Biographical Information

James Randal Matheny

Born 24 August 1957 in Paragould, Arkansas, to James D. and Darlena Matheny, Randal grew up in the Stonewall, Hooker, and Lafe communities of Greene County. Graduated from Marmaduke High School in 1975, he went on for a B.A. in Bible and Communication from Freed- Hardeman College in 1979 and a M.Miss. (missiology) from Abilene Christian University in 1983.

He began preaching at age 16 and served churches in Blackwell, Texas, Shiloh, Tennessee, Ashland, Mississippi, and Paragould, Arkansas, before moving to Brazil in 1984.

In 1979 he married the former Vicki Lambert of Iuka, Mississippi, whom he met at FHC. She was born in Greenville, Texas, and graduated with a B.S. in Early Childhood and Elementary Education. They have three children.

Randal studied Portuguese at ACU for two years under Dr. Robert Brown and in 1986 was awarded the Certificate of Proficiency from the Yazigi Language Institute in Belo Horizonte.

Randal shares the gospel through the GoSpeak mission ministry, both locally and through the Internet. He is co-owner of Forthright Press and editor of BrotherhoodNews.com and Forthright Magazine.

Randal works with the churches in the Paraiba Valley region in the eastern region of the state of São Paulo. He was instrumental in establishing the Taubaté church.

His writings have appeared in Gospel Advocate, Power for Today, 21st Century Christian, Voice of Truth International, Magnolia Messenger, and La Voz Eterna. E-zines such as Daily Wisdom and Heartlight have published his articles. He is staff writer for The Voice of Truth International and Biblical Notes.