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ebook: Pasta, pizza, and Pinocchio: Questions and answers about missionary service
in Italy (part 10)
Missions in Italy
9. Books, broadcasting, and the Bible College
by Howard Culbertson
In this electronic book (e-book), "Pasta, pizza and Pinocchio,"
Howard Culbertson answers questions has has been asked about missionary work in Italy.
Originally published for the Nazarene Missions International mission book series by what is now
The Foundry, this book carried ISBN number 0-8341-0612-4. Some material
has been updated for this e-book edition.
- Is the Bible readily available in Italy?
Yes, there is an arm of the United Bible Societies in
Italy which sponsors scripture translation, production, and distribution. In addition, some Roman
Catholic publishing houses are involved in printing Bibles.
Translation of the most widely used Italian Protestant
version was done in the early 2006 under the sponsorship of a Paris-based Bible society. A
contemporary language translation in the style of the English Good News for Modern
Man has been done jointly by the United Bible Societies and a Roman Catholic publishing
house.
- Do we print any Bibles in Italy?
No. But the annual offering received by our churches
in the U.S. for the American Bible Society does mean that Nazarene money is involved in Italian
Bible printing and distribution.
For many years our own publishing work in Italy came out
with two or three small books a year as well as producing some music. We have done recorded
music, a hymnal, mission books as well as books on doctrine and Christian living. The
Nazarene Manual was completed in Italian with the financial help of a Nazarene
layman from California.
- Do you do all of the translating?
I don't do any of it. My wife Barbara did the
translating and adapting of Sunday school lessons. We have Italians who do the book translating
and editing for us. I do quite a bit of the proofreading.
- Do we have any printing presses in Italy?
No, we do not. For awhile we tried running a small
print shop, but we just didn't have the volume of work to justify that investment. All of our work
is done by commercial printers who have far better equipment than we could ever hope to own.
And we don't have to worry about hiring and firing employees, keeping the plant busy,
maintenance, and buildings.
- Do you use the Nazarene hymnal in Italy?
Well, ours is different from the English version. Our
Italian hymnal, which contains over 200 hymns and gospel songs, is a collection of original
Italian music, hymns from the international Christian heritage like "A Mighty Fortress Is Our
God" and "How Great Thou Art," and some distinctly Nazarene music like "Called unto
Holiness." Much of the translation work required for the hymnal was done by Alfredo Del Rosso.
The present hymnal is the fruit of years of effort by Roy and Nina Fuller.
Most Italian hymnals are published with only the words --
no music. Thanks to the financial help of the Virginia District (and some individuals) we have
both a words-only and words-and-music editions.
- Do the churches use pianos in their singing?
Only Florence and Torre Annunziata have pianos.
Some of the other churches would like to have pianos, but get by with small electric organs.
These can, of course, be purchased and maintained a lot cheaper than pianos.
Some groups sing a capella while others use accordions,
guitars, or even harmonicas as accompaniment. In our little preaching point at San Mauro, our
18-year old musician shows up every week with a different instrument to accompany our singing.
Needless to say, he keeps things interesting!
- Do we have a Nazarene radio station in Italy?
No, although we did consider going in with a group of
evangelicals to put up an FM station in Rome. That project never materialized. For years, a
15-minute weekly program, "L'Ora Nazarena," was produced in a Southern Baptist recording
studio in Rome and transmitted from Radio Monte Carlo in Monaco, a 600,000-watt AM station
which blanketed almost all of Italy. Then, the program began to be carried by a few private FM
stations in Italy.
- Do we have a television ministry in Italy?
Not on a regular basis. Until recently all broadcasting
in Italy was a government monopoly, so there was no opportunity for Christian programs even on
commercial stations. That is now, rapidly changing. In the Florence area, three of our pastors
have appeared on a private TV station's talk show.
- But aren't Christian programs being beamed in by satellite?
They may be, but nobody is receiving them. First of all,
you've got to have a ground station to pick up the satellite transmission and relay it on. Nobody
has yet constructed such a ground station in Italy. Then the programming will have to be in
Italian to be useful. English programs would be totally ineffective in Italy.
- Do you have a ham radio like some other missionaries I've heard about?
While we were in Italy I was not into amateur radio.
Italy doesn't have the agreements with the U.S. as do many other countries to recognize each
other's ham radio licenses. When we went to Haiti I did, however, get my amateur radio license
and used ham radio there extensively. [ Devotionals using ham radio
illustrations ]
- Do we have a Bible school in Italy?
No. A fledgling Italian Bible School and a similar
German effort were merged in the 1960s. They formed the European Nazarene Bible College
which now serves all of Europe from a campus inside Switzerland.
- How many Italian students do we have in the Bible school?
At present only 3 Italians are part of the 30- to
40-member student body ... and that's far from enough. We need to be graduating 4 to 6 students
every year.
We are also developing a Theological Education by
Extension program which will open up ministerial training to Italians who can't attend a
residence Bible college. Later note: That is now being done via the online program of
European Nazarene College
- What part of Italy are our churches in?
They range from up close to the French border in the
north to the island of Sicily in the south. On the mainland peninsula, however, all of them are
located on the western half.
- Are our churches located in large cities?
Yes, they are, for the most part. Cities like Rome (three
million), Palermo and Turin (one and a half million), and Florence and Catania (half a million
each). We have had churches and groups in smaller towns.
- How many Italian pastors do we have?
There are currently three ordained Italian pastors (and
one of those is retired) as well as some with local and district licenses.
- Are our Italian pastors full-time, or do they hold jobs on the side?
In the early 1960s the decision was made to go to
full-time salaried pastors. We have a couple of lay pastors who work full-time at secular jobs as
well as pastoring.
- Do we have any English-speaking congregations in Italy?
No, we do not. The large concentrations of American
military people have made possible such churches in Germany, Japan, and other countries.
However, American military installations in Italy tend to be small and there would rarely be more
than one or two Nazarene families at a time in the whole country.
- Who is your district superintendent?
During the time we were in Italy, the superintendent
was an Italian born in Naples named Salvatore Scognamiglio. He pastored what was then our
largest church and was one of the speakers on the radio program. He and his wife, Milvia, a
vivacious redhead, were converted in Florence in the early 1960s under the ministry of
missionary Cerrato.
Later, Giovanni Cereda from
Sicily was the superintendent. His father was one of the original pioneer pastors with Alfredo
Del Rosso back in the 1950s. The current district leader is Daniel Fink, who is also pastor of the
Florence church. His wife Vania is the dauigher of Rev. Scognamiglio.
. . . [ continue reading ]
Page: <<
Prev | Introduction |
1. The Leaning Tower, the Lira, and
Women's Lib |
2. Italian, Illegal Drugs, and Insulated
Buildings |
3. Fiats, Florence, and Furloughs
|
4. The Military, Missionaries, and the
Mafia |
5. Marco Polo and Ronald McDonald
|
6. The Cerratos, Alabaster Churches, and
Work Crews |
7. Communism, Catholicism, and the Charismatics
|
8. Sincerity, Self-support, and Sowing the
Seed |
10. Culture Shock and Carpeting
|
11. A Word from My Heart
| Next >>
|
Culture shock and carpeting
 | What are
some Italian customs that would be different from those in the U.S.? . . . How do you decide
what to do as a missionary? . . . Do all missionaries get paid the same? . . . [ read more ] |
ebooks: Alfredo Del
Rosso, an Italian captivated by a vision Bulgarian
tapestry Mr. Missionary, I have a
question The Kingdom strikes back: Signs of
the Messiah at work Paul McGrady, Mr.
Evangelism Our balanced attack: How
Nazarene finance world evangelism Jonah,
reluctant missionary Rookie Notebook: My first
nine months as a missionary Other books and
articles
10/40 Window explanation and
map Seeking God's
will? Mission trip
fundraising Nazarene Missions International
resources
World missions course materials and syllabi
Howard Culbertson, 5901 NW 81st, Oklahoma City, OK 73132
| Phone: 405-740-4149

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