Back to School for Pastors

It’s back-to-school time! What? Well, it’s back-to-school time for the pastors in Pastor Training School. This year there are some exciting new developments. Allen explained that this year, there is an unexpected new trend.

In the past, Pastor Training School has primarily been a place for pastors with limited educational backgrounds to receive formal training in how to fulfill the Great Commission more effectively. This year, several pastors with extensive training have also enrolled in the program.

One of the students is a pastor with a Master’s Degree in Theology from a Honduran university. He has been pastoring for 30+ years and is a supervisor for his denomination. When he began pastoring, his denomination had no churches in this area. Today, he oversees seventy churches in his denomination. You might be wondering why such an established pastor would enroll for classes alongside people with no formal training whatsoever. The answer should delight you. After hearing sermons by some of the pastors who attended the training school, he knew he wanted that same training for himself.

There are a couple of other new students who are supervisors within their denominations, with between 10-15 churches under them. They are also attending because they want the training to help them be better preachers.

More and more of the program is being run by indigenous pastors, which we think is wonderful! It is always the Sowers' goal to work themselves out of a job, whenever possible! There is even a second training school, which is entirely run by Honduran pastors. There are more home visits and group study sessions throughout the week. These are people with busy schedules and many responsibilities, but they are doing it because they know it to be important for reaching their communities for Christ. One of the recent graduates is also serving as the associate director at the main school. He’s coming alongside Clay to help him with the educational aspects of running the school.

In short, the system is working! Graduates and upper-level students are standing up and assuming responsibility for helping their fellow pastors receive the sort of training that can make them more efficient and effective instruments of God.

 - posted by Christi