Howard Culbertson was born in the front bedroom of a Nazarene parsonage in Arkansas. He grew up in Oklahoma and graduated from what is now Southern Nazarene University, where he met his wife, Barbara.
After graduating from Nazarene Theological Seminary, the Culbertsons moved to South Texas, where they pastored the Uvalde Church of the Nazarene for two years. While they were there, they adopted a baby boy, Matthew. They were then sent to Italy as Nazarene missionaries. Their daughter, Rachele, was born there. Ten years later, they were redeployed to Haiti, where they served for five years. Howard finished a Doctor of Ministry degree in missions from Denver Seminary during that period.
Howard taught missions classes at Southern Nazarene University during a home assignment year after their first term of service in Haiti. That initial teaching assignment eventually led to 25 years on the SNU faculty. At SNU, he also promoted and organized overseas mission trips for students and their families. He and Barbara spent two sabbatical semesters in Ecuador with a semester-abroad program.
Now retired from classroom teaching, Howard teaches online classes for Nazarene Bible College and European Nazarene College.
Howard has written books about Nazarene missionary work in Italy and Haiti for local churches to use in promoting world evangelism. He also authored Discovering Missions, a college-level textbook on world missions.
Dr. Howard Culbertson spent 25 years as a missionary-in-residence at Southern Nazarene University, where he taught missions. In addition, Dr. Culbertson was involved with many of the university's short-term missions efforts. He directed Commission Unto Mexico, a large annual evangelistic, medical, and construction ministry. In 2013, Dr. Culbertson and his wife, Barbara, spent a second four-month period in Ecuador.
A veteran missionary for the Church of the Nazarene, Dr. Culbertson spent nearly 15 years overseas. The Culbertsons served for almost a decade in Europe. Most of that time, they lived in Florence, Italy.
In 1984, they went to the Caribbean. Dr. Culbertson became mission director in Haiti, where the Church of the Nazarene experienced significant growth. Haitian Nazarene churches have also supported economic-development and agricultural projects, medical ministries, and elementary schools.
A native of Arkansas, Dr. Culbertson grew up in Oklahoma. He graduated from Southern Nazarene University and Nazarene Theological Seminary. In 1986, while serving in Haiti, he completed a Doctor of Ministry degree in missions at Denver Seminary. Widely known for his missionary writings, Dr. Culbertson's most recent book is Discovering Missions. Other books include Giving That Transforms, The Kingdom Strikes Back, and Our Balanced Attack: How Nazarenes Finance World Evangelism. While still in seminary, he wrote Paul McGrady: Mr. Evangelism, a biographical sketch of a college professor who died in an automobile accident.
The Culbertsons began their missionary service in Italy in 1974. During their nearly ten years of service there, the Italian Nazarenes moved to full self-government. After moving to Haiti in 1984, the Culbertsons lived through the revolution that overthrew the oppressive Duvalier dictatorship.
At SNU, Dr. Culbertson taught missions, including courses in anthropology, linguistics, the global expansion of Christianity, and world religions. He has also taught online classes for European Nazarene College, Nazarene Bible College, and Nazarene Theological Seminary.
Besides English, the Culbertsons speak Italian, French, Haitian Creole, and Spanish.
Trivia note: Dr. Culbertson's D.Min. project thesis was titled "Using Theological Education by Extension to Teach Biblical Theology in Haiti."
Some years ago, I sat down to breakfast with Jerry Porter, who was then a Nazarene general superintendent. He silently handed me a note. It said: "I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow doesn't look good either."
— Howard Culbertson, hculbert@snu.edu