A Big Day for Bible Teachers: Training, Cake, and a Shared Mission

Saturday, April 5th was a big day for the pastors and Sunday school teachers who lead Bible lessons in the 27 communities reached by the Sowers4Pastors sister church program. It marked the first training meeting of the year — and about 70 dedicated church leaders showed up ready to learn, grow, and be encouraged.

“The meeting started with preaching,” Alejandro shared. “We think God spoke to our lives — empowering us and empowering them.”

After a powerful time of worship and preaching, the atmosphere shifted into something equally joyful — a surprise birthday celebration! S4P presented a cake to honor everyone with a birthday between January and April.

“We did that because we’ve found that most people don’t know when others have birthdays,” Alejandro explained. “A lot of people have never had any kind of birthday celebration. Everyone was happy to pause, share some cake, and pray for the birthday guests.”

The plan? Keep the tradition going! At the next meeting, May through August birthdays will be celebrated with the same thoughtfulness.

Once the cake was shared, the training kicked into full gear. Attendees received teaching strategies, hands-on activities, and valuable resources to bring back to their own communities — now numbering 27, thanks to the recent expansion through Crosspoint Church’s sister church program.

“We are a team made up of three groups,” Alejandro said. “The people from the States, Sowers4Pastors, and the people in our local communities — we’re all working together to extend the Gospel in this country. We pray we’ll keep reaching out in the name of Jesus.”

As part of that mission, S4P also brought along a selection of study Bibles and books to sell at cost. These brand-new, high-quality resources are transported three hours by truck, allowing church leaders to purchase them for a fraction of the price they’d find in the cities. S4P doesn’t make a penny of profit — it’s a labor of love and a way to put important tools into the hands of those who are actively teaching the Word.

And because no great gathering is complete without a shared meal, everyone enjoyed a delicious lunch before heading back to their communities. Leaders were also reminded that new Bible lesson books and resources had already been delivered to the schools they serve.

The impact of the training was almost immediate. “On Monday and Tuesday, we started receiving pictures from the pastors and teachers,” Alejandro said. “They had already gone into the schools and started sharing the Bible lessons with the kids. We saw immediate results. It’s a blessing to share with them — and a blessing for us to see that these trainings are helpful.”

Sowers4Pastors is incredibly grateful to every church in the States and each person who prays for this ministry. Your support is making a difference — not just for the 2,000+ children in these schools, but for entire households and communities.

 - posted by Christi

Praise Jesus with Song and Construction Paper!

On June 1st Sowers4Pastors held its second Sunday school teachers’ training of the year and they welcomed a group of eighty eager Sunday school teachers and pastors. The meeting fittingly began with a sermon on The Great Commission. That was followed by a time of prayer for each teacher and pastor in attendance. Alejandro described the entire meeting as taking place in “an atmosphere of joy.” 

S4P provided the Sunday school teacher in attendance with new educational materials for different age groups. They also taught the attendees some new teaching techniques, activities, and songs. And, of course, some of the songs included fun hand motions.  As Alejandro said, “The children love songs. What better way to sing than to praise the Lord!”

The ministry also provided supplies such as colored construction paper, pencils, and crayons. That may sound like a small thing, but those items are not always readily available for the Sunday school teachers of Honduras. Even if they have the budget to purchase such items, it's not always easy for them to find them in the under-stocked stores in their villages. 

As previously mentioned, there were eighty pastors and Sunday school teachers in attendance. Together, those eighty people regularly reach more than two thousand children! This work isn’t only impacting Lempira. It is safe to say that among those two thousand children are future pastors, teachers, and leaders. 

Alejandro reminds us, “They are the ones who will continue to preach the Word. We believe that we are working to help all of the country and the whole world.” 

At the end of the training, the group shared lunch together. It was a way for Sowers4Pastors to say thank you to the Sunday school teachers and pastors. S4P would also like to thank the churches and sponsors in the States that made the meeting possible. Please continue praying for S4P so that they can continue to fulfill their vision of empowering pastors.

- posted by Christi.

Training for Church Leaders AND Honduran French Toast!

“Empowering pastors” is at the core of everything Sowers4Pastors does and it is not a once-and-done thing. There’s not some list with checkmarks beside the names of pastors to indicate, “Okay, we’ve empowered that person. Next!” It’s sort of the way we don’t get to exercise and eat right just once and call it good! Empowering pastors is an ongoing process and it’s why the recent Sunday School training was so vital. 

Last Saturday was the 3rd and final training in a series of three. Pastors and church leaders from the twenty-three different communities involved with S4P gathered together for what was, in fact, an empowering time. The first two sessions had focused on how to structure Sunday school classes and taught some techniques to get the most out of the new Sunday school materials provided by S4P. The third session was all about giving a word of encouragement to the church leaders.

Alejandro shared why offering encouragement was such a powerful way to wrap up this Sunday school training. He said, “We know that when you take the responsibility to be a church leader or a pastor, it isn’t easy. They face struggles in their lives every day. We thought we needed to offer something different.”

The session started out with the attendees connecting through worship. Then it moved into a powerful time of preaching. Alexandro feels that the sermon was exactly what the Lord intended people to hear. Initially, a different local pastor had been invited to offer a sermon to the group. That pastor had to decline because of a previous obligation. So a different local pastor was contacted. He didn’t give word that he would be there until two days before the session. He asked Alejandro what sort of message they were needing. Alejandro suggested that he preach about staying strong or something similar.

The pastor preached about all of the struggles people in the ministry face. Alejandra said, “It was amazing. In the preaching, the Holy Spirit gave new encouragement to continue the work. People were crying [because they were so moved] and all of the people in attendance felt very happy. By the end of the meeting, people felt free about things in their lives.”

Lunch was provided and Alejandro was particularly complimentary about the dessert of torreja. In case you’ve never heard of torreja, either, it looks an awful lot like what we might call French toast! Admit it, French toast would make a fabulous dessert!

Torrejas!

                 

This entire training was made possible by the love of every church in the States sponsoring Sowers4Pastors and the work they do. Alejandro said, “We want to take this opportunity to thank the churches sponsoring us for helping us spread the Gospel. Thank you for helping us encourage all of the pastors. Because of you, they have new techniques for leading Sunday school and a new strength in the Lord.”

 - posted by Christi

Hondurans Empowering Hondurans! We LOVE this!

Sowers4Pastors has always had the mission of empowering pastors. Since their arrival in Gracias umpteen years ago, Allen and Trish have believed in the importance of giving indigenous pastors the tools they need without creating an atmosphere of dependence. They want to know that the Gospel will continue to spread throughout Western Honduras long after they are gone. That's one reason it is an exceptionally big deal that S4P recently hosted its first team from Honduras. It's also one of the many reasons they are happy to have Honduran staff members working with them.

Prior to joining Sowers4Pastors, Alejandro and Secia served as pastors at a church in Tegucigalpa with 4000 members.  Two of their coworkers at that church were Raúl and Brenda Jiménez, who continue to work in Tegucigalpa as children’s ministers. When Raúl and Brenda found out about the work S4P is doing, they prepared a team of twenty-seven people to help. The group consisted of all ages–children, teens, and adults. The team arrived intent on its purpose of sharing the Gospel and ministering to the children in the area. Though they were only there for two days, they were able to accomplish a lot.

The first day, the team evangelized to 2020 children, ranging from kindergarteners to middle schoolers. Think of it as a huge, one-day VBS program, involving games and Bible lessons. They team prayed for the children and their families, taking special prayer requests. Many of those kids accepted Christ that day. During a drama involving Jesus and the events leading up to the cross, the children were so excited that they began shouting to run and give Jesus a hug because he would soon be gone!

On the second day, the team worked with two churches in the area. That included two pastors, seventeen Sunday school teachers, and almost two-hundred children between the ages of 2-14. The theme of the morning was Fiesta Kids! The team arrived with shoeboxes from Samaritan’s Purse, and, along with the Sunday school teachers, led the kids in singing, dancing, Bible teaching, and prayers. In the afternoon, the team gave training to the Sunday school teachers, equipping them with strategies to teach the children more effectively. They also prayed over the Sunday school teachers. By the end of the day, both pastors were crying and offering thanks as the team presented the teachers with medals for working with the kids. The medals were a way of thanking the Sunday school teachers for helping the children and volunteering their time.

This is actually a case of Honduran pastors preparing a Honduran team to work with Honduran pastors to empower Honduran Sunday school teachers to spread the love of Jesus and train up a new generation. Since that doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, it looks like Sowers4Pastors will keep its original mission statement about empowering pastors. But you know there’s a depth and breadth to that statement that extends beyond what can fit comfortably on a letterhead!

- posted by Christi, information gleaned from a call with Alejandro!

Training Pastors and Teachers

Allen and Trish are excited to share about a training session for pastors, Sunday school teachers, and schoolteachers that took place this past weekend. The session was for anyone involved in teaching Bible lessons in the sister church sponsorship programs - whether through a church or public school. In truth, Allen and Trish are excited for a couple of reasons: 1) It was a smashing success. 2) The event was put together through the hard work and ingenuity of Alejandro and Secia.

More than 70 people were in attendance. For some of the attendees, that meant a trip involving multiple bus transfers. Sowers4Pastors helped with the transportation costs as needed. The event was designed to make sure the people presenting Bible lessons are up-to-date on the various curricula used. A few of the pastors had schedule conflicts but they still sent representatives because they understand the importance of Bible lessons for the students.

The goal here is to help the programs improve and update what they can do in their lessons. For that reason, it is important to provide several options to better serve each program based on the ages of the students, number of children involved, and other factors. Around 2800 children are being taught by the attendees! That's a lot of people to impact with one conference!

While the event was taking place, other staff members were on the road picking up a visiting team. And where was Allen? He spent that time under a truck, working alongside a mechanic. Why is that noteworthy? Because it is a sign that the ministry is operating effectively and fully utilizing individual team members. Everyone could carry on with handling other ministry responsibilities, while feeling confident that this event was also in good hands and running smoothly. 

It’s always fun to see pictures of kids receiving backpacks, shoes, and food. Sowers4Pastors wants to make sure that supporters know they are fully committed to the sponsorship programs having a spiritual impact, as well. The Bible lessons are not an afterthought! Even though COVID may seem like old news in the States, it shut down programs in Honduras for much longer. Hosting this event was a big step in assuring that things are in place for the pastors and teachers to regroup, reorganize, and reach lives.

 - posted by Christi