The Mission and why this is needed: The mission of Timothy Two is “to train indigenous pastors and ministry leaders in the essential doctrines of the faith and to equip them to train others.” It comes from 2 Timothy 2:2, “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” (NASU). The reality is that most pastors in the majority world have had little opportunity for training. If they do not have the knowledge and skills they need, how will they be able to bless and strengthen the Church of Jesus Christ. The reason most pastors have little training is access. They cannot afford the cost to go to a Bible School or Seminary to receive training. Most struggle to feed their families, so farm and work in other jobs as well as being the pastor of a church.
How I fit into tho picture: God has designed me as a coach and a trainer. I have coached swim teams, basketball teams, and mentored young men who are in ministry. God has placed me in campus ministry with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, as an associate pastor in a large church (1200 people attending each weekend), the pastor of a mid sized church (between 130- 400) attending each weekend), and as a church planter. I have been on 22 short term missions all over the world, I wrote my Doctoral Dissertation on Short Term Missions in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC), I have been the coordinator of 5 “Perspectives on the World Christian Movement” classes, and led the World Missions Team for the Mid-Atlantic Presbytery of the EPC for many years. Suffice it to say that God has led us through all of these experiences and opportunities for such a time as this. These experiences in missions and ministry have prepared me to do this work of training pastors around the world.
The Philosophy of Ministry and why it works: Many pastors around the world have been to lectures or “seminars” as they are most often called overseas. Our experience is that they have not had the opportunity to ask any questions in any seminar. This is one place our Philosophy of Ministry differs from most others who are in this kind of work. Picture this for a moment: twelve pastors sitting in a circle, with a workbook in their hands as I teach them about an attribute of God from the Scriptures. After I teach for 20 minutes or so, I stop and ask them for their heart responses, illustrations from their culture which fit this attribute of God, or any questions they have about this topic or the Scriptures we have read. This begins interaction around the Word of God. As pastors listen to their fellow pastors ask questions, they are thinking about the Word of God in a much deeper way than they ever have. This brings up a thought in their mind, so they ask about it, or perhaps this brings to their minds a situation they faced in ministry which relates to the topic we are discussing, so they ask about it. The Holy Spirit uses this kind of interaction around the Word of God to deepen their faith and to give the Word of God time to engage their hearts. At the end of a week of study and interaction, these pastors are not the same!
How do we know this is having impact? We know there is impact because we see it. Many pastors have told us that they go to 2 or maybe 3 days of a “seminar” when it comes to town. In the training we have done, every pastor has come every day and they want more by the time we are finished at the end of a week. Then, listen to some of the video testimonies here.
Joy in the Journey 