Pastors College Helping Globally
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Benjamin Kreps:
Hey everyone. And welcome to the Mark Prater podcast where our aim is to connect our global family of churches with our Executive Director. Mark, we've been talking about the Leadership Team and plans for global expansion. We've talked about the wonder and glory of being partnered across the world with pastors. But there's a new development. The Pastors College here in the States is beginning to play a role in that work that we're doing in emerging nations. Can you talk to us about that?
Mark Prater:
It's really exciting not only what's happening around the world in Sovereign Grace, but the important role I believe the Pastors College is beginning to play and will continue to play as we expand globally. So what I'm specifically talking about is that we've been relating to Dyonah Thomas in Liberia, somebody that you know very well, Ben, because you're on point for Liberia as a member of our Emerging Nations team. And pray for Dyonah, by the way, as he's continuing his ordination process, which he'd like to complete this year.
But in Monrovia there, he has a Pastors College that he established several years ago. And we're finding ways to serve that college. You've been there to teach, obviously, but the way the Pastors College is going to play a role is that Jeff has been video recording entire classes. Not all of them yet, but some entire classes.
And through an interaction with Dave Taylor and yourself, it's been decided that I think sometime this month, the Biblical Theology class that Jeff has taught and is captured the full week on video is going to be sent over to Liberia along with outlines. And that will be taught to the class. And then I believe at the end of the class, yourself, Josh Blount, and Jeff will join them and just do a sort of a longer Q & A, not only about the topic of Biblical Theology, but whatever questions they might have. So it's really exciting that if that's going to work in Liberia, that could other work in other parts of the world, as well.
Benjamin Kreps:
Right. Yeah. This all kind of came out of the realities of the pandemic, like you said. I was there with Eric Turbedsky and Dave Taylor in 2019, planning to go last year, unable to go because of the pandemic. And so out of trying to figure out how to continue to serve Liberia, this idea sort of came to the forefront and it is wonderful to see Jeff's influence in teaching beginning to reach beyond the States. And, you know, we've all so enjoyed and appreciated his instruction and now beginning to impact in other countries. And so we're going to do that Zoom call. And Josh and Jeff will be answering questions. Like you said, I'm there simply to say hello to my brother and the brother pastors in Liberia. When I'm on a Zoom call with Jeff and Josh, I'm not going to be adding much to what they have to say, as you well know. So it is a wonderful opportunity.
Mark Prater:
It is a wonderful picture of partnership, though. Because it is you, as a member of our Emerging Nations team sort of leading the way to make that happen. Dave Taylor's been involved. And then you have Jeff and Josh representing the Pastors College. So, it's just a wonderful picture of the partnership we share in Sovereign Grace.
Benjamin Kreps:
Yeah. I'm excited. It's a wonderful thing that God has revealed, sort of opened up, this idea because of crisis. And it makes me think about what other things might God be directing us into and our local churches in Sovereign Grace in response to the crisis and actually fruitfulness comes out of it. So it's great to be a part of it. So, I saw recently that the registration for Pastors College is open for next year. Any thoughts about that for us?
Mark Prater:
Just to remind guys to really think about, pray about, who you can send to the Pastors College. And I just want to add a thought of sort of broadening your horizon, if you can say it that way. Obviously, you want to send men from your church, and you want to bring them back. You want to send your best and your desires to bring them back and add them to your staff or add them as a bi-vocational elder. But I want you to think in the category of our broader mission. There may be some guys that you send who may not come back to your church because in our broader mission, there's a more immediate pastoral need, pastoral staffing need, that a church in Sovereign Grace has.
I think that's going to happen more. You know, there are guys who have been in ministry and Sovereign Grace, sort of the founding generation of Sovereign Grace, who are going to begin to transition out of either lead pastor or full-time pastoral vocational ministry roles. And churches are going to have a need for men who are equipped and called to pastoral ministry. And I think it's one of the ways we do partnership. We share our resources, including some of our best men. So, begin to think in that category a little bit. If you've got someone like that, please have them apply to the PC. We're, at this point, planning to have another class starting in the fall. So the application process is active right now. Just think more broadly about it, if you would.
Benjamin Kreps:
That's good. Well, thank you everyone for watching. Thank you, Dyonah, for the work that you're doing. Guys, if we could pray for Dyonah and the connections that he's making with Jeff and Josh, that there would be fruitfulness in all of this over the next couple of weeks. And thank you, Mark, for talking about this. We'll see you here soon. Bye for now.