I smelled it before I saw it – hot transmission fluid. Rena and I had taken our Ford F150 to her parents’ house in Georgia. We enjoy our week in the spring with Dad and Mom Nadeja, typically a combination of yard/house projects, fun, conversation and, of course, eating out. This week was coming to an end, and we planned to leave in two days. That’s when I smelled the transmission fluid – and then I saw it. A steady stream across the driveway. Yikes! It was time to drop everything and get it fixed.
Training church leaders in developing countries should have the same priority for us as American Christians! Will YOU help us do it? Join our support team HERE
Mission leaders widely agree: Most pastors in poor nations have little to no biblical or practical training. As one global leader told a group of us recently, “Church planting is moving at the speed of a bullet train [he’s British], and national pastors training is following behind on an old bicycle.” Training national leaders well is one of THE best investments we can make in international missions today. And the quality training offered by PPI and other like-minded ministries is a big part of the solution. Why? Because PPI provides short-term, high impact pastors training in locations and at times accessible to the greatest number of front-line church leaders. Dr. David Stevens puts this in perspective:
[T]hough biblically based Bible schools and seminaries exist . . ., such institutional approaches to pastoral training cannot keep pace with the rapid growth of the church and its need of pastoral leadership. lt is estimated that even if the presently established Bible schools and seminaries were filled to 120 percent capacity, they could only train 10 percent of the remaining 90 percent of pastors that desperately need such training.
David serves alongside my friend, Pastor Chuck Ballard, with African Pastoral Ministries (APT). **
In Haiti, Bible colleges are closed right now because of the political and economic turmoil – some permanently. Yet over the last three months God has enabled PPI to train around 600 pastors in four strategic cities. I will return to Haiti on March 31, and, Lord willing, our team will train 224 more church leaders in Course 1. Clearly, PPI training is part of God’s solution for equipping and resourcing church leaders in Haiti! More broadly, Partnership of Pastors International is part of a growing, exciting movement addressing the need for effective biblical and practical training of church leaders around the world.
The Lord is giving us so many opportunities and open doors to encourage and train pastors! On average, I receive 2-3 messages a week inviting us – sometimes literally begging us – to come to their city, their country to train church leaders. PPI is a newer ministry, and our need now to expand our base of committed financial support so that we can respond to this great need and these many opportunities. After I return from Haiti in mid-April, we will spend several months focusing on partnership development with U.S. churches and individuals. Please pray for this important next step for PPI.
THANK YOU to our many friends who see this priority and have committed to regularly supporting PPI. We thank the Lord for each of you! Would you tell others about PPI and encourage them to support us?
If you haven’t already, would YOU commit to regularly giving to our work? Training national leaders well is one of THE best investments you can make in Jesus’ global mission today! Get more info and donate HERE Thank you!
**This past year, the Lord enabled African Pastoral Training (APT) to train nearly 4000 church leaders across French- and English-speaking Africa using the Thompson Bible. The Thompson Bible International Institute (TBII), led by friend and mentor Dr. John Jauchen, equips thousands of church leaders across Central and South America and Asia each year. It’s exciting to think about how God is using equipping ministries like PPI to train church leaders around the world. Let’s drop everything and do this!
Our Creole Bibles arrived Thursday in Gonaives after nearly two weeks’ delay. It seems a delivery driver from a reputable delivery business in Port au Prince decided to hold out for more money. A few days before, he contacted our host pastor in Gonaives (who would receive the delivery) and demanded more cash or no Bibles. Pastor Robert wisely refused. Magda Victor, the director of Haitian Bible Society, worked closely with the owner of the delivery business and we all prayed. The result? We have 700 Creole Bibles ready for church leaders taking one of our three courses!
On the other hand, we knew that taxis and commercial trucks were going back and forth to L’Estere, that schools were open in town, and that the town itself was pretty quiet. What to do? W
So we prayed, packed and set out for L’Estére on Sunday afternoon in a taxi van. We were quiet and watchful all the way but pulled into town with no other problem than a significantly overloaded van. We began Course 1 this morning here with 99 church leaders so thankful that we came and very eager to learn! I was so moved by their expressions of gratitude, I had a hard time speaking as we began the training. What a privilege to spend three days of learning and fellowship with these faithful brothers and sisters in Christ!
A few specific prayer points: First, please pray for fairness and favor as we get our course materials through Haiti Customs on Friday morning (Feb 10). This can be a frustrating and expensive process, but “the heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord” (Prov 21:1).