by Paul S. Brown, President, Shepherding the Nations
2 Corinthians 8:1-5 (NASB95) “Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality. For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints, and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God.”
Can you believe it has been three years since the Covid-19 pandemic started?
A few months before it happened, STN was experiencing significant growth in India, Nepal, and Latin America. Nearly 300 BTCP students graduated, we had an incredible conference on expository preaching in India, and churches were being planted. Then the pandemic began, and everything slowed down. But the Lord has heard our prayers and He has opened doors for STN to impact even more people in India, Nepal, Mexico, Honduras, and Bolivia.
2022 was a big year with over 1,000 students in our BTCP training classes and over 450 of them graduated.
Several of those graduates are planting new churches and others are preparing to do so. Pastor Eddie Bueno (director of STN Latin America) made a few trips to Mexico and Bolivia to train new trainers, encourage current trainers, and participate in graduation ceremonies. Ryder Kumar (director of STN SE Asia) also made trips to India for strategic meetings, training conferences, and a series of graduation ceremonies.
2023 is off to a great start.
Pastor Eddie recently went to Honduras for a graduation of BTCP students and spent time with some of them that are planting new churches. Pastor Ryder just got back from a trip to India where he met with key leaders, helped lead some training conferences, and met with committees who are planning some major conferences in 2024 and 2025. They are also preparing to expand to other countries in SE Asia (possibly Pakistan, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka).
Please pray for the Lord to provide wisdom, key leaders with integrity, favor with governing authorities, and necessary finances. Some new churches and individuals joined in supporting STN in 2022, but with the growth of the ministry, our current expenses are $75,000 per year more than income. We are using reserves to make up the difference, but we would love to see more people and churches become ministry partners. Please share the ministry of STN with family, friends, bible studies, and churches. And if you know of any foundations that support ministries like this, please tell us how to contact them.
Thank you for joyfully and generously participating in this work. We love you and are grateful for the privilege of serving our Lord and His people with you.
“Having come to these classes, our ministry and preaching is transformed.”
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.