2 years. 10 courses. 500 hours. 10 men ready to impact their churches and communities!
Today was the graduation ceremony for 10 pastors/church leaders that completed the BTCP (Bible Training Centre for Pastors) Program here in Jacmel, Haiti. They worked hard completing courses including Bible Study Methods & Interpretation, Old Testament Survey, New Testament Survey, Systematic Theology, Preaching Biblical Messages, and more.
The courses were taught by two of our seminary-trained partnering Haitian pastors. The Lord had given both of them a vision to provide training to pastors & church leaders who could not attend seminary for various reasons- lack of education prerequisites, cost, or the need to keep working to support their families. What was missing was some structure to do this well.
Things came together a couple years back when I heard about the ministry of BTCP and wondered if the time was right for something like that in Haiti. It wasn’t something I wanted to force- I wanted it to be Haitian-initiated and Haitian-led. On my next trip to Haiti, I heard from Pastor Marc that he had been praying about how he could help train pastors for new church plants, and had even started meeting with a small group. When I shared with him about BTCP- a spark was ignited, and it was clear that it was time to start a pilot program in the area. Children’s Hope made the connection with BTCP and helped launch the program in Jacmel.
Pastor Marc and Pastor Nicolas worked together to teach and mentor these 10 men throughout the program- meeting with the for 4 hours every Friday and Saturday during the semesters. While the course material is excellent and thorough for equipping pastors well, what really makes it all successful is the teaching, training, and mentoring of Marc and Nicolas. Each of the trainees now has the 10 course manuals as their theological library, as well as a nice French study bible.
Only time will tell the fruit of the ministry of these men. They’re ready to do 2 Timothy 2:2 and disciple and equip others who will then do the same.
The next training group will start in September- this time with 30 men. This ministry is one of the ways we are serving communities as we partner with the Haitian church to meet needs in Jesus’ name and make disciples for His glory. Many thanks to our ministry partners who give to make this program possible!
