July-August 2009 News

 

Mark 6:34 is an amazing verse.  Mark records Jesus looking at the multitudes of people and then makes an editorial comment to his readers:  "...and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he taught them many things." One of the energizing motives behind ProMETA is the conviction that Latin America has many sheep led by shepherds who desire more training but are not able to receive it for various reasons.  It is all too common to have shepherds inadequately prepared to face the challenges in Latin America.  And this creates a huge problem for the church as it falls prey to the many "wolves" out and about looking for an easy meal.  Thus, the compassion of Jesus leads him to feed the sheep by teaching them.  ProMETA has been designed to feed the sheep by providing more training for those who are already shepherds, and this too is done out of compassion.  (Not many have classified teaching as a ministry of compassion, but according to this verse, it is!)  What a privilege to partner with Jesus in feeding the sheep of his pasture!

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1.  Second Quarter moving ahead.

2.  Third quarter to begin in September.

3.  25 ProMETA courses.

4.  Guatemala meetings.

5.  Virtual class.

6.  Travels by ProMETA staff.

7.  March 2-3, 2010 LATN/ProMETA Summit.

8.  Student Testimonial.

9.  Prayer Points.

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1.  Second Quarter moving ahead.  The second term of 2009, which began May 7th, commenced with 39 students enrolled in six courses.  Of the 39 students who began the second quarter, five have dropped out, the primary reason being the consequences of personal health and scheduling issues.  These leaders live incredibly busy and stressful lives! Student attrition affects many, if not all serious academic institutions, but an attrition rate of slightly less than 13% is not too bad and considerably lower than national averages.  We praise the Lord for that! On August 1, we begin week 13 of ProMETA's 15 week term.

 

2.  Third quarter to begin in September.  The next term will begin on September 7, with the deadline for applications and enrollments set for August 7.  A promotional email was sent to nearly 5000 contacts, and we've advertised with Google and on the Desarrollo Cristiano website.  We are receiving an excellent response, given the wide range of the mailing, with 20 inquiries immediately following and others arriving daily.  We are processing 12-15 applications per day and are asking God to increase our new student enrollment to 18 - 20 new students for the fall term. 

 

3.  25 ProMETA courses. LATN's Learning Systems Department is preparing four courses for September delivery to students all over the Spanish speaking world.  These include: Dynamics of Counseling, a course taught by Dr. Gordon Pike, which provides basic tools and develops the student's counseling skills; Interpretation of the Book of Isaiah, taught by the veteran and well known Old Testament Scholar Dr. Mervin Breneman; Biblical Interpretation in the Post Modern World, by Dr. Ted Kautzmann, which helps students accurately interpret Scripture and make it relevant for today's world, and a new course in directed studies mentored by Dr. Mark Hendrickson. This last course will allow ProMETA students to pursue their own research and study interests while receiving academic credit toward their master's degree.   As of now, ProMETA's Learning Systems Department has seen 25 courses created for equipping Latin American evangelical leaders.  The goal of having all the courses for ProMETA's two programs is quickly getting closer!

 

4.  Guatemala meetings.  Recently, Drs. Fernández and Anderson traveled to Guatemala to teach in the city of Sumpango as well as meet with the leadership of the Mariano Gálvez University in Guatemala City.  We thank the Lord for answered prayer. Not only did the teaching go well as over 50 church leaders attended the meetings, but it also brought a few more potential students into the process.  And a leader of another seminary, one with which we have had no contact, approached us requesting that we explore a partnership with their school.  Before returning to San José, a meeting was held with the vice-rector of the Mariano Galvez University to continue the accreditation process.  We were pleased with the progress that was made and trust the Lord that the process will be completed soon.

 

5.  Virtual class.  Recently, the Costa Rican students from the class Contexts of Counseling met with Professors Gordon Pike and Enrique Fernandez at the ProMETA office. A student from Spain joined the class via Skype.  As ProMETA looks to the future, we have as a goal to include live classroom meetings as  part of the learning experience.  In this particular case, it was the first time we had held a live, online  discussion group in a course - we usually work with discussion boards.  We were pleased at how well it went and look forward to developing this simple, yet highly effective tool.

 

6.  Travels by ProMETA staff. The ProMETA staff is not only a virtual team, but it also must travel physically!  This past month, Dr. Ted Kautzmann, ProMETA's Academic Dean, was at the EFCA leadership conference along with Tim Dahlin, course author and mentor trainer, and Becky Fernández, Director of Promotions, to represent ProMETA. Becky also spoke in a women's seminar. At the end of July, ProMETA's Executive Director, Dr. Keith Anderson, and Enrique Fernández, Director of Institutional Relations and Chairman of the Contextual Studies Department, will travel to Venezuela to meet with several denominational leaders and seminary authorities. They will also have the opportunity to preach in local churches as well as meet and encourage ProMETA students. In August, Dr. Gordon Pike will be visiting Colombia to teach pastors and church leaders.  We thank the Lord for using staff internationally and protecting each one during travel.


7. March 2-3, 2010 LATN/ProMETA Summit. Plan to join us for what should be a wonderful time of seeing and hearing how God has been at work in strengthening his church through ProMETA.

We plan on spending two days together sharing the ProMETA vision and giving an update on what has transpired since the 2008 Summit.  At this Summit we also plan to have at least one Country Coordinator and some ProMETA students share how ProMETA is impacting their country through the training of its leaders.  Please mark the dates for the Summit, March 2-3, 2010, and plan on joining us in Costa Rica.  For more information contact us at becky.fernandez@efca.org.

 

8.  Student Testimonial. Francisco, a House Church Leader and host of a daily TV show in the Dominican Republic, says:  I want you to know that I never dreamed how much this opportunity to learn from God, from my professors, and from the other students would enrich my life and increase my productivity in ministry.  I thought that it would be a matter of a panoramic analysis of the Bible, theological background, and such things.  It was this and so much more - far more than I ever imagined.  I must confess that I've always had my doubts about studying via internet and with institutes of a different background, but my participation in ProMETA has exceeded my expectations.  The truth is that I am very grateful to my Father God and to you for being His instrument.  I definitely believe that "the latter glory will be greater than the former."  What a blessing is the wisdom that we derive from the word of God!

 

9.  Prayer points. 

* Pray that God will guide us as we accept new leaders who are applying to enroll in ProMETA's courses.  The church in Latin America needs well-trained shepherds to feed the sheep, and we want to make sure that we are focusing on the right shepherds. 

* Pray that God would provide us with additional country coordinators who can manage ProMETA's presence in a particular country.

* Pray that as a team and ministry we would demonstrate God's blessing through our Vision 2011 goals.

* Pray that the Lord would continue to provide ProMETA with resources for His ministry.

 

"Pray for ProMETA as we seek to empower leaders to equip others for effective ministry!"