May ’16 Pastor Training Ministry Update
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.
—2 Tim 2:2
Faithful Men
It has been a month since my return from teaching the first module on expository preaching in the Philippines. During that month, I have had the opportunity to reflect on the impact of this program on the local pastors. The forty men who are participating in the cities of Cebu and Davao were of great encouragement to me in their desire to study, practice, and preach God’s Word to His people.The first of 6 modules was focused on the foundational aspects to expository preaching being divided into 3 pillars:
- the character of the preacher
- the proper exegesis of the text
- how to then preach the text.
A bulk of the course is focused on the second pillar in providing practical methods of study of the text which uncovers the meaning of the original author to his audience.Over the course of the week, it was both humbling and encouraging to see how these pastors (many of whom have been teaching and preaching for more than two decades) were impacted by the training and their excitement as they saw ways to extract the meaning from the text itself.
A Word From The Filipino Pastors 
And so, I want to share that encouragement with you by giving some of the comments from the men which they wrote at the end of the week.
“I have always been desiring to have a more formal training for expository preaching but really cannot find the right place and person to help me. And so this modular class is really a blessing for me personally. It’s a great opportunity for refinement and to be taught by people whose passion to preach the Word resonates with my heart.”
“Though it seems that I am well versed in making outlines, it struck me to know that I lacked so many things in my preaching through this course. This helped me to change how I prepare the message, study the message, and preach the message, and to be disciplined in doing so. Most of all it taught me to study to apply and obey rather than to preach only.”
“The experience we’ve had this week made me have a lot of soul-searching and self-examination as a person who preaches the Word of God. The effect it had on me is more than just academic. It made me come before God and humble myself and be broken before Him, pleading that He would make me a man of God that He intends me to be … I believe, by the grace of God, my teaching and preaching ministry would be transformed in that I will be more accurate in handling the word of God as we have been taught this week.”
Here is a comment you always like to hear as a teacher:
“Pastor Tim, I really enjoyed the class. It was far from boring.”
But seriously, among the most encouraging remarks I received personally were:
“What I love about our training is that it has made me love and appreciate the Bible even more.”
“Of all the training I have received over my nearly thirty years of preaching, this was the best seminar I have ever had to help me know how to study and preach the Word.”
And finally, is a note from a couple of the pastors to you who are partnering in this ministry (Pastor Sean refers to Sean Ransom who is the director of the Philippines TMAI training center):
“Extend our thanksgiving to the people behind you in this.”
“To the church of Pastor Tim and Pastor Sean thank you so much for sending them to us. They are a blessing to us as well as you brethren. Thank you for praying for us. Please continue to pray for us so that we may be able to finish this course for three years. Thank you for your love for us. God bless you all!”
Please continue to pray for these faithful men.
Upcoming Kenya Trip
Pray as well for our upcoming trip to Mombasa, Kenya from 6/22 to 7/3 where we will be doing outreach and hosting a marriage conference 30 pastors and their wives.Prayer Requests for the trip:Preparation: please pray as we prepare the messages for the conference and preaching and teaching during the weekHealth and Safety: please pray for our health with the travel as well as our safety while we are there.The Pastors and their wives: pray that we would be an encouragement to them and that their marriages would be strengthened.The Ghrist’s: Pray for missionaries, Tim and Toni Ghrist, for their ministry thereAlso, we would appreciate your continued prayer regarding our support raising. We transition at the end of June to half time in my role as Mission’s Pastor at Calvary. We are just above 80% of what is needed to cover the personal and ministry travel expenses for the other half of the year.If the Lord leads you to choose to support this ministry, you can do so by check made out to Calvary Bible Church with ‘suggested use Carns Missions’ on the memo line. The check can be placed in the Sunday offering or mailed to Calvary Bible Church at 1101 S. Main St, Burbank, CA 91506.In Christ,Tim and Tina