The BTCP Program

The Bible Training Center for Pastors (BTCP) is designed for the specific purpose of providing trans-denominational basic Bible training for national pastors which will adequately and effectively equip them with the necessary knowledge and practical skills for the work of local church ministry.

The BTCP focus is on the pastors becoming more like Jesus Christ in character, conduct and conversation.

BTCP is an equipping and training ministry of the church, not a formal educational institution.

The goal is to impact the local church in terms of spiritual growth by equipping and training pastors.

Curriculum, Methodology and Philosophy

The curriculum of BTCP is uniquely Bible centered, using the NIV Study Bible as its main textbook along with 10 custom designed, self-contained and comprehensive course manuals providing the equivalent of a foundational level Bible college or seminary education.

Teaching is done in a relational/interactive context which fosters ongoing learning, application and assimilation of knowledge and skills without the use of traditional methodology such as exams, grade point averages and research/term papers. In most day tracks, classes are followed by a directed study/review time. Evaluation and assessment is done by the teachers on a personal basis. Thus BTCP represents a different, practical philosophy of theological education.

Students successfully completing all 10 courses receive a certificate of completion and a letter of recommendation. The course manuals and NIV Study Bible constitute an ongoing resource/research library for the pastor in his ministry.

The BTCP program cannot be installed in part but must be accepted in its entirety with course manuals, NIV Study Bibles, philosophy, concept and methodology. Material cannot be deleted or added nor can other educational/academic requirements be imposed.

*Study the Word of God to know the God of the Word*

Training in Asia and Germany

With a focus on ministry opportunities, here is an important ministry update from the Bible Training Centre for Pastors (“BTCP”):

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Training in Asia—From a recent report on a mission news network, it is estimated that there is one trained and competent church leader for every 600,000 people across Asia. In North America, there is one trained and competent Christian leader for every 1,300 people. Because pastors are the frontline in advancing the Gospel, they need to be well grounded. Pray for BTCP’s ministry partners that are training pastors and church leaders throughout Asia so that the church might be strengthened.

German translation to open opportunities—A German translation of the BTCP curriculum undertaken by partner Compassion World Outreach will address significant leadership training needs throughout Germany. How significant is the need? Through interviews this past year with several German nationals, it became evident that a spiritual void existed and must be remedied. One German school teacher shared this: “We have statistically only 2% of the German people who are serious about God and knowing Christ in a personal way. The majority of people have zero connection with the Bible and yet they criticize it. They are criticizing what they don’t really know. The need is there for people to know the Word of God. So if we can help the pastors, or the church leaders, this is what we need.”

Training Hispanic leaders in the U.S.—We appreciate the ministry of Miguel Montenegro as he mobilizes groups of Hispanic church leaders for training around the U.S. A recent look at population statistics underscores the opportunity. In the year 2000, 56% of the foreign born people in the U.S. were Hispanic. In 2009, 1 in 6 of Americans are of Hispanic descent. It is estimated that in 2020, Americans of Hispanic descent will be 18% of the total population in the U.S. The well-being of the Hispanic community is affected by the spiritual maturity of the church and its leaders. This is an opportunity for training we must not overlook.

Testimony—Here in the U.S., several churches utilize the BTCP curriculum to train their leaders. A pastor from a church in New York shared with us how pleased he was with the results:

Thanks for your ministry. One of the guys in our group said, “this course series has been the greatest stimulation to my spiritual growth in my whole life.” Two of the four students in the class are regularly doing pulpit supply. This same two will be preaching for me when I am on vacation at the end of the month. Your ministry is having a great impact in our church.

Please join with us in praying for fruitful opportunities for ministry in 2009 and for those who are dedicated to carry training to the untrained.

Making the Most of Every Opportunity

By now, many of you have received and read our 2008 Annual Report, “Making the Most of Every Opportunity.” The report reflects many weeks of planning. It is gratifying to go through this process because it helps us to clarify our thoughts about where we sense we are as a ministry.

The word that kept coming up in our planning was “opportunity.” In the midst of the challenging times in which we live, there seems to be many ministry “opportunities” coming our way. These opportunities require discernment. We want to seize opportunities while carefully assessing the impact on our core ministry of training pastors. The need remains significant throughout the world.

Key verses with this theme include Ephesians 5:15-16, “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” Colossians 4:5 echoes this principle to “make the most of every opportunity.” BTCP Founder and President Dennis Mock brings up another verse that gives us a sharper focus, 1 Corinthians 16:9, “A huge door of opportunity for good work has opened up here . . . .” The word “opportunity” carries the idea of “standing at a portal at a moment in time” and having to decide whether or not to go through that opening. So, we pray for the Lord’s wisdom about investing in the opportunities that come our way.

We see opportunities, or new openings, for ministry in five key areas: ministry partnerships, new curriculum translations, openings in certain countries, Hispanic pastor training in the U.S., and church leader training in the U.S. Each of these areas present unique challenges.

Please pray for us as we seek to make the most of these opportunities in the coming year!

Ministry Update

We are blessed to be able to share this important ministry update from the Bible Training Centre for Pastors (“BTCP”):

Languages—We reviewed some statistics on languages the other day at a staff meeting. Translations of the BTCP curriculum are available in six of the world’s top ten languages, enabling BTCP to serve 47% of the world’s population. Translations are under development in the remaining languages that fall in the top ten. By population, the top ten languages of the world are Chinese, Spanish, English, Bengali, Hindi/Urdu, Arabic, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, and German.

Partnerships for training—During this past year BTCP added 96 new partnering organizations! This opportunity opens doors in areas around the world where training previously was not available.

Church Leaders in the U.S.—Over 50 new classes began this past year in the U.S. to help train church leaders. Bible Training for Church Leaders (“BTCL”) continues to grow at a strong rate as churches realize the need for thorough and systematic training.

Testimony—One of our ministry partners, a mission leader based in South Korea, saw the need to multiply church leaders to work among Muslims in Chechnya and Dagestan. Here is an account about those efforts from a past issue of Christianity Today:

After ministering in Dagestan, he moved further north into Russia for safety reasons. Eventually, he was forced to leave the country entirely, but not before he had spent four years training 12 church leaders and pastors. By entering the region from southern Russia for two weeks at a time every two months, he was able to train national church leaders in Chechnya, teaching them Old and New Testament theology and other seminary-level courses. He turns somber when he recalls the 12 believers he discipled in Chechnya and Dagestan. “Even though I can’t continue to teach them, my disciples are teaching the next generation of church leaders in the North Caucasus. They will remember me, and I will remember them.”

What joy to know that we are involved with men like this around the world, teaching and training the next generation of church leaders!

Please join with us in praying for these many opportunities for ministry and for those who are dedicated to carry training to the untrained.

DEDICATED STUDENTS

The testimonies from our ministry partners on the field always encourage us and motivate us to greater devotion to the Lord’s work at BTCP. One recurring refrain reflects the unusual distances that students travel to be trained. To illustrate, we heard a convicting testimony from a ministry partner just now working in the mountains of Peru:

The town used as our base of operation for the BTCP training is in a valley at about 9,600 feet above sea level. The villages surrounding that town are at elevations above 13,000 feet. What we did not know is that those who were to attend the training had to walk down from the villages—a trek of three hours. As if this was not enough of a show of commitment, the trek back up the mountain after the training took five hours. That’s right—the people attending the training sessions had to walk eight hours a day in order to be part of the training!

Talk about a hunger for God’s word; I have never witnessed such a desire to be trained. It was humbling. I thought of the times in my life that I would think it inconvenient to have to walk a few minutes in the rain because there was not a parking space any closer to the church entrance. Times that I sloughed off going to a Bible study because I would be late and too embarrassed to walk in after the class started. Christ spoke to me in Peru as I watched the people stream in from the villages nestled among the majestic Andean peaks.

We hope the extraordinary faithfulness of these students motivates you to greater dedication to the Lord’s work. Please join us to pray for this class of young church leaders in Peru and for their ministries. Thank you for your faithfulness to the Lord and to BTCP!

What Does a Trained Pastor Look Like?

The pastor trained by BTCP should have the necessary Bible knowledge, ministry skills and character to properly minister to Christ’s church. He can best be described with three words: COMPETENT, CONFORMED and CAPABLE.

COMPETENT in the Scripture
•He knows, understands and applies God’s Word.
•He has a biblical world view.

COMPETENT in basic ministry skills
•He is able to teach/preach God’s Word to equip God’s people.
•As an undershepherd, he is able to counsel, lead and comfort those entrusted to him.

CONFORMED to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ
•His character and conduct reflect the grace of Christ.
•He is a Spirit-led servant leader.
•He is growing in spiritual maturity.

CAPABLE of spiritual reproduction
•He is actively multiplying and investing in other leaders.

In summary: The goal of BTCP is to equip a pastor or church leader to know the Lord’s Word, walk authentically in His grace and minister to His people.

The manuals are part of that resource but you will need to fully understand the concept behind them in order to ensure your maximum effectiveness as you implement the program

BTCP STATEMENT OF PURPOSE FOR 2009

In light of these challenging times, it is BTCP’s stated intention for 2009 to continue making PROGRESS as we sustain our ministry momentum:

• by keeping a POSITIVE but realistic attitude with regard to the opportunities the Lord brings us;
• by moving forward PURPOSEFULLY and PRUDENTLY, exercising good stewardship in view of the changing times; and
• by PRAYERFULLY asking God to give us wisdom and enablement for accomplishing the ministry entrusted to us.

Our Mission:
To extend non-formal theological training to the world’s untrained pastors and church leaders.