and good purpose for them. I deeply realized that God is with the broken-hearted and he blesses those who seek him. Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5:3). It is time for Venezuelan people to come to God. He welcomes them.

There were 135 attendants at the conference, including 30 Venezuelan students. Most were from the Caracas chapter, while Valles del Tuy, Maracaibo and Valencia chapters also participated. After Maria spoke the message of the cross from John 19:1-30 on Saturday, Pastor Rafael gave a moving call to come to Christ. Seventeen new students came forward and confessed their faith. The next day, after Jose spoke poignantly and joyfully of Jesus’ call to Levi, “Follow me” (Lk 5:27), Pastor Rafael gave another call, this time for discipleship, introducing a specific program. The same students came forward and publicly declared their intention to follow Christ through Bible study, prayer and fellowship with his people. It was a miracle and the answer to our prayers. God is working mightily in Venezuela.

Pastor Hugo Hurtado is the director of Caracas UBF, supported by his wife Yolimar. P. Hugo fully devoted himself to serve the messengers as a first priority. He carried the burden of leadership faithfully, while P. Rafael, P. Gabriel and others coworked with him humbly. P. Hugo will oversee the discipleship of the new students. Please pray for him to be a good shepherd for them until they grow as shepherd candidates.

Life testimonies were sincere and gracious. Praise and worship was well prepared and spirited. Creative dramas and dances made the conference very colorful. One of the highlights was the spontaneous singing and dancing of many young people on Saturday evening at the end of the program. Their joy was so powerful and contagious that not only my wife, but I also began to dance with them. It was Jesus’ victory over the power of sin and death. It was a moment of pure worship of Jesus, our Savior and Lord.

The last events of the conference included a pastoral blessing from P. Juan Seo and my closing message. P. Juan Seo is an early pioneer of Venezuelan UBF, whom many know and respect as their shepherd. His pastoral blessing was full of God’s love and grace and a charge to serve God’s mission positively. They responded with joy. I shared a closing message on 1 Peter 4:13: “Rejoice to participate in Christ’s sufferings.” Dervilla translated into Spanish in a way that held the listeners’ attention.

We thanked God that Venezuelan coworkers are a good example of rejoicing in Christ during hardships. We also encouraged them to see how God is working for his good purpose, believing that God wants to raise Venezuela as a great missionary-sending country. As we gave the prayer topic to raise 1,000 missionaries from Venezuela by 2050, they accepted it with joy and enthusiasm. The conference ended with the prayer of Missionary Juan Baek. He and his wife Susanna have done an amazing job of overseeing Venezuela UBF with prayer and God’s words, and provide many kinds of practical support.

After the conference, we stopped by the University of Central Venezuela (UCV)–the top university in the country, with about 50,000 students. It is now open and recovering from a four year closure due to Covid and political and economic issues. We saw structures damaged by the quake. We learned that 30 students and 45 administrators and faculty members are still unaccounted for. Many at the university are grieving. Ongoing political strife makes the atmosphere even more challenging. P. Hugo is holding onto 2 Timothy 4:1-2 and our coworkers visit the campus for fishing and Bible study regularly. We prayed that the gospel may be preached boldly and many disciples of Jesus would be raised.

We also visited La Guaira, site of the heaviest earthquake damage. It was a popular resort place on the Caribbean Sea. Many apartment buildings, luxury hotels, and businesses totally collapsed. We saw the apartment Sh. Marisol lived in and thanked God for her beautiful life of faith. The United Nations, the Red Cross, Samaritan’s Purse, and other NGOs have set up temporary living shelters for the thousands of displaced people, providing food, water, and medical treatment. We stopped at one camp where up to 2,000 people had been sheltered and met the doctor in charge. She was deeply thankful to UBF for being the first responder in providing medical supplies, and the most generous supporter for their camp.

Afterward, we stopped at the Miguel Pérez Carreño hospital. We delivered medical equipment and supplies purchased with donations sent to UBF HQ. M. Juan Baek has been an excellent steward of our donations. He contacted hospitals and camps to see what was needed, located suppliers willing to give discounts, and coordinated delivery of needed supplies. His faith and hard work multiplied the effect of our giving remarkably. Dervilla visited newborn babies and their mothers and prayed with them one by one and gave gifts in Jesus’ name. A team of us went to a children’s ward for those most severely injured. It was heartbreaking to see children without some of their limbs, surrounded by sorrowful parents. I shared an impromptu message on Romans 8:28 and P. Hugo and I prayed for the children and their parents. We also gave them gifts in Jesus’ name. They were very grateful for our visit and brightened remarkably after hearing the word of God.

As UBF ministry spreads and grows around the world, we hear so many prayer topics. Sometimes we feel there is no more room in our hearts for another prayer topic. However, I hope you will hold a special place in your prayer for Venezuela. Please pray for the spiritual restoration of these suffering people. Please pray for P. Hugo to be a good shepherd for 17 new student disciples and for Venezuela to send 1,000 missionaries by 2050, and become a great missionary-sending nation.