A Desire to Help and Encourage National Pastors

When we first moved to the mission field in 2015 one of the goals we had was to help and encourage national pastors. We also desired to find some way to provide them with solid theological training, knowing that many pastors throughout the world lack the opportunity to receive sound biblical instruction. 

Ten years later we still desire to help and encourage national pastors. Why? Because we believe in the local church. We know God works through the local church. When one considers the early church, it is clear that the disciples of Jesus understood that the Great Commission involved the local church. One needs only to read the book of Acts to understand this truth. Making disciples of all nations encompasses sharing the gospel, teaching believers to obey Jesus’s commands, and starting churches. 

The local church is vital to God’s plan. In fact, it is His design. Because of the importance of the the local church, those who pastor God’s people in local congregations are also vital. Indeed, pastors are a gift to God’s church (Ephesians 4:11). 

For years we have thought that a seminary would be a structured and fruitful way to provide pastors, and other believers in local churches, opportunities to grow in their knowledge of God and of His Word. We believe that as pastors are strengthened in their faith and their biblical knowledge, they will then be better equipped to preach the word (2 Timothy 4:2) to the people of their local congregations, who will then be equipped for the work of ministry.

In the kindness and providence of God, I met Jason Wright in Panamá in August 2014 on a short-term missions trip. Jason was a pastor of a church in Texas at the time, and I was a pastor at our home church in Tennessee. Jason is now the director of William Carey Seminary in Córdoba, Argentina, and I and my family are serving as missionaries in La Chorrera, Panamá.

Through a series of events orchestrated by God, Iglesia Bautista de Costa Verde (in Panamá) now serves as one of the extension sites of William Carey Seminary. As of February 2025, we are able to offer a three-year course of study. Upon completing the 15 classes, students will graduate with a diploma in theological studies.

We are now in the fourth class, and there are 16 students currently enrolled in the seminary. They are eager and excited to study and learn. Several students recently shared testimonies of how their studies in the seminary have impacted them. Many of them spoke of how their lives are being changed as they study God’s Word and know Him more. Praise the Lord!

The goal of studying theology, of studying biblical doctrine, is not just to gain more knowledge. The goal is to love God! In Matthew 22:34-40, when Jesus was asked by a lawyer which is the greatest commandment in the Law, Jesus responded, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”

To know God more deeply through the study of His Word is a worthy endeavor. We use our minds so that we may love God, enjoy Him, and walk in greater obedience to Him.