Dear friends, I have just returned from our second Pathways training in Coastal Kenya which focused on the book of 2 Timothy. We had 15 excellent master trainers present, all of whom spoke English well, so the whole training could be in English, which was a welcome change from our normal pattern. In addition, we all stayed together in the village compound of our coordinator, Bramuel, and so had many opportunities to build excellent relationships with the pastors. I was joined by Pastor Steve Morgan from Olympia, WA who did a great job connecting with the pastors and assisting with the training.
There were several highlights from the week. One of them was on Sunday when Steve and I went to a village church to worship with locals and preach the Word.
Following preaching on Romans 8:31-39, three women came forward to place their faith in Christ for the first time. The church leadership gathered around them, we all prayed for them, and praise God, there are three new daughters of the King in the kingdom! Their names are Kristen, Precious and Sidi, and Pastor Joseph of Lighthouse Church Mariakani is also pictured here.
An interesting fact that was shared by TOPIC (Trainers Of Pastors International Coalition) is that 85% of the pastors in 2.2 million evangelical churches globally have received NO training whatsoever. This number represents well over 3 million pastors globally. Is training of pastors needed in how to study and preach the Word well? You’d better believe it! Listen to some of the testimonies from the pastors we trained:
Pastor Patrick – Pathways has enriched me. I am going much slower and more carefully through Scripture. It has given me the discipline of studying Scripture. I am passing on all I learn to my church and other pastors.
Pastor Shadrach – The temptation is great to compromise in our preaching. But it is getting easier to preach the Word.
Pastor Onesimus – My wife loves to read the Bible, even more than I do! After our training, I went and talked to her about what she has been learning from her reading. She shared that she keeps forgetting what she reads. I taught her this Pathways method for Bible study, and now she remembers what she has read and applies it to her life and her joy is so much greater.
Check out these brief video testimonies:
The group has significant plans to reproduce each workshop of this training individually to pastors the master trainers know, but also corporately as a group by targeting the 47 counties of Kenya. Let us pray for Bramuel and each of the master trainers to have courage, wisdom and grace to fulfill their calling.
Pressing on in fulfillment of God’s call, Eric