Trained, Transformed and Equipped

By Eliezer B. Semedo, Assessment and Training Coordinator

Recently, we heard Author and Leadership Developer Mac Lake state that pastors often rush to present the solution and neglect to expose the problem. Until a few years ago, we had not truly understood the problem and lack of theological training, particularly among those in the majority world. According to Researcher David Livermore, there are more than three million untrained pastors in the world.

In essence, that means 85% of churches around the world are led by untrained and/or ill-equipped pastors and leaders. In our own work, several of our national leaders testify that lack of or limited access to theological training is one of their greatest challenges. In fact, the demand is so great that it would be impossible for colleges and seminaries to fulfill the gargantuan demand.

Faced with this apparently insurmountable challenge, we researched programs that could help us bridge the gap. After some time, we partnered with The Bible Training Center for Pastors and Leaders (BTCPL).

BTCPL “uses a biblical, systematic, portable and comprehensive approach to provide the foundational equivalent of a good Bible college or seminary education.” Their training “consists of 520 hours of interactive classroom lecture and discussion under the supervision of a qualified teacher, taking two to three years to complete. BTCPL’s mission is to extend comprehensive theological training to the world’s untrained pastors and church leaders.”

For the past couple of years, we have been able to equip our missionaries and national pastors with an affordable and comprehensive biblical training program that allows them to start training centers or Bible institutes in their countries. For many of our students and leaders, this will be the first time they go through theological training in their native language (Tagalog in the Philippines or Kannada in India).

Currently, we have launched training centers in Brazil, Zambia and here in the U.S. In the near future, we anticipate launching Bible training centers in Cape Verde, Costa Rica, Honduras, the Philippines and India. The goal is that students in each of these centers will graduate transformed and equipped to continue the II Tim. 2:2 cycle.