600 Christian Educators Gather for Global Pastor Training
More than 600 Christian educators from nearly 100 countries recently gathered in Albania to explore ways to make pastor training more accessible and relevant.
“When we think about what’s happening in the world today with the growth of the church and all the different ministries that are out there, theological education serves a vital role in helping sustain the growth of the church and helping it be sustainable over time,” said Michael Ortiz, executive director of the International Council for Evangelical Theological Education.
Although the global network currently touches around 300,000 people who are preparing for ministry, Ortiz would like to see this grow to as many as four million over the next few years. Only then can theological education keep up with the needs of the growing church around the world, he said.
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“Without theological education, where would the church be in five, 10, 15 years from now if there were not people that are trained and equipped on how to lead the church biblically and soundly through theological education?” he asked. “And that’s what we hope to do through ICETE.”
Ortiz said theological educators must rethink, reimagine and recalibrate the whole of theological education to remain relevant for the global church today. This is why ICETE introduced strategy groups that focus on several key issues.
“These ICETE impact teams are smaller communities of practice that are talking about various issues that we fully believe need to be further elevated and included within theological education today,” he said. “So we have people like that talking about peace and reconciliation, creation care, youth ministries, children’s ministries and all sorts of other topics. So I believe the Lord is doing something to help us realize that these impact teams may be something significant for the world as we move ahead in theological education.”
For more information, visit www.icete.info
