by Ryder Kumar, International Director.
Hyderabad
As the participants gathered in South India the scenario was a clear display of the accomplishment of our purpose of equipping and training. Vara Prasad, who had been attending the seminars regularly and shown diligence in study, said, “I am so blessed by the training received during the seminars that whenever I minister the Word, there is a greater interest in the congregation and there are new people joining the church. The course on Church history has been a very helpful subject. We have studied about Roman Catholics which motivated me to teach in my village. As a result of this, some Roman Catholic people came to know truth and two families have started to attend the Church services. Please pray as they desire to witness in the waters of baptism.” It was an honor for me to co-teach this seminar with Casey Danley.
Casey Danley co-teaches in Hyderabad
Vijayawada
Following the Hyderabad seminar, two special events took place in Vijayawada. The first was a dedication of the first baby (Ruhamah) of our first STN India pastor, Isaac, and his wife, Usha. The other event was the baptism of Stephy.
Lucknow
Our final seminar was in Lucknow where we had 31 participants gathered to study Church history. Here is what Jose Simon, the principal of village school said, “It was interesting to know how God brought the gospel through the ages. In history God has made known His manifold wisdom through His Church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly realms. God warned me to love the people of other faiths as we studied about the Crusades, which failed to demonstrate the love of Christ. I was challenged by Martin Luther who responded by being motivated by the Word Of God, to bring reformation ….” It was a blessing to co-teach this seminar with Kishore Mathews.
Kishore Mathews co-teaches in Lucknow
Ryder Kumar is serving as our International Director. As one of the founding members of Shepherding the Nations, it was Ryder's vision to see pastors trained and equipped for ministry that became the foundation of Shepherding the Nations.
Shepherding the Nations has identified qualified and called men who are already working in unreached areas of India and Nepal. We are providing the training to better equip them and the financial resources to support them in their ministries.
Our directors have been equipped to teach our ten-volume training curriculum. These key men are training indigenous pastors and church planters while also providing accountability, resources materials, and support. 
During our training program, we provide our ten volume set of curriculum from the Biblical Training Centre for Pastors (BTCP) in their local language. We also provide essentials resources such as Bible Concordance and Study Bible. We have been able to provide these books to all of our pastors through the generous donations of our donors. These books can be purchased for about $10 each or an entire set for $100.