When Seminary Is Out of Reach, Who Trains the Pastors?
Six ministries are bringing theological education and leadership training to pastors from rural America to the world.
Churches are growing in places where formal training has not kept pace. Some pastors lead congregations without access to seminaries, experienced mentors or even basic theological resources. The challenge is not simply planting more churches but preparing leaders who can teach, shepherd and train those who come after them.
This week’s Ministries Making a Difference looks at six Christian ministries bringing training to pastors and church leaders worldwide.
At MinistryWatch, we spend much of our time reporting on transparency, accountability and stewardship, including stories of waste, fraud and abuse. Ministries Making a Difference highlights another part of the picture: ministries doing notable work in their communities and around the world.
photo, trainingleadersinternational.org
Training Leaders International (TLI)
Ricardo was in his 60s when he was called to pastoral ministry. He now leads a young church in Mexicali, Mexico. This year, he and other pastors and church leaders gathered regularly at Iglesia Visión de Gracia to study biblical interpretation and expository preaching with Training Leaders International.
TLI developed a three-year modular curriculum for pastors with little or no theological training who cannot leave their churches to attend school. Teachers travel to them for one-week sessions three times a year. The ministry also teaches in formal schools and helps establish theological institutions. TLI says it currently trains more than 1,000 leaders worldwide.
It has a 5-Star Financial Efficiency Rating, a C Transparency Grade, and a Donor Confidence Score of 98 in the MinistryWatch database.
photo, worldimpact.org
World Impact
Jennifer Chou was an accountant when she felt called to minister on Skid Row in Los Angeles. She knew her professional training had not prepared her to lead a ministry in one of the city’s poorest neighborhoods. Chou began classes through The Urban Ministry Institute, or TUMI, a program of World Impact. Soon afterward, she started Jesus Knows My Name Ministry on Skid Row.
World Impact offers seminary-level education through churches, ministries, prisons, online courses, and TUMI training sites. Its programs are designed especially for urban leaders who may face barriers of cost, education, location or time.
World Impact does not currently have a Financial Efficiency Rating. It has a C Transparency Grade and a Donor Confidence Score of 53 in the MinistryWatch database (Exercise Caution).
photo, us.langham.org
Langham Partnership
Slavko Hadžić was an atheist when he prayed for the first time as war began in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Today, he pastors an evangelical church in Sarajevo. After receiving training through Langham Partnership, Hadžić began equipping other pastors and lay leaders to study and preach Scripture. He now coordinates Langham Preaching in Bosnia and trains preachers throughout the Balkans.
Langham says more than 16,800 pastors and church leaders attended its preaching seminars last year across more than 80 countries. Its model trains local facilitators who can continue teaching others rather than depending indefinitely on visiting instructors.
Langham Partnership USA has a 1-Star Financial Efficiency Rating, an A Transparency Grade, and a Donor Confidence Score of 75 (Give With Confidence) in the MinistryWatch database.
photo, rhma.org
Rural Home Missionary Association (RHMA)
Rural Home Missionary Association works in communities of 5,000 people or fewer, where churches may have small staffs, limited budgets and few nearby training opportunities. Its Town and Country Training program offers courses specifically for pastors and leaders serving rural churches. Classes address ministry in the rural context and can be taken online, for academic credit or as an audit.
RHMA also offers pastoral conferences, coaching, leadership education, internships and residencies. As of October, its list of pastoral openings included churches seeking leaders in Kansas, Nebraska, Ohio, Minnesota and other small communities.
photo, dainti_/Instagram
Development Associates International (DAI)
At 16, Roman Popov planted a church with another young leader. He later burned out. Popov said he had tied his identity too closely to what he accomplished in ministry. That experience eventually changed how he thought about leadership, and he began helping Christian leaders across Russia and the former Soviet Union become healthier and more servant-minded. He now serves as international director and CEO of Development Associates International.
DAI focuses less on preparing sermons and more on how Christian leaders use authority. Its programs include leadership workshops, mentoring, consulting, and a master’s degree in organizational leadership. Most of its staff work through locally led ministry centers around the world.
DAI has a 4-Star Financial Efficiency Rating, an A Transparency Grade, and a Donor Confidence Score of 100 in the MinistryWatch database.
photo, iliteam.org
International Leadership Institute (ILI)
As a young Christian in Brazil, Diego wanted to attend an International Leadership Institute training event but couldn’t afford it. His pastor encouraged him to go anyway. Diego later helped organize another training, then began teaching. Today, his team trains hundreds of Christian leaders each year.
International Leadership Institute builds its model around multiplication. Rather than training leaders only for their own ministries, ILI expects participants to equip others. The ministry says it holds more than 600 leadership conferences annually through its global network.
ILI has a 4-Star Financial Efficiency Rating, an A Transparency Grade, and a Donor Confidence Score of 100 in the MinistryWatch database.
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