Archives for August 2024

9 Things Your May Not Know about Shepherding the Nations

August 10, 2024 By sleinen

by Pastor Randy Leinen, STN Board

1. Founded by The Bridge Bible Fellowship

In 2007, Shepherds Community Church and Heart of the Valley Community Church merged into one church, and became The Bridge Bible Fellowship (TBBF). At that time, the newly formed TBBF created a new missions organization, called Shepherding the Nations (STN). Although STN is technically a separate Non-Profit organization, it continues to be a vital missions ministry of The Bridge.

2. Mission of STN

The mission of STN is “To glorify God by training and resourcing indigenous pastors to plant healthy churches in unreached areas.” There are many pastors or potential pastors, worldwide, who do not have the resources to be trained to effectively preach and teach God’s Word. So, STN focuses on training these kinds of local pastors, evangelists and church planters so that they can reach their own villages and regions with the gospel.

3. Bible Training Center for Pastors (BTCP)

Before STN was formed in 2007, Pastor Paul, Pastor Ryder Kumar, and I went to India on a few short term mission trips with our wives. We had the privilege of teaching God’s Word to a couple thousand men and women. It was during these trips that we developed a burden to help these men and women who were so hungry to learn God’s Word, and to teach it to others. After researching a number of different types of curriculum we found a series of books called Bible Training Center for Pastors. This curriculum consists of 10 books that have been translated into 42 languages (with 9 more in progress). BTCP was the perfect fit for the people we were working with in India, who speak Hindi and Telegu. So, in the Spring of 2009 we went back to India and began to train a group of pastors using these materials in their own language.

4. Class of 2014

In the Spring of 2009, we started training 50 men in Northern India, and 50 men in Central India – 100 total. Over the course of the next 5 years several of us traveled to India and taught through the 10 BTCP books. And in November of 2014, we held one graduation in Lucknow and another in Hyderabad, India. A total of 80 men were the first STN graduates. They immediately began planting churches and training people in their local areas.

5. Southeast Asia

Since 2014, the initial graduates of STN have been training hundreds of their own people all over India and Nepal. In 2022, having been taught by those first graduates, 450 new trainees became graduates of the BTCP course. And in 2023, the total number of graduates has reached over one thousand. There are 38 Study Centers in cities and villages all across India and Nepal.

6. Latin America

Pastor Eddie Bueno joined us on one of the trips to India. He saw the opportunity to bring BTCP training through STN to Latin America. Training has been ongoing there in the countries of Bolivia, Mexico, and Honduras. People from El Salvador and Panama are also interested in beginning the training. In Latin America, so far, over 200 pastors and church planters have been trained.

7. God’s Connections

An interesting connection was made in the country of Panama. Our new Pastor Marc Boeker has a son named Carter, who is a Freshman at The Master’s University. Carter started dating a young girl from Panama, named Laura. Her father, Ivan, is a deacon of a local church in Panama. Pastor Eddie contacted Ivan and the pastor of the church and told them about STN. This month, Pastor Eddie is heading to Panama to begin training a new group of men. The Lord orchestrated all of this from Pastor Marc, to Carter, to Laura, to her father Ivan, to Ivan’s pastor, to Pastor Eddie. Praise the Lord for allowing STN to keep expanding into Latin America. (See update about Panama institute below.)

8. 100% policy

One of the key principles that STN wanted to adhere to from the beginning was to have 100% of the donations go to supporting the pastors (their churches and their training). We did not want to accept people’s donations and then take a cut out of that for administrative costs. We can do that because the STN International Offices are in a church building and run by volunteers. We do not take a percentage of your donation for administrative costs. The minimal administrative costs for our International Office are covered by donations specifically targeted for administration.

9. You have a part to play

How can you be part of STN? Here are a few ways: First, you can pray for the ministry. In many of the locations where STN training is happening there is serious persecution. Many of our trainers are faithfully proclaiming God’s Word in places where they are not welcome. It is tough and they do it anyway. Pray for their safety and God’s continued blessing. Second, those of us who serve on the STN International Board do it as volunteers. And we can use more help, especially as STN continues to grow beyond our wildest expectations. If you are interested in potentially being part of the board, please talk to Pastor Paul Brown. Third, please consider supporting STN financially. Most of the time those who are being trained cannot afford the cost of the books. And those who are doing the training are usually men who need financial assistance. Would you consider contributing to such needs?

Uniting for Growth: The Inaugural PENIEL Virtual Conference

August 9, 2024 By sleinen

By Pastor Marc Boeker

“For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth…that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.” – John 17:19,20 (NASB)

This spring, a momentous event for Shepherding the Nations – India (STN India) went down in the history books. On May 17-18, 2024, STN hosted its first virtual conference for pastors and leaders across India, Nepal, and Myanmar.

Ryder Kumar, International Director, was looking for a way to provide further training to graduates in the BTCP program (Bible Training Center for Pastors). A conference would provide an excellent platform to include crucial church topics for further growth and development of the indigenous churches. Out of this desire, the PENIEL Conference was born.

Persuading to Equip and Nurture Indigenous Evangelical Leaders

Months before the conference, STN began working on visas to bring several Indian pastors to The Bridge Bible Fellowship in Reseda, California for in-person training. With much prayer, invitations were sent requesting these men to be allowed to come to the United States for an intensive time of discipleship. Their presence at The Bridge would have been both an encouragement to them as well as to their brothers and sisters in Christ who have been supporting the work in India for over 15 years. Paperwork was completed. Consulate visits were made. And they waited. And waited. And waited…

Even through waiting, one can now see God was preparing the way for a change of plans – a change of venue, a change of schedule, and a change of participants – all changes which ultimately led to an unexpected exponential increase in the number of pastors and leaders who could benefit and participate in the training. God has told his followers in times past, “the heart of man plans his way, but Yahweh directs his steps” (Psalm 16:9). The STN board’s plans were laid out, but God’s sovereign direction was needed to go beyond what was currently envisioned and provide training into homes and locations that far exceeded the STN board’s initial expectations.

While Zoom fatigue was a real thing for many during COVID, the advances in video conferencing technology that it provided have been a huge help to proclaim the truth of God’s word. In places seemingly impossible to visit, we can now sit “face-to-face” and interact on a much more personal level. For many purposes, virtual meetings can provide an opportunity for equipping the saints where an in-person meeting is out of reach for the attendees or threatens the existence of the church.

Enter PENIEL Virtual. Paul Brown, Senior Pastor of The Bridge and founding STN member was eager for this conference to continue, but with only three (3) of the original invitees able to get visas to US, the plans had to change. Moving to a virtual platform could provide the desired training along with an expanded reach inherent to a virtual conference. Excitement began to build as plans fell into place for the restructured virtual conference.

As Ryder invited church leaders from across the country one of his desires was to expand the reach of STN and the BTCP program. Many of the groups he contacted are well-educated, mature, and sacrificially serving which could serve to enhance the ministry of STN. All of the participants were encouraged to connect more closely to STN as they applied what they were taught in the conference.

By God’s grace, the gathering together of over 60 men across four countries became a reality on May 17-18. Due to the 12.5-hour difference in time zones, India experienced the conference over two days, while in the US we began welcoming guests at 5:00 AM on Friday and said our final goodbye near 11:00 PM.

In India, the conference began in the evening where three sessions were presented, each followed by a Q&A time with the participants. Randy Leinen, Executive Pastor of The Bridge began the conference with a session on transformation groups. These are small groups of 3-5 participants that provide a strong focus on bible study, accountability, evangelism, and prayer. Pastor Joe Leinen followed this by talking on the importance of small groups in the local church. Both of these ideas are somewhat foreign concepts in the Indian church. The evening concluded with a challenge toward church planting from Patrick Carmichael, Senior Pastor of Christ Bible Church.

After a night of rest, Saturday morning in India saw the pastors once again start logging in and talking together as they eagerly anticipated the final three sessions. Mike Vos, ACBC Certified Biblical Counselor, began the day with an introduction to Biblical Counseling. Thinking about what the Bible has to say about life’s problems was a solid start to the day, followed by many questions from the men. Pastor Paul completed the conference as he taught the two final sessions on Conflict Resolution and Leadership Development.

What joy it was meeting with these beloved men – leaders and teachers – eager to grow in their knowledge of the Lord and strengthen the local churches across Asia. Through God’s Spirit, we were not only friends but also brothers caring for one another as we toil for the Lord and his Church. This is the very mission of STN. God, in his sovereignty, took our humble plans for a conference to become a jumping-off point for future opportunities to provide solid biblical training and church development across Asia as he continues to unite His family around the globe.

The First Church Planted by STN Graduate is a Model

August 8, 2024 By sleinen

By Ryder Kumar, International Director, SE Asia

While church planting is on-going by the graduates of STN in India, we have a model church that is standing strong against all storms and challenges. Motivated and equipped with teaching for 5 years by the international team of STN, Brother D, who has been working as the principal of a principal of a public school, ventured into the mission of church planting immediately after his graduation in 2014. This was the first graduation in India. The Lord made this abundantly fruitful.

Brother D has established a church in one of the most heavily populated and hostile states in the country, which is H-dominated. Initially, the church had only about 10 members, including Brother D’s wife and 8 unbelievers. However, the church has now grown to 200 members! Additionally, there are now four different church locations under Brother D’s leadership, with each location having attendance ranging from 15 to 50 people. Despite facing challenges such as Covid and persecution, the churches continue. Approximately 80 to 90 individuals have been baptized through Pastor D’s ministry, and many have heard the Gospel message. Furthermore, three leaders who are graduates of STN were trained by Brother D and sent to different locations.