{"id":8,"date":"2013-05-21T13:52:33","date_gmt":"2013-05-21T10:52:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.christcommunitystudycenter.org\/?page_id=8"},"modified":"2023-10-30T22:59:34","modified_gmt":"2023-10-30T19:59:34","slug":"strengthening-the-church-in-sub-saharan-africa-through-theological-education","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.christcommunitystudycenter.org\/","title":{"rendered":"STRENGTHENING THE CHURCH IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA THROUGH REFORMED TEACHING & RESOURCING"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

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Encouragement and Accountability through Continuing Pastoral Training<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others, also.\u201d<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

2 Timothy 2:2<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

\"Ecclesiastes<\/a>

Ecclesiastes Class 2013<\/p><\/div>\n

The Need for a Viable Strategy<\/strong><\/p>\n

For many years now the pace of church growth in Africa has far outstripped the growth of available training institutions dedicated to the development and enrichment of church leaders. In fact, pastoral education has not kept pace with general education, thus producing a serious intellectual and educational gap between pastors and their congregations. The church in Africa has been described as \u201ca mile wide, but one inch deep.\u201d This is a fair characterization, and pastors have not been sufficiently trained for the challenges of pastoral ministry.\u00a0 But there are reasons for this deficit. African pastors have not had access to the educational opportunities which we take for granted in the West. Ninety percent of the theological colleges and seminaries in the world are located in Western countries; and not surprisingly, ninety percent of the world\u2019s theologians and educated pastors also live and work in the West. So then, what strategy of educating African pastors should we pursue?<\/p>\n

One strategy<\/strong> has been the sponsorship of African pastors to train in Western universities and seminaries.\u00a0 The African church has been truly blessed with graduates returning from the West, but there are serious flaws with this model:<\/p>\n