This update is related to the Global Pastors Book Sets campaign.
A Perspective Shift
Chris Moran pastors a small church just outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. For his whole life, preaching the Bible has been the norm for him. But when he visited rural Uganda, his perspective changed. “So many pastors are young in the faith, and they don’t quite understand what it means to preach the Bible, something we take for granted a lot here. Opening up the Bible, walking through it expositionally, and making applications—that’s very rare in Uganda.” And as that happened, he discovered a need that he knew he could help to meet.
Through unexpected network opportunities and God’s providential hand clearly at work, Chris finds himself in Uganda with a team from his church every October hosting the Shepherd the Flock Conference. Though he recognizes he cannot provide all of what the pastors in attendance need, he can help to provide a theological foundation built on God’s Word and with the support of theologically sound books. These resources are making a difference as they seek to provide a foundation for pastors and a calling to preach from the Bible.
One of the village pastors who has attended our conference the past several years invited us out to his farm. When we went over to his farm and little houses, which most of us would describe as mud huts and a brick shell with a metal roof, he enthusiastically motioned for us to come inside to look at his library. As soon as I saw his library, I recognized all but two of the books. Almost his entire library was composed of the books we had given away freely through our Shepherd the Flock Conference.
As Chris continues to help meet these needs every year, donors to Crossway have partnered with the Shepherd the Flock Conference to provide Global Pastors Book Sets. Pastors attending the conferences can take these resources home with them to continue to learn from as they care for their congregations and seek to faithfully apply the Word, especially in preaching. One of these recipients, Jimmy Okello, has been blessed by these resources as he seeks to pastor his church and exhort other pastors around him to do the same.
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Limited Resources
“There are no bookstores there in Gulu. They have markets for basic foods and clothing. But there are no stores selling books. So if pastors want to get books, they’re totally reliant on other people to bring them in.” This is how Chris explained the reality that Jimmy has lived in for most of his life. Born and raised in Gulu, Uganda, Jimmy is keenly aware of the lack of theological resources in his area. But that hasn’t restrained his passion and desire for building up the body of Christ. He has continued to faithfully serve the Lord and study the Word as well as he can.
Ten years ago, Jimmy felt God’s distinct calling on his life to plant and pastor a church in Gulu. But as he considered how to move forward with this calling, he knew he had one major problem:
Most pastors here don’t have theological training or even basic formal discipleship. Ministering without theological training and access to theological resources is very hard. Do you know how challenging it can be when you are already involved in ministry and want to go to school?
By God’s grace, Jimmy has been able to begin taking online theology courses, but that work and study time is challenged by his responsibility to simultaneously care for his family and congregation.
Jimmy’s perspective and honest understanding of the lack of resources made him especially strategic in helping Chris and his church found the Shepherd the Flock Conference. Each year Jimmy sends invitations, organizes the logistical details of the conference, and gathers the pastors to attend. This allows Chris and his team to focus on the resourcing side of the event. The first year Jimmy recalls they kept the schedule and content quite simple: “Over two days, we had a total of six teaching sessions. During those sessions we clarified what a pastor is, his qualifications, the tasks required of him, what his vision ought to be, and a correct perspective of the church.” Since then they have added new components, but the main crux of the conference has been the same: teach the pastors the truth of God’s Word and how to open it before their congregation and teach them directly from the Word. The response has been incredible.
After each conference, I (Jimmy) receive feedback from the pastors. One pastor shared with me that right after the conference he went home, took a shower, and then grabbed the books and read until 1:00 in the morning because he had never come across books with such sound theology that were practical and relevant to his context. He was so excited about them and found them very helpful for his ministry.
These pastors can carry the books they receive from the conference home with them so that though their time at the conference has ended, they can read the books and continue to receive their own mini theological “education.” Though it’s not a full, formal education, Chris and Jimmy take comfort in the knowledge that these resources will provide a solid foundation on which to build.
Crossway resources from the Global Pastors Book Set have proved to be especially impactful for recipients. Jimmy recently shared with us that Biblical Theology from the book set has impacted his own life and brought about new ideas to encourage the other pastors in their reading and understanding of the content.
We are considering new approaches to connect with pastors throughout the year outside of the conferences because some pastors have little to no education and the reading culture is quite low. To address this, we’re considering creating a reading club for pastors instead of just giving out resources that might end up sitting unused. We’ve discussed reading Biblical Theology chapter by chapter, discussing it and asking questions. I would like to read this book with the pastors because this book breaks down complex subjects into more basic ideas and provides practical examples the pastors can relate to.
Though Jimmy cannot open a seminary or provide the funding these pastors need to receive formal theological training, he continues to find new avenues for theological learning and growth for pastors hungry to understand and teach the truth of God’s Word.
An Opportunity for Impact
The Shepherd the Flock Conference provides a beautiful, grace-ordained example of the gift of access to theological resources. Jimmy firmly believes that though “there’s a thirst for theological training and resources among these pastors, most of them lack access to these resources. We believe that sharing these resources with them is and will continue to be very helpful.”
Crossway is committed to partnering with Chris, Jimmy, and many other ministry partners around the world to address this need. Crossway’s Global Ministry Fund continues to support the printing and free distribution of Global Pastors Book Sets to ministry leaders thirsty for training and increased understanding of God’s Word. You’re invited to join us today as we continue to provide for the global church for the sake of the gospel!
Pray for Jimmy and his leadership team as they seek to balance many ministry efforts, including reaching out to their community with the gospel, equipping pastors, and shepherding the congregation.
Pray that the Lord would bring up new leaders who can join Jimmy and other Ugandan pastors in faithfully proclaiming the gospel.