Steven & Patricia Arce

Name: The Arce Family in Cabudare, Venezuela
People Group(s) Focus: Native Venezuelans
Population: Approx. 220,000
Location: State of Lara
Religion: 90% Roman Catholic

Steven and Patricia Arce are faithfully serving as church-planting missionaries in the city of Cabudare, Venezuela—a community of 220,000 people in a country that is over 90% Catholic. They have been blessed with three children: Evan, Ema, and Ela.

Steven, a third-generation missionary, has lived in Venezuela since 1983. Both he and Patricia grew up actively serving in their local churches, helping in Sunday school and Vacation Bible School (VBS). They were married in November 2001 and have now served in ministry together in Venezuela for more than two decades.

Steven Arce is one of the pastors of The Gathering Point Church (Iglesia Punto de Encuentro), where around 200 people gather every Sunday. Through the church, they minister to the community with worship services, a vibrant youth club, sports outreach, and one-on-one discipleship. They host two to three VBS programs each year, reaching up to 200 children per day, and also organize men’s, women’s, and youth camps where many lives are transformed—from living for the world to living in surrender to Jesus Christ.

Amid the political and economic unrest that has gripped Venezuela for more than 20 years, many people live in fear and uncertainty, often not knowing where their next meal will come from. The Arce’s have responded by serving the Venezuelan people through weekly food distributions for men, women, and children. Their ultimate goal is to reach the people of Venezuela with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and, through discipleship and their four-year Bible school, equip believers to go out and reach others for the Lord.

Their ministry reflects the heart of Matthew 28:19–20: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”