Pastors Institute equippers serve part time and are pastors themselves. Each pastor that joins Pastors Institute is assigned to an equipper. Their role is to shepherd, encourage, and motivate the pastors assigned to them. “We [equippers] walk with the pastors through the training and the process, showing them that this is a valuable and workable path,” says Pastor Jimmy, who is one of the equippers. “We also encourage them and pray with them and check in with them to see how they are doing with working through the resources and the sermons,” he says.

For a pastor to graduate from Pastors Institute, they are first trained in the content or course. They then complete an assessment and teach the material to others in their church or community in order to receive a credit. When they’ve completed the four courses (which gives them four credits), they are qualified for Pastors Institute graduation.

The first four Walk Thru the Bible courses in the Pastors Institute curriculum of study were Chiseled: Becoming the Masterpiece God Created You to Be (a study on the life of Peter),
Refuge: Finding Home in a World of Change (a study on the life of Ruth), Catalyst: Helping
Others Pursue Their Purpose (a study on the life of Barnabas), and Bible Study Simplified (How to Study the
Bible for Yourself).

Another factor that has influenced the strategy and impact of Pastors Institute is that most pastors preach one sermon on a topic and the next week preach on a different topic. “Often that doesn’t do the material justice,” Pastor Jimmy says. “With Pastor’s Institute materials, it’s a series. The tools are in the form of a series, and we teach deeper on a particular person or subject from the Word of God, spread out over a number of weeks. This has caused greater impact and transformation in the lives of the people in my congregation.”

Pastor Mpho agrees: “Because of the training they’ve received from Pastors Institute, the pastors can build a whole sermon series and are able to preach it. It’s giving them a new perspective on how they can teach from the Bible.

Impacting pastors first, who then go on to impact their communities…
Pastor Mpho tells about a bishop who attended one of the trainings. The teaching was on the Biblical Character Series called Detour: Finding Purpose When Life Doesn’t Make Sense (based on the life of Joseph). “I’ll never forget the bishop coming to tell me afterwards to share about his deep pain because he had been betrayed by some of the people in his congregation. And as the bishop sat through this teaching on the life of Joseph, he knew exactly what to do when he left that session.”

An elder of Pastor Jimmy’s church was also struggling with forgiveness. “And after learning about the life of Joseph, from Detour, the elder said to me, ‘I now see that it is the will of God for me to forgive because it not only helps that other person, but it also heals me. Because sometimes, when we don’t forgive, we are digging a hole for ourselves. Sometimes things aren’t happening in our life, and we don’t understand it. Little do we know that the bridge we build with forgiveness will mend many things.’ After he forgave, his life was transformed,” said Pastor Jimmy.

“That’s the kind of impact we’re seeing,” says Pastor Mpho. “God is really opening up the hearts of the pastors and healing them, and they are taking what they are learning to their communities. And the pastors are finding a place to belong, not just to be equipped. When you leave, you’ll never feel alone, because Pastor Jimmy or another equipper will be calling you and asking you, ‘How are you doing? How far are you with the courses? What’s going on with your life and ministry? How can I help you?’ You’ve got someone to walk alongside you, someone to call when you are stuck.”

“As pastors, we cannot cry in front of everyone. So to me, Pastors Institute is also a place to be comforted,” says Pastor Jimmy. “This fellowship, this community says, ‘You can do it. We understand what you’re going through.’”

Please pray with us for the pastors that will be equipped and encouraged through Pastor’s Institute. May they lead their conngregations to deeply and faithfully engage with God’s Word – because that’s when everything changes!