PTI -- Round...?

     I am not sure what round to call the upcoming training in June.  We are in the process of morphing the Institute from what it was—sixty-plus men traveling to the city for approximately thirty-five hours of Bible teaching and preaching—to what it will be for the near future, Lord willing.  I will be meeting two Zambian pastors in Addis, and from there we will make our way to a city called Jimma in southwestern Ethiopia.  Our teaching will be regionally-based, and all of the nearby pastors, ministers, evangelists, missionaries, and church planters will be welcomed.    

     Basically, the ministry is transitioning from training only men who want to start new churches to training all ministers within the Baptist denomination.  Our hope is to keep the training quarterly and enter into a different region each time.  We will continue teaching the major doctrines of Christianity in an immensely practical way.  

     Because so much of what we are attempting this time around is uncharted territory for us, we appreciate your prayers.  The logistics are always a nightmare, but changing everything will only increase the difficulty.  Transportation, lodging, travel visas, and meals are merely a few of the obvious changes for us this time.  With the ever-changing, always inflating economy in Ethiopia, it is impossible to budget for something like this.  Yet, I do feel strongly that this method of training is more cost-efficient than our previous system.  However, the main reason for the transition has little to do with finances and everything to do with getting the Christocentric Gospel to the local pastors and ministers in order to affect their lives, ministries, and churches.

     We need God to supply all of our needs—from the wisdom of what and how to teach to the dollars and cents that will feed the men their daily injera. 

     Our continued prayer is that the Lamb Who was slain will indeed receive the reward of His sufferings and the nations as His inheritance.