When Ken Blackwood first went to Venezuela, he thought his missions work would be focused on planting churches.
While he is still planting churches, Blackwood also manages to find ways to improve the agricultural techniques and technology of the Andes region through working with the Andean Agriculture Team based in the Andes Mountains.
Blackwood and his wife, Alison, have been on the field in Merida since December 1998. He is from Massey; she is from Auburn.
The team is made up of four families, three of whom are International Mission Board career missionaries.
Another native Venezuelan couple, who desires a ministry in the Andes, live in Merida and work directly as part of the team.
Their time is completely voluntary.
“We also work with the few local churches in our areas,” said Blackwood, who maintains the team’s Web page.
“The things we do with local churches include (distributing) the Jesus film, door-to-door evangelism and special projects using volunteers from outside the country.”
A group of 22 volunteers from Lakeview Baptist Church, Auburn, worked with the Blackwoods’ team and with First Baptist Church, Merida, in February.
This summer a group from Southside Baptist Church, Madison, is planning a missions trip to Merida.
While Blackwood is busy investigating ways to minister in the Andes through agriculture and planting churches, Mrs. Blackwood takes care of the home and children, as well as teaches English as a second language in a local preschool and in an adult class at home.
Blackwood’s spiritual gifts, prophecy and exhortation, have been put on hold for the past two years as he has not preached regularly due to the need to learn Spanish.
Now, he is beginning to do more public speaking, although that is not his primary assignment.
Impacting the unreached
Local Baptists have expressed a great desire to help the team impact unreached regions.
“They stand ready to provide manpower whenever needed,” said Blackwood.
“The problem for us has been that much of our ministry is in remote areas and the local Baptists cannot afford to pay their own expenses for extended trips.”
There are also many people, especially from Alabama, who have expressed a desire to help through short-term missions projects in Merida.
The Andes team is currently developing strategies that will include the use of outside volunteers.
“Since our team narrowed its focus to the agriculture sector of the Andes, the ministry has literally exploded,” Blackwood said.
“We are still discovering the many avenues of ministry that are open in agriculture.
“The needs are great, and successful ministry in the Andes comes only after access has been gained and trust established.”
Some of the needs Blackwood mentioned include:
- Computer farm modeling to increase production and efficiency.
- Better transportation methods.
- Improved marketing strategies.
- Training in how to cook locally grown crops to provide better nutrition.
- Help with the social problems of alcoholism and unwed motherhood.
- Modern tractor technology to replace inefficient farming methods.
As relatively new missionaries in Venezuela, Blackwood said they are still assessing the situation in Merida.
“Our initial take is that Baptist work is still very weak in the Andes, especially in the outlying regions,” he said.
But within five years, Blackwood said “through the eyes of faith” they see new missions in many of the some 75 outlying, sparsely populated pueblos.
“This will be a great challenge because the people here are very traditional and reserved,” he said.
“They are slow to change. We hope to have gained visibility and respect within five years so that we can start seeing substantial fruit.”
In 10 years, Blackwood said he hopes to see a church-planting movement in full swings as “new, missions-minded cells reproduce themselves in the Andes.”
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