“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.
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.