By: Pastor Brian Wipf
2 Tim. 2:1-2 ~ You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men [and women], who will be able to teach others also.
In this 2 Timothy 2 passage, Paul is giving us a picture of his discipleship strategy. For more people to be strengthened by the grace of the Lord Jesus, more people need to be able to teach God’s word to others. Paul’s strategy isn’t merely to have Timothy teach people about God; no, his strategy is to teach others to teach others about God.
A number of months ago as I was scanning and thinking about our ministries, I was wishing that we had more men and women who were better equipped to teach God’s word. I’m so thankful for the many people we have leading Bible studies. But these same teachers and facilitators were wanting to do their task more effectively. And God pressed upon my heart this thought: why don’t you train them?
By virtue of my role here at FBC, I humbly see myself as the primary teacher of God’s word for our faith community. Recalling 2 Timothy 2, I felt convicted to do a better job at preparing and training more of our FBCers to teach God’s word. So, I began brainstorming and planning a teacher training program this year. I’m happy to report to you that this program is up and running.
I asked several of our key leaders to give me a list of their volunteers who either currently teach or have the potential to be a teacher. After asking a large handful of these recommended men and women, about 15-20 of them agreed to participate in a 5 month initiative to become better teachers. Our first meeting was in the month of October.
These brothers and sisters are dedicating one Saturday morning a month for five months to learn how to become better teachers. Along with these Saturday mornings, they will also be having homework to complete in between classes to put into practice the things they are learning. The ultimate goal, of course, is to have more teachers here within our church family who are capable and confident to teach the word of God to the rest of us.
I’m wondering if you would pray for this program; would you ask God to bless our times together and bless the work that’s being done in between classes? Pray for this group of individuals to endure. They all have many other responsibilities not only at home and at work, but also here at FBC. By agreeing to this teacher training, they are making more sacrifices for the good of our church family.
And in addition to praying, be encouraged! Be thankful! I know I’m excited that more FBCers will be teaching God’s word to us.