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It is one of my life’s callings to teach, I can sometimes barely help myself! Teaching the Bible has been one of the greatest joys for me as a missionary, and God knew exactly what He was doing by moving us to Windermere. For years the school had wanted to start an outreach to local church community leaders with educational and training opportunities. Now in this past month we’ve finally found the realization to that dream.
After going through the certification process with our partner organization, Windermere High School is now locally rebranded as a High School and Bible College. The vision of our program is to one day see the training curriculum being reproduced in all the partnering churches so that local assemblies can turn right around and teach and equip their own people from within. Ever since seminary I (and many of my closest friends from school) have been captured with the idea of church based theological training. I’m so excited now that we’ve finally got the opportunity to see that dream realized.
Our first classes have been fantastic; just a tangible moving of the Spirit and a palpable connection and unity among all of those present. It really is just the most humbling of blessings to have the opportunity to teach and instruct the students that we’ve been given.
Each night we being with prayer and then move into a paired discussion in class beginning with personal spirituality and the essentials of serving as a man or woman of virtue within their sphere of ministry and influence. We’ve moved intentionally through the book of 1st Timothy and the qualifications for leadership in church to contrast what is so often seen on the island as a man-centered and worldly perspective for who becomes a leader as opposed to the Biblical standards. By beginning with leadership it has given our students a good perspective on the reality of the present state-of-the-church and how they can begin evaluating themselves not by the rubric of worldly success but rather Biblical obedience.
Please pray for us all as we are still adding numbers to our class. I’m trying to keep our class size small enough to facilitate those intimate discussions and still spread myself just thin enough to reach as many as possible. I’m beyond thrilled to see Windermere offer college courses in ministry and theology and Lord wiling in 4 years we’ll be handing out a few Bachlors and Masters Degrees (for the first time ever on Eleuthera) to go along with the hands-on Biblical training and equipping for church growth and effectiveness that is so desperately needed.