STN News – Page 4 – Shepherding the Nations

Reaching Latin America with the Gospel through STN

February 26, 2016 By sleinen

by Pastor Eddie Bueno

Pastor Eddie Bueno (left), David Nelson (behind Eddie), and Pastor Richard Buitrago and family

My trip to India was a journey without much planning. I knew that I would have to go to observe and see how the STN program worked there, and see the possibility of starting the program somewhere in Latin America. On my return from India I did not know what to do or where to start. Several months passed and I even thought that my trip to India had only been an expense and nothing more.

But one day, while talking to Pastor Ryder, he suggested that I start the program in Bolivia, the country where I am from. I had not retuned to my country for 34 years and to think of going back and taking a project to train pastors did not sound like a good idea to me. But what seemed to be not a good idea to me seemed like a good idea to God.

When I went to Bolivia and I contacted several pastors. I saw how the enemy has worked there with the growth of the Prosperity Gospel. This movement is very far from the sound doctrine that we find in the Word of God. I saw the need to train new pastors and thought that if we start there we can continue into the rest of Latin America, given that Bolivia is geographically located in the center of South America.

In the next three months we will start three Bible Institutes in three different cities of Bolivia – Santa Cruz, La Paz and Cochabamba. We also already have pastors that have shown interest in taking this program to Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay. May the Lord guide us and provide the economic and human resources we need to train pastors that fear God and that are well trained in the Scriptures.

Teacher Training Workshop with David Nelson (top)

STN’s Plans for 2016 in India

February 9, 2016 By pbrown

Ryder & Flory Kumar have been in India for over 4 months now and a lot of things are being accomplished. They have settled into a home, set up an office for STN India, worked on administrative details (legal & financial), met with key leaders, spoken in churches and special meetings, and organized prayer groups. They have been BUSY!

What else will be happening in 2016?

A lot more time will be spent with the STN Board in India. These men will prayerfully give leadership to the movement in India and Nepal. They will plan conferences to train more men as well as spread the word about STN to individuals, churches, and other Christian organizations.

Ryder will spend more time with the men who have already been trained. These men will not only labor to establish healthy churches but will train other men to go to unreached areas. Teacher Training Workshops (TTW’s) will be offered to these men so they can effectively teach the BTCP materials to others. They will also be held accountable for their personal growth, their family life, their ministry in the churches, and their outreach to the lost.

An overwhelming number of requests are coming in for people to be trained all over India and Nepal.

New BTCP courses will be started in different regions and will be led by former students and regional directors.

Regional Directors will be appointed to oversee training and accountability in different parts of the country. Ryder cannot reach the entire country but he can work with key regional leaders who can carry out the work. The ministry will grow exponentially in the coming years as these men train men who will train men…

More men will be trained in Nepal.

The need is great in Nepal for healthy churches and we will help some of our former students train church planters to be sent into the harvest.

Investigate possible sites for an STN India Training Center.

$700,000 was donated last year for this purpose and we want to know the right location for maximum impact in the coming years. This center would double as the STN India headquarters.

On top of all that we will explore the possibility of ministry in Pakistan.

We have been praying for that country for years and hope to see healthy churches established to make disciples of that nation.

Ryder & Flory will be very busy. Please pray for them to draw near to the Lord, grow strong in their marriage, stay healthy, walk in the Spirit, and discern God’s will on a moment-by-moment basis. In a country that has such enormous needs it is easy to get overwhelmed or say “yes” to too many things. Thank you for praying that they will work hard but also find times of quiet rest and refreshment.

To carry out all of these things will require more funds.

From time-to-time our donors need to stop supporting STN and right now we have a few pastors without sponsors. For $60-100 per month these men are fully supported to plant churches in unreached areas. Please pray for the Lord to provide new sponsors for these men as well as hundreds of others that will be trained in the coming years. And pray for more donors to support Ryder & Flory as they are about $2,000 short of their monthly need. Our General Fund is currently covering these costs, but we would love to see specific donors or churches sponsor these men.

We believe God will do great things in India & Nepal in 2016. Your prayers and donations are making an eternal difference. Thank you for partnering with us. To God be the glory!

One Day Women’s Conference

January 29, 2016 By Ryder Kumar

Report by Vinay Kalapala

In partnership with the Shepherding the Nations we were able to conduct a one day conference for the ladies of our church and surrounding churches with the theme, “Your Effective Growth in the Body of Christ.” Brother Ryder Kumar gave an inspirational and insightful devotional study from John 6:1-14 speaking on “Incredible Blessing.” Flory Kumar spoke with clarity and burden based on the theme. She focused on six aspects of growth, “Worship, Fellowship, Membership, Serving, Discipleship and Giving.” The 62 ladies present were motivated and blessed by the teaching.

It was a real encouragement to see many participating from other churches such as Hebron Fellowship, LEF, and Zion Prayer house joined with our Shiloh Prayer hall. Followed by a delightful lunch a 20-minute game helped the ladies get ready for the afternoon sessions. Sis. Halleluiah and other ladies sang worship songs at the beginning of afternoon session. Flory continued her 2nd secession with group discussions. During this time, many shared their convictions and challenges in those 6 areas of study and made decisions to correct themselves and gave testimonies and spent time in prayer.

During the conference some of the pastors desired for a meeting with Brother Ryder to express their desire to request STN’s partnership in the endeavors to hold BTCP seminars for many who are in need. We are very much thankful to Brother Ryder and Sister Flory, and Shepherding the Nations for giving us a wonderful opportunity provided to meet the needs of these ladies of different churches. There is a great need for holding such conferences regularly.

God’s Transforming Power Clearly Seen – Jose Simon

January 19, 2016 By Ryder Kumar

Jose Simon stands to read during early BTCP conference.

Jose Simon (along with his wife) sold land given to him by his parents in South India. With this money he bought another piece of land in North India. The place is not only far from his culture, language, and family but it is in a remote village where nobody wants to live. Jose’s purpose was to spread the Gospel.

To have income he established a school. Having no formal training in theology he was desperate to receive training. When he approached STN India he was rejected at first because he was not a pastor. But his intensity in pursuing this training persuaded our coordinator to enroll him for the BTCP study course. Jose did not just attend classes but watched the lives of teachers who came from the US, interacted with them, and became a diligent student. He was challenged by the lives that he watched. His hard work, discipline and dedication enabled him to do well and graduate. The five long years of study was of great value. His life has been transformed. Jose, with his meager earnings from the school that he established in the village helps the poor students to buy BTCP books. He spends long hours in traveling as he travels with low budget and leads two groups in remote villages in two of the most backward states of North India.

Ryder (left) with pastors during conference in Lucknow in January 2016. (Jose Simon is on the right.)

Jose is also helping STN India as a board member.

Shepherding The Nations is expanding!

August 30, 2015 By pbrown

We are overwhelmed by God’s grace and provision to grow the work of STN in India and Nepal and expand into other nations as well. He is answering all of our prayers for wisdom, key leaders, financial resources, and open doors to train more nationals to reach unreached areas of the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Growing in India

Ryder and Flory Kumar will be moving to India very soon to give leadership to the movement in India & Nepal. Ryder will establish a base of operations, work with national leaders of other ministries as well as the 75 men we have already trained, and oversee the training and sending of more church planters to new areas. We have some reserve funds to cover his salary for a little while but he still needs about $2,000 per month in additional support to be fully funded. Please pray for this need to be met quickly. We desire to utilize the reserve funds for some major projects in India in the coming days (i.e., purchase or build a Training Center and National Offices for STN India). We are also hoping to identify and support two or more Regional Directors in India & Nepal to help facilitate training and mentoring more church planters. Beyond that there is a desire to do the same thing in countries that border India.

Imagine the 75 trained men in India and Nepal expanding to 500 in the next five years. Then imagine the 500 expanding to 5,000+ a few years later… Consider with me a growing number of trained men who are zealous to see their own people reached with the Gospel and organized together into growing, healthy, reproducing churches.

Expanding into South America

Pastor Eddie Bueno has a burden to oversee a new work in South America starting this fall. He knows some key leaders in Bolivia that he hopes to work with to launch STN Latin America very soon. We are hoping to begin with about 36 carefully chosen men in the near future and then send them out at the end of a two-year training process to plant churches in new areas. STN would then support those men for up to three years until their churches can support them. While that is happening we will train more men to be sent out and keep the process going. Once the work is established in Bolivia we hope to expand to other Central and South American countries. Pray for wisdom for Pastor Eddie as the foundation is laid in the next few months.

Praise God that $110,000 has already been donated to launch this new area of ministry for STN. That will allow us to do the groundwork, identify the right key leaders, and start the training, but we will be in need of more monthly sponsors to support specific church planting pastors in the coming months. Central & South America desperately need solid Bible-teaching churches!

Will you join us?

Will you commit to pray and support STN monthly? Will you spread the news to other believers, churches, and foundations so they can join with us? We need likeminded partners who are committed to the Great Commission and will sacrifice to see it fulfilled in our generation.

Footnote: Special thanks to the leadership and people of The Bridge Bible Fellowship who allow us to have the STN International Offices on the property at no cost. Beyond that they have included STN in the missions budget! This allows STN to operate without normal overhead costs.

There are billions of people who don’t yet know Jesus. The Lord has blessed us with spiritual and financial resources. Let’s be a conduit for those blessings to flow to the rest of the world!

May in India

May 25, 2015 By sleinen

Ryder and Flory are once more in India as ministry continues with our recent graduates and new contacts.

This trip will include:

A new door is opened in a new state called Gujarat (North West India) for Flory and Ryder to minister the Word. While Flory speaks to the women in the church Ryder will preach on May 24^that a congregation of 200. There is potential here as the Pastor is a good leader who is burdened for missions/equipping and training pastors in villages. He also is organizing a meeting with key leaders to organize BTCP/TTW to be connected for ongoing ministry.
Seminars are planned for key graduates in both Hyderabad and Lucknow.
Continued research into housing, office space and other moving details for Ryder and Flory who are finalizing details for their move to India late this summer.

Here is a report from Ravi following the Hyderabad conference:

The two day refreshing course recollecting the essence of Book No.1 and 5—two important course books, was of tremendous encouragement, and gave fillip to the whole of the ministry of God’s word.

In all 13 pastors drawn from various parts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana States including myself and Timothy attended.

Bro.Ryder Kumar dwelt in details on the rules of interpretation of the Word of God, and expositional preaching. Simultaneously the preaching on doctrines was captivating, and the participants were keen on learning these aspects in a great detail. As this exposure was given, all the pastors felt that this time around, the learning of the rules of interpretation was easier to grasp.

We appreciate and thank Bro. Ryder for taking time to visit us again to teach these precious and valuable inputs to all our pastors. In spite of the Road transport strike, all the pastors from far and near could reach Hyderabad on time. We thank all those who prayed for this seminar.

Ryder’s update from India:

In Hyderabad, there were 15 present mostly graduates of STN. The time was enriching for the whole group.

We were able to meet several people with whom we had discussions about a house on rent when we move.

There are more contacts made which are very helpful. On Sunday I preached three times. There were couple of hundred present in the worship service and many young people. Flory had a good ministry among the Sunday school where 200 kids were present. She taught songs and ministered the word. The Seminar at Lucknow began yesterday. The heat I experienced during teaching was 120 degrees. It was tough, sticky and uneasy and a bit difficult for the audience. Today we are beginning the sessions bit early to help cope with the heat. Please pray. There are two new places we are visiting this week where we will meet several leaders to discuss about our mission and vision.

Please pray as lot of discussions are taking place regarding our move, my driving license, adjustments to be made etc. It also appears that because of recent decision to make a separate state where Hyderabad got involved, people from Hyderabad got migrated to other state. A good thing for us is as Shanti mentioned house and property have gone down. We are looking at all options.

Hyderabad Seminar

Hyderabad Seminar

Lucknow Seminar

Answered Prayer for Rehoboth

May 25, 2015 By rleinen

For over 10 years there has been a legal battle over the property where Reheboth church meets in Hyderabad, India. This little church, led by Pastor Ravi Kumar, has been a bright light in Hyderabad for many years. For a while it looked like they might have to find a different place to meet. But praise the Lord that the battle is over! The property, which contains a church and a home, is now fully owned by Reheboth church. This is a tremendous answer to prayer. Thank you to the many people who prayed on their behalf for so many years. May the Lord continue to bless this congregation for His glory.

Today as I was getting ready to post this, I came across Genesis 26:22 in my daily Bible reading about how the Philistines were quarreling with Issac over the wells that he was digging. He dug a third well and the story reads,

“He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth, saying, “Now the Lord has given us room and we will flourish in the land.”

The name, “Rehoboth” means “enough room,” and what a blessing to see how just as the Lord gave Issac this well, so he gave Ravi and His church in Hyderabad the provision of this church property so that they will “flourish in the land.”

Susan with Shanthi in front of Rehoboth church (center and right) during 2009 conference.

Randy and Mike Amoroso after services at Rehoboth church in 2009.

Big Vision / Big Provision

May 19, 2015 By pbrown

hudson-taylor-quote

J. Hudson Taylor once stated, “God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supplies.”

At STN we have seen that to be true over and over again. Month after month we have seen God supply through faithful people who keep on giving of their time, talents, and treasures. As a result we have been able to train 100+ pastors and support many of them monthly as they plant churches in unreached areas of India and Nepal. But we have desired to see God do “far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think… (Eph. 3:20).” There are over 1.2 billion people in India and most of them have never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our big vision for the future has been to:

Have a National Director in India who can oversee and develop the ministry
Have Regional Coordinators that provide training and oversight in their area
Build an STN Training Center where men can come to be trained
Train & support more pastors & church planters in India and Nepal
Train & support church planters in Pakistan and other countries in SE Asia
Develop a similar training program in Central and South America

Doing all of those things would require a dramatic growth in the monthly income of STN.

So about one year ago we began praying that the Lord would provide $500,000 so we could expand the work of STN in the areas mentioned above. We didn’t know how the Lord would provide but we prayed that He would. Last week God supplied over and above our request as an anonymous donor gave $700,000 to STN!!! We were overjoyed by God’s provision and humbled by the stewardship He entrusted to us. Please join with us in praying that we will have a crystal clear understanding of how to utilize these funds to accomplish His purposes.

A big vision and a big donation. Give all praise, glory, and honor to God for the great things He has done, is doing, and will do!

“And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
-Philippians 4:19 (NASB95)

Whoa! It’s happening!

January 23, 2015 By Ryder Kumar

Dreams come true.

Thinking big is important.

Let us remind ourselves of the words of William Carey the cobbler from England who became a missionary and landed in India,

“Expect great things from God and attempt great things for God.”

Trusting our living God is serious business. Diane Brown sang at the graduation ceremonies both in South and North India, “How Great Thou Art.” Our hearts were touched and we trembled with holy awe!

What does our great God have for STN after these graduations?

Breaking news: J. S. reports that 30 pastors are gathering from January 24th thru 27th to study course # 1 of BTCP. This is going to happen in a state called Orissa. This is in central India where our team from the US has never been. This means the Lord is leading us to an entirely new place. Not just that, Odisha (new name for Orissa) is the place where Graham Stains and his two kids were martyred. This is one of the most backward states of India and heavy persecution of Christians has been taking place. We are seeing multiplication of the work. Can you sing, “How great Thou art”?

D. and his family

Breathtaking news: D., who was instrumental in starting church plant couple of days after his graduation, informed me on January 17th that a son in the family who gave his house to hold worship services has become seriously sick. He gave up drinking because of the message of the Gospel presented to him. But one week later unable to resist his pangs he took a drink and got sick. He threw up liters of blood on Sunday/Monday night. He was troubled to the point of death. People prayed. Another graduate named Avadesh, who is pastor at another place, began praying and fasting for three days. KB was informed to pray. All prayed. The situation was desperate for D. because it was a challenge for the faith of all the newly born again members of the newly formed church. All are from Hindu background. The guy who was sick was taken to the hospital. Amazing! God answered prayers. Doctors checked and found out that all his internal organs are okay except his lungs. He was treated and sent home. He became completely well. D. further said how this group of people collected about $500 to take care of this sick person. Displays of this kind of Christian love are unusual. God used D.’s testimony of belonging to the Lord and his commitment to motivate others to do it. Can you sing, “How great Thou art”?

Blissful news: KB called a week ago to inform me that he was in Nepal on Christmas day. 200 people gathered for the celebration. This included people who were opposed to Christianity. These opposition people applauded the celebration and enjoyed it thoroughly. While KB was away in Nepal 200 people attended the Christmas service at his home church in Unnao. This gathering included a politician whose party is against Christianity. Surprisingly this politician was spell bound as he enjoyed the whole Christmas service. Can you sing, “How great Thou art”?

By faith we look forward to greater happenings.

An Evening with Shepherding the Nations by Pastor Ryder Kumar

June 17, 2014 By sleinen

It has been my great honor to be associated with TBBF for several years. TBBF has a Christ-centered, mission-oriented and people-focused philosophy of ministry and has taken the driver’s seat to raise funds for Shepherding the Nations (STN).

On May 10, 2014, a fundraising event was held at TBBF. The estimated crowd of around 150 were spellbound by the beautiful music and gifted voices. Steve Lively and Diane Brown presented several songs that lifted our soul. Mike Vos, the event organizer, worked with his team for months of preparation. Their efforts included a wonderful silent auction with many items of interest. There were also many drawings where those in attendance could win a vacation, gift cards or tickets to attend various sporting events, etc. Tammy Werth, who handles the finances for STN, oversaw the collection of donations that night. Susan Leinen’s creative work on brochures and take-home packets helped people to have written material they could read to learn more about STN. During intermission, there was Hawaiian shaved ice and a coffee bar available, as well. Many, many volunteers helped to make this event a success!

Pastor Paul Brown, president of STN International, passionately presented STN’s ministry in India with personal examples from his own involvement overseas. India has 1.2 billion people! and STN’s involvement in this country for the past 10 years has borne fruit that is beyond comprehension. About 90 pastors have been equipped over the past ten years though a systematic teaching of the Scriptures and key Biblical principles and doctrines. They are ready to graduate in the Fall 2014. There is tremendous excitement as several thousand living in remote villages will be impacted by these very men. In addition to this, a multiplication method has already begun in India. Churches are being multiplied and STN ministry has spread to Nepal.

Paul Brown closed by inviting my wife, Flory, and me to come to the stage. Based on a unanimous decision of the STN Board, I will be assuming the position of STN National Director for India. This will involve a myriad of responsibilities and will require us to relocate in India. Flory and I were blessed and encouraged by the time of prayer over us and our future ministry as the evening closed.

Thank you to everyone who helped or participated in any way in this event. STN appreciates your support of its ministry and its mission – to resource national leaders to shepherd their nations, developing a global partnership which trains and supports indigenous pastors to shepherd their nations.

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