Wilfredo Canales

With a heart for serving the Lord and many years of experience in oral and written communication, Professor Canales has much to share with Olivet students. His interests and teaching responsibilities include Latin American culture and civilization, Spanish and Latin American literature, and advanced Spanish.

In addition to his academic responsibilities in the Department of Modern Languages, Professor Canales serves as the Coordinator of the Master of Ministry Program in Hispanic Ministry (School of Theology and Christian Ministry) at Olivet. He also works collaboratively with the Church of the Nazarene through of Nazarene Theological Seminary (NTS), Kansas City, as Visiting Professor for Doctoral-Level Courses, and as Associate Pastor for Hispanic Ministry at Kankakee First Church of the Nazarene (Chicago Central District). 

Before joining Olivet’s faculty in 2007, he had served in a variety of institutional leadership positions, gaining a wealth of global ministry experience. He has also been the speaker in Latin American countries for many conferences, retreats and workshops on theological education, pastoral ministry and contemporary topics.

He has served as district superintendent and director of theological education of the Church of the Nazarene, Paraguay; director of the Nazarene Communications Network, Miami, Fla.; director of Latin American Nazarene Communications, San Jose, Costa Rica; president of the South American Nazarene Theological, Quito, Ecuador; and district superintendent and pastor, Central District, Lima, Peru.

Professor Canales is a member of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP); American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL); International Association for the Promotion of Christian Higher Education (IAPCHE); Asociación para la Educación Teológica Hispana (Association for the Hispanic Theological Education — AETH); Wesleyan Theological Society (WTS); and Fraternidad Teológica Latinoamericana (Latin American Theological Fellowship — LTF — USA Chapter).

He and his wife, Ada, have two adult sons, Marcos and Esteban. Ada works at Kankakee First Church of the Nazarene, where they are members. In his leisure time, he enjoys reading, writing and watching international soccer games.