Brian Stewart

  About three years ago, I started thinking, praying and searching for ways to go back to Cuba with a purpose.  I had previously wanted to go for nostalgic reasons, but that motivation just didn't seem to make much sense anymore.  Many years ago I had wanted to go to the mission field in Latin America, but things didn't work out.  Today, that desire is still within me, probably because God had not let it expire.  With my renewed desire and availability (I'm retired) I began scouring the web for ministry opportunities in Cuba.  Somehow, I believe God directed me to the man you are about to meet.

Here is a little information about Brian Stewart, the man who invited me to be part of his team in Cuba this March.  He is a great guy with multiple talents, gifts and abilities, all of which he puts to work very enthusiastically.  The following information is taken from his Cuba ministry blog which you can visit here.

Brian writes:

I have been serving with Action International Ministries (ACTION) since 1995. I am the Associate Director of the USA office as well as ACTION’s Cuba Director.

Starting in 2000 I began making three or four trips a year to Cuba. I am also constantly in contact with my colleagues through email and phone calls. The Lord has blessed the work so that I now oversee numerous projects.

Our primary contact and legal representative in Cuba is the Iglesia Cristiana Pentecostal de Cuba, and we also work closely with the Convención Bautista de Cuba Oriental. I have good friends in other denominations as well, such as Lutheran, Pinos Nuevos, Iglesia de Dios Ortodoxa, Iglesia de Dios en Cuba, Gracia Soberana, Evangélica Libre, Biblia Abierta, and others.

In 2010 we also began working with the national pastors’ organization, CIMPEC (Confraternidad Interdenominacional de Ministros y Pastores Evangélicos de Cuba).

Some of our ministries include pastors’ conferences, discipleship camps, marriage retreats, and scholarships for Bibles college students.

These ministries are carried out with the approval of both the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Treasury (OFAC) and the Oficina de Atención a Asuntos Religiosos (OAAR). I am grateful that in spite of political differences between the US and Cuba, both governments make allowances so that those of us who serve Christ may pursue our calling to walk alongside and serve the evangelical churches in Cuba.

On a personal note, I am a graduate of the University of Washington, with a degree in Spanish. My wife and I have been married for 26 years and have four children.