Course 3 Completed!

We believe God uses local churches led by godly, well-trained leaders to change lives, communities and nations for Christ. That’s why PPI focuses on encouraging, training and resourcing church leaders in Haiti and other developing countries. That’s why we’re committed to offering six foundational courses to international pastors.

We pray and prepare each PPI course to:

• Ground church leaders in key Biblical truths such as the inspiration of Scripture and the gospel
• Move their hearts to live out these truths in their personal lives and their churches for God’s glory
• Further develop pastors’ study skills using the Thompson Chain Reference Bible
• Reinforce Christ-like character and godly habits of life
• Refine ministry and leadership skills and wisdom

Our courses are foundational. We intend for pastors to build on what they’re learning through further study, ministry experience and fellowship with other church leaders. Our training doesn’t replace or compete with Bible college or seminary education, rather we work to complement and encourage more formal ministry training. But the hard truth is, MOST front-line church leaders in poor countries lack access to formal ministry training. That’s why we take foundational ministry training to them!

All that guides us as we put together our PPI courses.

I just finished writing Course 3 – Leading Jesus’ Church (Mission and Strategy). We’ll offer this twice in December in Haiti. What foundational Biblical truths about the church and its mission do pastors need to understand well, believe to their toes, and practice with excellence? What practical wisdom and skills do pastors need to live out and lead their congregations based on those truths? I asked myself these two questions repeatedly in writing this course, and I prayed fervently that the Lord would guide me in answering them. I’m excited about the result!

A Few Highlights

Here are a few highlights to give you a taste of the content of this course.

• From the introduction:

In 30 years’ time, the early church carried the good news about Jesus to the known world. They won thousands of people to Christ, discipled them, raised up leaders and planted churches. These new churches carried on this same mission. They accomplished all this despite problems, poverty and persecution!

How did they do it? What made the early church so effective? How can our churches make that kind of impact today? In this course, we will learn from Scripture the principles and practices of Jesus’ church so that each of our churches can be a New Testament church in our generation to the glory of God.

• Scriptures we study in-depth:
  • Matthew 16:13-18
  • Acts 1-2
  • Matthew 28:16-20
  • Ephesians 4:7-13

• Some of the “topic chains” we study in Thompson Bible:
  • The mission of Jesus
  • The church established by God
  • Christ, the Head of the church
  • The church’s mission
  • Spiritual maturity and Spiritual immaturity

• Key assignments: 

• • ASSIGNMENT 8 (with your group) – Maturity or Immaturity. Study the topics Spiritual maturity [997] and Spiritual immaturity [998] (Fr. Maturité spirituelle [1051] and Immaturité spirituelle [1052]). Based on your study, write your definition of a true disciple of Jesus.

• • ASSIGNMENT 9 (with your group) – Church programs and making disciples? Everything your church does should fulfill Jesus’ mission of making disciples. Everything! Which of your church programs best 1) help people understand and respond to the gospel or 2) help people grow to maturity in Christ or 3) both? Which programs could you improve to make disciples better? Write your answers below.

  • ASSIGNMENT 11 (with others from your church or alone) – My Church’s Strategy. Write a strategy for your church. Make it biblical and practical. Feel free to use your notes from other assignments in this course.

Translation and Printing

Pastor Isaiah and his team just finished their initial translation of Course 3 into the Creole language. This week and next, we will collaborate on the final translation, then I will format the Creole workbook, double-check everything then send it to the printer. It’s a labor of love – and we pray has great impact on the pastors, churches and communities of Haiti!