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2022 was a great year and 2023 is off to a great start!

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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.”

 

 

Latin America is Opening Up Again!

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by STN President, Dr. Paul S. Brown

STN began its work in Latin America in 2016 under the direction of Pastor Eddie Bueno (Hispanic senior pastor at The Bridge Bible Fellowship – Iglesia Cristiana Puente de Vida). At one time we had a total of six training institutes in four countries offering BTCP courses. Several groups completed the 10-volume curriculum, we held some graduation ceremonies, and we were ready to offer courses to new people. Then 2020 came and most of the work came to a halt due to Covid-19 restrictions. Pastor Bueno and I were supposed to travel to a graduation in Tapachula, Mexico in late March 2020 but all flights were canceled.

The Lord has once again opened the doors! Classes are being offered again in Bolivia and Honduras. By the time you read this, Pastor Bueno will have gone to Santa Cruz, Bolivia (Sept. 26 – Oct. 1) to offer a Teacher Training Workshop (TTW). BTCP requires this training for anyone who is going to use their curriculum to teach others. One of the men attending the TTW already has a group of 20+ students waiting for their new class to start in October.

Pastor Bueno will also be going to Tapachula, Mexico (Dec. 1-4) to preside over the graduation ceremony we were supposed to have 2 ½ years ago. The trainer in Tapachula is preparing to start a new BTCP class early in 2023 with 20+ students. There is a possibility that I will join Pastor Bueno early in 2023 for a graduation ceremony in Honduras. And there are other men and locations we are evaluating for possible STN Institutes in the future.

Thank you for your prayers for STN’s ministry in Latin America. Please continue to pray for Pastor Bueno’s health, for wisdom in restarting some of the Institutes and launching new Institutes in new regions. Ask the Lord to use STN’s training to raise up many new church planters who will go to currently unreached areas all over Latin America. And give Him praise for allowing us the privilege of resourcing native workers to reach their own countries with the gospel. To God be the glory great things He is doing!

“… men of whom the world was not worthy…”

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Duane Ulrich

Ralph Evans

Ralph Evans

It has been my privilege over the past 44 years of ministry to work with amazing men and women who love the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, and are committed to seeing the Gospel reach every nation. They truly are people of whom the world is not worthy. Two of them stand out in my mind right now: Duane Ulrich and Ralph Evans.

Duane and Ralph were elders at The Bridge Bible Fellowship who also served on the STN International Board since its inception. They gave of their time, talents, and treasures in sacrificial ways. They were men of the Word who prayed with great faith.

At one critical juncture in STN’s history as the doors were opening wide for effective ministry, we knew we needed a substantial amount of money to move forward with the vision. I shared with the Board that we should all pray and ask the Lord for a half a million dollars. To me it was a huge step of faith.

Ralph replied, “Why don’t we ask for 1 million dollars?”

I was convicted by his strong faith in God. We prayed earnestly about this and a few months later the Lord answered our prayers when $1,100,000 was donated.

Duane and Ralph were men devoted to their wives. Duane and Janet were married for over 63 years. In January of 2020, Duane went home to be with the Lord. Two weeks later he was joined by his wife Janet.

Ralph and Joyce were married for almost 63 years. On April 9, 2022, Joyce Evans graduated to heaven. She was joined 3 ½ weeks later by Ralph. Their godly marriages are a profound example for us all.

Duane and Ralph (and their wives) left an incredible legacy of faith. Like the Apostle Paul, they “fought the good fight, finished the course, and kept the faith” (2 Tim. 4:7). They have entered the joy of their Master having heard Him say, “Well done” (Mt. 25:21). And I know they are thrilled every time heaven erupts with joy over one sinner on earth who repents (Lk. 15).

Our STN Board misses Duane and Ralph.

Please pray that the Lord would send us more people like them to join us in this ministry. And please join us in praising God for the work He accomplished through His two choice servants. “Men of whom the world was not worthy.” Heb. 11: 38

By STN President, Paul Brown

The Word of God is Spreading

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“But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the people, he withdrew from them and took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. This took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.” (Acts 19:9–10 – NASB95)

The Apostle Paul was a man devoted to equipping (training) people to go out and impact their world for Jesus Christ (see verse above and 2 Timothy 2:2). Paul would go to an area for a period of time, train up the people, commission them to train more people in their area, and then he would move on to another region. It is that model that STN is striving to emulate with our Bible Training Centre for Pastors (BTCP) institutes. For 5 ½ years we sent teams to India twice each year to train about 100 men in 5-day training conferences (50 in northern India and 50 in southern India). About 80 of those men graduated in 2014, and some of them became STN’s trainers. Because they are able to meet weekly in areas close to where the students live, and teach without needing a translator, they are now able to complete the BTCP training in about 2 1/2 years. What joy we experienced in October when about 240 people graduated from the BTCP training. It wasn’t just the number of students graduating that brought us great joy, it was the fact that not one of the classes were taught by people from the U.S. As we handed out graduation certificates to the students, we rejoiced in the fact that all of them were trained by people from their own country. At this time there are an additional 200+ students who are part way through the BTCP training, and there are a whole bunch of new classes about to begin with hundreds more.

Thank you for your prayers and financial partnership in this vital ministry. These students are growing in their ability to minister to others for the glory of God. Churches are being strengthened, new churches are being planted, and our Lord and Savior is being glorified. It is our prayer that as we train thousands more that once again, all who live in Asia will hear the word of the Lord.

The Teacher Became the Learner: Lessons on Prayer & Worship in India

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It was an incredible privilege for Diane to sing and for me to teach a series on “Spiritual Warfare” from Ephesians 6 at E.S. Church. The people are hungry to learn as evidenced by their willingness to sit on the floor for hours in their worship services. We met with them on 3 straight nights during the week, and then again on Sunday morning. When we arrived on Sunday at 9am they had already been praying and singing for over an hour. The part that we participated in went from 9:00am-1:30pm, then they fed our team lunch while they continued to pray and sing for another hour. During that entire 6+ hour period, the children met in a separate area of the church for their own time of prayer, praise, and study of God’s Word. After that they all went out to talk to people in the community for an hour or so and then came back so the youth could have their meeting from 4-6pm. Their commitment to make Sunday “the Lord’s Day” is instructive and challenging to our American approach to “church.”

The pastor of the church is a humble man that prays and prays and prays. At one point in the Sunday morning service he prayed for about 45 minutes for the people and specific needs in the church. They gave me a tentative schedule before the worship service began, and when I was about to begin the last sermon (there are 3 sermons in each worship service), we were at least 40 minutes late. I was prayerfully considering how to shorten the sermon when my translator said, “Take as much time as you want. If you feel the Spirit is leading you, go even longer.” I preached for an hour and then asked the pastor to close in prayer. He prayed for another 30 minutes over every point I had just made in the sermon. Later, when we were finished with lunch, the pastor and his wife came and asked me to pray for them. We have much to learn about prayer and worship from these precious saints!

What happened in Berea almost 2,000 years ago is also happening in India!

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NCEP Prayer Card Cover

Not pictured but joining our team: Ryder and Flory Kumar, David Hegg, and Alan McDole

“The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men.” Acts 17:10-12 – NASB95

What happened in Berea almost 2,000 years ago is also happening in India! Not necessarily with Jewish people in synagogues, but with the Indian people who are hungry to learn from the Word of God. If you could go with us to the churches in India, you would see hundreds of people gathering and sitting on concrete floors for worship services that last 3 ½ hours! During that time, they sing, pray, share in communion, and listen to THREE SERMONS. There is a short sermon (15-20 minutes) on worship followed by singing and prayer, then another short sermon (20-30 minutes) on communion followed by more singing and prayer and partaking in the Lord’s Supper, and then a longer sermon (45-60 minutes).

That means there is a lot of preaching! Which is why our India Team is so excited to go to India next month and train pastors at our National Conference for Expository Preachers (NCEP). We currently have over 200 pastors signed up for our 3-day conference. Imagine that many pastors going back to their churches trained to teach and preach the Word of God in such a way that if the original authors of Scripture were listening, they would say, “Yes, that is what I meant and what I want them to do with it.” The ladies on our team are also thrilled to lead two Ladies’ Conferences on our trip (3 days in one city and 1 day in another). Over 100 ladies are signed up for the 3-day conference and over 80 for the 1-day conference. They will be equipped in the Scriptures and go back to their churches to be used by God to train others who will train others.

This multiplication process is what STN is all about (2 Timothy 2:2). We are committed to training and resourcing national leaders to reach their own country with the Gospel. And you can see that in the two graduation ceremonies we will have for the students who have completed our 2+ year Bible Training Centre for Pastors (BTCP) course. Between the two cities there are over 250 graduates who are excited about going out and training others who will train others. Existing churches will be strengthened and new churches will be planted as a result of what God is doing in India and Nepal. It is our hope that through the ministry of STN, the Word of God will spread all over Asia like it did in the Book of Acts (6:7; 12:24; 19:20).

Would you prayerfully consider supporting us? We need your prayers as we prepare for the conferences, graduations, meetings, and church services. We also need your prayers for safety in all our travels. We also need financial support as it will cost about $3,000 per person for airfare, housing, food, etc., and some additional funds for costs related to the conferences and graduations. Total cost (depending on the number of people going) will be between $25,000-$30,000.
If you would like to donate to this specific ministry of STN, please go to our donation page and choose the “Oct 2019 India NCEP Trip” donation designation. We so appreciate your prayer and financial support. If you have any questions, please email me at pbrown@tbbfchurch.org.

National Conference on Expository Preaching

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“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15 – NASB95)

Preaching God’s inspired, inerrant, authoritative truth is an incredible privilege. Teaching others how to do it accurately, communicating the intent of the original author, is a privilege as well. That is what a group of us will be doing in October when we travel to India to lead a 3-Day National Conference on Expository Preaching (NCEP). It will be a whirlwind trip for Randy & Susan Leinen, Pastor David Hegg, my wife Diane and me (there are currently 3 or 4 more prayerfully considering going with us). Randy, David & I will lead the conference for 200+ pastors & church planters from all over India.

What is Expository Preaching?

Preaching in which the content, structure, and emphasis of the sermon reflect and are derived from the content, structure and emphasis of the biblical text. We will walk these pastors through the book of 2 Timothy showing them how to see what the author wrote, what he meant by what he wrote, how it would have been understood and applied by the audience he wrote to, and how they can then apply it to their lives today. After each time of instruction, they will meet in small groups to apply that instruction by studying the book of Titus. They will go back to their churches with a deeper understanding of those two books, as well as the passion and tools to study God’s Word and teach it accurately to their people. Imagine 200+ pastors all over India proclaiming God’s Word faithfully and powerfully to their churches.

NCEP Board in India, meeting to plan the conference

Ladies Conference

While we are teaching the men, Susan, Tammy, Diane, and Flory Kumar will hold a 3-day conference for the ladies. Those ladies will be challenged and equipped to go back and have a profound impact on others in their churches and communities.

Each evening during the 3-day conference, Randy, David and I will be preaching in 3 different churches.

Graduation

The day after the 3-day conferences end, we will hold a graduation ceremony for all the people who have completed our 2+ year Bible Training Centre for Pastors (BTCP) training program. That weekend we will have some important meetings with people associated with STN in India, and then we will preach / sing in some churches on Sunday. On Monday we will travel to another city where Susan, Tammy, Diane & Flory will hold a one-day seminar for the ladies, followed by a special graduation ceremony for all those who have completed the BTCP training in that part of India. We are expecting 268 graduates! 

It is exciting to think how the Lord is going to use the people coming to the conferences, and the BTCP graduates, to strengthen existing churches and plant new churches all over India and Nepal in the coming years. We currently have 450+ students in our BTCP training classes in India and Nepal. Each time we finish training a class of students, we start up new classes with even more students. We hope the next round will have 1,000 or more and grow exponentially every 2-3 years.

Would you prayerfully consider supporting us? We need your prayers as we prepare for the conferences, graduations, meetings, and church services. We also need your prayers for safety in all our travels. We also need financial support as it will cost about $3,000 per person for airfare, housing, food, etc., and some additional funds for costs related to the conferences and graduations. Total cost (depending on the number of people going) will be between $25,000-$30,000.

If you would like to donate to this specific ministry of STN, please go to our donation page and select the “Oct 2019 India NCEP Trip” donation designation. We so appreciate your prayer and financial support. If you have any questions, please email me at pbrown@tbbfchurch.org.

Bolivia Graduation

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I am thankful for all the opportunities the Lord has given me through Shepherding The Nations (STN) to resource and train people to reach their world with the gospel. Pastor Eddie Bueno has been heading up our ministry in Latin America where we have six training centers. At each training center students are working through an intensive two-plus-year curriculum to equip them to better serve as church leaders and/or church planters in unreached areas.

Our First Latin America Graduation

Three of those training centers are located in Bolivia. All three will be having graduation ceremonies this month. A team of five of us will be going to Bolivia, while there, Pastor Eddie and I will preach at special evangelistic services, special youth and church worship services, and graduation ceremonies. We will also meet with key leaders to determine the next steps STN will take to train more future leaders and see how we can help some of the graduates plant new churches in unreached areas. Please pray for God’s wisdom and protection as we serve these precious saints in Bolivia.

STN Prayer Partners Needed

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Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak. (Colossians 4:2–4 – NASB95)

The Apostle Paul understood the priority of prayer. He prayed incessantly for others and often asked others to pray for him and his missionary endeavors (Eph. 6:18-20; 1 Thess. 5:25). Pastors and missionaries experience weaknesses, fears, frustrations, challenges, temptations, and doubts like everyone else. But added to that is an intense spiritual struggle because the enemy of their souls does not want them to advance the cause of Christ. Satan and his minions work diligently to hinder them from proclaiming the Gospel and training the saints to maturity (1 Thess. 2:17-18).

Prayer partners for each pastor in training

With that in mind, I am looking for prayer partners who will commit to pray (at least once each week) for specific people that we are training for ministry. Currently we have over 500 people in training and that number may rise to 700 by the end of the year.

We would love for all of them to be prayed for by name, asking God to:
  • protect them and provide for them
  • cause them to grow in spiritual disciplines
  • be diligent in studying the BTCP materials
  • apply them to their lives and ministries
  • be faithful in their relationships
  • be bold in evangelism
  • be true shepherds of the people

Imagine what 700 people with solid biblical training and the support of prayer partners could do to advance the cause of Christ in India, Nepal, and Latin America. If all heaven rejoices over one sinner that repents (Luke 15), imagine what heaven will do when these students impact thousands with the gospel!

Are you willing to help us intercede on behalf of these evangelists and church planters in training? Do you have a small group or Bible study that would like to pray together for these future leaders? Praying for one student would be great, but praying for 5 to 10 would be even better. If you would like to join this prayer ministry, please email us at info@shepherdingthenations.org and let us know how many names you would like. We will send you the name(s) and approximate location of where they live.

Thank you for joining with us in this prayer ministry. Some day we will have the privilege of talking with the people we prayed for and the people they led to faith in Jesus Christ. What joy is ours to participate with them on our knees in prayer.

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The Privilege of Sharing

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Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia. They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity. For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will. They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem. They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do. (2 Corinthians 8:1–5 – NLT)

As I read that passage in 2 Corinthians 8, I am amazed by two things:

  1. the sacrificial giving of the churches in Macedonia;
  2. the sacrificial giving by all of you.

God has been using your generosity to enable STN to train more pastors and church planters. Existing church leaders and churches are being strengthened to impact their own villages more effectively, and church planters are going out to new villages with the good news of Jesus. Right now, we are training over 500 people with the BTCP materials (322 men in India and Nepal plus 180 people in Bolivia, Honduras, Guatemala and Southern Mexico). I just received a report yesterday that there are 125+ more men in India & Nepal who are waiting to be trained. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg! We are getting requests from other countries in Central & South America and now some requests from countries in Africa.

Year End Giving

As we approach the end of 2017, I know a lot of people are thinking about end-of-the-year giving. If you aren’t familiar, at the STN International office we are all volunteers; none of us are paid. We LOVE serving through STN and we are thrilled with the privilege of participating in what God is doing, but we don’t have paid people heading up fund-raising efforts. And to be quite honest, it’s not something that we currently are very good at doing. That is why we pray. Would you join me in praying for God to abundantly provide for this ministry? Here are some specific needs we are praying for God to provide:

  1. Training materials. What does it cost to train one new person? At current prices, we spend about $100 for the materials that each person needs (10 BTCP books, a study Bible, and a concordance). That means each time we add a new student we need to raise an additional $100. Please pray for at least 125 people to give $100 each so we can provide training materials for the men we want to start training in 2018? Or pray for one person to give $12,500 to cover all of them.
  2. International Director. Ryder Kumar has been in India now for a little over 2 years. He is the catalyst & overseer of the ministry in India and Nepal. He is currently about $1500 per month short of being fully supported. Please pray for 15 donors to give $100 per month to bring Ryder up to full support.
  3. Latin America Trainers. We currently have six men who serve as STN Trainers in Latin America. They are teaching the BTCP materials to over 180 students. Most of these students will finish their training by the end of 2018 and then we hope to start training new people. STN supports each of these trainers at $375 per month and we currently have $25 per month coming in for one of them. We are able to pay them because of a large gift we received to start the ministry in Latin America. For the training to continue past 2018, please pray for new donors to sponsor these men. To cover the additional $2225 per month we would need 22 donors to give $100 per month.
  4. Church Planters. At this time, we have over 100 graduates of our STN training, most of whom are actively involved in pastoring an existing church, planting new churches, and/or training more pastors and church planters. In the next 18 months that number will grow to over 600. For these men to go to unreached areas and plant churches they need financial support. Currently we are supporting 33 of these dedicated men. Please pray for the Lord to raise up an army of donors willing to give $100 per month to support more of these church planters.

Options for end-of-year giving? Here are a few suggestions:

  1. Cash donations. This can be done by check through the mail (postmarked no later than 12/31/17) or online at the STN website.
  2. Stock donations.
  3. House or property donation.
  4. Contact a Foundation on behalf of STN. Ask them to make a one-time donation to support this ministry.

Thank you for supporting STN so faithfully with your prayers and gifts. Jesus is building His church all over the world and you are a vital part of it. May God bless you richly as you give yourself to making disciples of all the nations. Until the whole world hears!