Leadership Ministries Worldwide

World-class resources for gospel-centered ministry

Prayer

Pray for Pastoral Trainers Worldwide

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“You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine.” Titus 2:1

The Lord is calling pastors around the world to serve Him and His people. These pastors are hungry to understand the Bible and their call to ministry. They want to know how to meet the challenges they encounter daily among their congregants and within their community. They are sought out for biblical guidance and counseling, and they need a firm foundation to shepherd their people.

Please join us in praying for those who are using their God-given gifts to train these pastors, sharing God’s grace, and teaching sound doctrine.

“Wherever we turn in Africa or Asia, there is a palpable cry for Biblical and theocentric ministry and leadership development tools as well as preaching content development for the growing number of God’s servants worldwide. All these needs call for our attention, in spite of the increasingly severe persecution of the Body of Christ worldwide.” Timothy Olonade, Vice President of International Training, Leadership Ministries Worldwide (pictured above, left)

“95% of the pastors we train in the field have no training of any kind. They are dry sponges. They are alert, eager, and soak up the training we offer them. They want to know the Word and understand how to minister.” Philip S. Hunt, Principal, Central Africa Bible College & Seminary (CABC), Zambia, Africa

May God protect and guide these pastoral trainers as they share His Word, growing His Kingdom across the earth.

Pray for Pastors in Yap (yep, Yap)

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Yap – yes, it is a real country – a part of a chain of islands in Micronesia in the Western Pacific. Yap has been home to Christian missionaries for many years. Last week, we shipped 50 Gospel sets of The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible®  to pastors serving Christ throughout this island chain. We invite you to pray for the pastors who will be receiving these volumes, and for the congregations and communities they serve. We are thankful to be able to equip these pastors for ministry.

Missionary Paul Zimmer, his wife Sherry, and their six children, have been serving God in Yap for almost 20 years. They have planted churches, trained pastors, and served God in all they do. Paul’s vision for outreach led him to start a Christian radio station, Joy Family Radio, erecting a 200 foot tower without the assistance of cranes or other large machinery. This station now broadcasts 24/7, reaching the furthest ends of the islands.

The Zimmers started a small sawmill on Yap to help residents find lumber to build homes and businesses. Soaring electric power costs led Paul to use his engineering background to install solar panels and windmills on his house and broadcast tower and for the sawmill. He now holds seminars on alternative energy throughout the islands, explaining the importance of alternative energy and sharing gospel truths whenever he can.

Paul and other missionaries on the islands have evangelized, nurtured and trained pastors, and planted churches, all while working to build relationships in their communities. They are excited to be able to give The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible® to the local pastors they work with in Yap and across the islands.

Please keep this country, these pastors, and the believers in Yap in your prayers as God’s Word continues to spread around the world.

Pray for April 2016 Trainings in Nigeria

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Pastors and Christian leaders across Africa are eager to study God’s Word and learn more about the Bible and their calling as ministers. Timothy Olonade, Leadership Ministries Worldwide’s Vice President of International Training is passionate about empowering leaders to advance the Great Commission.

Timothy invites us to join him in praying for upcoming training sessions planned for this month in Nigeria. Please pray that pastors will find the resources to get to the training, that they will be able to house and feed those attending, and especially that God will meet the needs of these pastors as the Holy Spirit moves in the training sessions.

Timothy’s greatest joy is seeing lives transformed as pastors are trained: “I can see the lights come on during a session – I see the pastors realize that this is from God!” There is excitement as pastors are touched by the Holy Spirit, and enthusiastically return to their congregations empowered for effective preaching and leadership.

Timothy’s Training Schedule for April (Nigeria):

April 8-9, Kaduna – Bible for Life and Ministry

April 15-17, Jos – Kairos International Trainers Conference

April 18, Jos – Reflection on Scripture: “Pentecost and Beyond”

April 23, Lagos – Day Out for Global Purpose

Please pray for each of these events. Logistics are a regular issue, as they discern reliable and safe transportation for the maximum number of students/pastors, and affordable accommodations. Coming up with resources to finance events and help pastors get there, as well as the physical resources for training – the books, papers, and digital supplies required is a challenge for the planners.

We are thankful to see God’s hand at work throughout the Global South. Praise Him for the work being done to advance the gospel in Nigeria and across Africa.

Saving Souls in Pakistan

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A mere 1.6% of Pakistan’s population is Christian, but that does nothing to dampen Rev. Patras Nazir’s spirit. This visionary, energetic Christian leader has been inspired by the Holy Spirit to train and equip pastors throughout Pakistan.

As founder of Pakistan Christian Leadership Ministries, Rev. Nazir has used his English language skills to translate Outline Bible Resources into Urdu. Leadership Ministries Worldwide’s donors financed the printing of 2,000 sermon booklets based on The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible®. The demand for the books was so great that Rev. Nazir had to print 1,500 additional books: “These resources are unique in Pakistan – such study materials are not available in Pakistan in English or Urdu.”

In the past year, he traveled to multiple cities in different corners of Pakistan, carrying these books to train Christian pastors, church leaders and evangelists. Rev. Nazir travels by train and bus, carrying loads of books on his back or in bags, often through hostile territory. His spirit remains undaunted, as he preaches the Word in every town and village, baptizes new believers, and shares the love and grace of Christ with everyone he encounters. He recently participated in laying the cornerstone for a new church in Rawalpindi, one of the largest cities in Pakistan.

Rev. Nazir is always encouraging: “The greatest rewards of my ministry are the salvation and winning of souls for Christ through our preaching and teaching. When people invite us to return to their churches again and again, it means that God’s Holy Spirit is touching and blessing them through us.”

Rev. Nazir is eager to translate and print more of our resources to be used in his training ministry across Pakistan. “Through our translation work, thousands of people come to know the methods and principles of teaching and preaching, and the profundity of the Biblical message. They have been equipped and trained and are working in different areas throughout Pakistan. We continue this work for the glory of the Lord as God makes it possible for us.”

Would you partner with us in praying for Rev. Nazir’s mission to share God’s Word with the Pakistani people? Will you help fund his efforts to translate and print more resources to be used by pastors there? Click here to donate now.

 

Suffering and Joy

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“Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.” John 16:22 NIV

This is Holy Week. On Thursday, we remember Jesus’s last supper with his disciples: The words he said, the sharing of the bread and wine, the washing of their feet, and his last journey to the Garden of Gethsemane, where he prayed for His Father’s will to be done.

On Friday, we remember Jesus’ suffering and death: His appearances before a variety of worldly judges, the crowds who demanded his death, the lashes from Roman soldiers, his wounded body staggering under the weight of the cross he carried to Golgotha, the nails piercing his hands and feet as his body was raised on the cross, his final words as an agonizing death approached.

It is a time of grief, remembering his sacrifice.

And then – Easter Sunday! Rejoice! He is risen! A day to remember his victory over death, his appearance in a garden, in an upper room, on the road to Emmaus, our own salvation by his death and resurrection. Praise God for this wonderful gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.

We invite you to join us in praying for pastors all over the world who will be sharing this message of God’s grace through Jesus Christ. In this week of suffering and joy, may we all experience God’s precious, saving love.

Lystra Global – Train, Connect, Empower

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In Acts 16, the apostle Paul met a young man named Timothy in the city of Lystra. As Paul mentored this new “son in the faith,” Timothy became an effective leader in the early church, helping Paul establish and shepherd many of the first congregations of believers. Today, millions of trainers, missionaries, and church planters in the global church are raising up the next generation of leaders like Timothy. Lystra Global is a powerful tool to train, connect, and empower pastors to reveal Christ to the world.

Lystra Global is a unique cloud-based software system designed to make biblical resources and training easily accessible to pastors around the world. The system connects trainers to students, trainers to trainers, and all users to valuable resources that will empower them to preach and teach effectively. A cloud-based, crowd-sourced translating system will allow resources to be translated into languages spoken around the world. Lystra Global is being tested by collaborating ministries all over the world, and enthusiasm is high. The finished version is scheduled for release mid-2016.

Features of Lystra Global include:

  • Student registration by class
  • Online communication between students and trainers
  • Trainers can connect to network and share best practices and resources
  • View and track usage by students and trainers
  • Upload curriculum, digital books, videos and other resources
  • Access to a digital version of The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible®
  • A system that will allow for crowd-sourced translating in languages used in every country in the world.

At Leadership Ministries Worldwide, we believe that as God’s Word is preached by pastors who are trained and mentored in the faith, the Holy Spirit moves, hearts are opened, lives and communities are transformed.

Lystra Global is a unique and valuable tool to train, connect, and empower pastors to reveal Christ to the world. We invite you to partner with us in praying for the successful roll-out of Lystra Global, and that the system will be used for God’s glory.