Pastoral Training

One of my roles on our team is to assist in training others for pastoral ministry. Currently, in our little congregation, there are two men who are working towards being ordained to lead the church. Their names are Elisban and Scott. Elisban grew up in Cuzco and has been a part of El Buen Pastor for most of his life. He has been assisting the pastor at the church, preaching on occasion, and is very involved in the different ministries of the church.  He is also studying to be an electrician and works at odd jobs to cover the bills!  Recently, our former main pastor moved back to his hometown due to health problems from living at high altitude (we're at 11,500 ft.). Elisban is now preparing to lead this congregation, growing in his knowledge of God's word, counseling, and leading others as a pastor.

Scott grew up in Pennsylvania and has been involved in church ministry for over a decade. He and his wife Meghan have chosen to live in Peru to assist the church here in evangelism and discipleship. Currently they both help lead the youth ministry at El Buen Pastor, lead in worship, and teach the children's Sunday school class. Scott also teaches lay seminary classes one night per week. His students will form the future leadership for the churches here. Scott is also working on his Master's degree from Reformed Seminary in Jackson, MS.

(Below Elispan and Scott in front and Keith Powlison and Lee in back at a morning breakfast.)

Most every Tuesday morning, you will find Scott, Elisban, myself, and Keith (our team leader) having breakfast together. These meetings allow us to study the Bible together, pray together, and roundtable about ministry issues. The emphasis may shift from meeting to meeting, but we encourage each other in our pursuit of God, and leading others in our faith. We have such a rich deposit of wisdom in Keith, who grew up as an MK (mission kid) in Peru, and his been serving here most of his life. This year, the church is walking through the Gospel of John on Sunday mornings, so we have centered our studies there.

One other area that I'm involved in is translation work for training materials. Using an online translation program (yes, my Spanish is no where near the task) I prepare rough drafts of materials for use in our training programs. For example, some of the exams I have taken in preparing for ordination will be of great use to future candidates here. I am also translating a large outline on God's Sovereignty, with many bible passages attached. You may find www.Biblegateway.com as useful a resource as I do when preparing a study, or when you just can't seem to find that verse you thought you knew well!  Keith reviews the rough drafts and makes changes as necessary, removing any errors that may have slipped through.  Surprisingly, this has helped me grow in my own language acquisition, as I compare English and Spanish versions of the same passages.  

I hope that you enjoy this little slice of our daily life and ministry.
Grace and Peace, Lee