Starting in 2016, we will be launching a new conference ministry throughout Peru. These conferences will provide training for pastors and lay leaders from evangelical churches throughout Peru.
In Peru there is a great enthusiasm for things of the Lord, but little knowledge. The people in many areas have a less than basic education, and are barely literate. They are ignorant of such basic concepts such as alphabetical order, so teaching of basic concepts has to form part of any leadership training scheme.
The answer is not the establishment of more American churches with American trained leaders, but training Peruvians to lead and establish churches, and to teach other Peruvian leaders. Only in this way can the church in Peru thrive.
The goal of our ministry is to see stable churches, built up in God's Word, with trained Peruvian leadership. We have worked in different ways to achieve this goal, first with Mobile Bible Institutes, then with the Seminary, but our purpose is to establish, protect, and edify Peruvian churches with Peruvian leadership.
The conferences will start off with a Bible conference. In partnership with the Bible League - Liga Biblica in Peru, we will be distributing and teaching leaders how to use La Biblia Devocional de Estudio (The Devotional Study Bible.) We will be making these available at a greatly reduced price and teaching how to use this great resource. Many Christians, including pastors, do not have a Bible at all, and many who do have it cannot understand it. This conference will provide an intense training in use of this Bible.
Other conference themes will include The Christian Family, Homiletics for Teachers and Pastors, Basic Bible Study, Establishing a Sunday School program, among others. We will be coordinating the teachers and conferences, as well as teaching in conferences.
At the end of three years of conferences, a city with 8 or more students interested in further study can start a Bible College through the MINTS (Miami International Theological Seminary) System, which will provide teachers and courses. Our goal is to have 20 new Bible Colleges in 20 Peruvian cities by the year 2020.
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