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By Rod and Sherry Boyd
 After
months of planning by the Resource and Advisory Center for Bible
Schools, 222 educational leaders from 13 countries gathered in
Guatemala City, Guatemala for the four-day Educators Summit 2008,
April 14-17.
These national leaders, missionaries, international ministry leaders
and teachers explored New Horizons in Ministerial Training.
The principle emphasis of the biannual summit is to assist those
involved in the 900 plus Bible schools and extensions in
Spanish-speaking Latin America and Caribbean.
Three morning general sessions provided the
anchor points for the theme and teaching of the Summit.
The ABCs of Our Contemporary Commitment to Ministerial Training
helped participants understand the changing landscape of ministerial
training and the commitment that is required to respond to today’s
demands. The Challenge of Unification of Criteria
reminded those involved in Bible school ministry of the importance
of identifying and fulfilling necessary standards. From the
Basic to the Essential… and Effective challenged attendees
to evaluate current programs and provided a variety of
implementation tools.
Each participant was able to attend six of
fifteen different workshops that offered topics ranging from
teaching methods to library management, from writing skills to ways
to use technology to improve the Bible school. The new PROCEPA
program was inaugurated, offering five of the fifteen possible
workshops. PROCEPA is an international certification program for
teachers and administrative personnel that is administered by the
Resource and Advisory Center.
National superintendents and missionaries
shared in the morning devotionals and evening services. These
speakers brought to life the Ephesians 3:14-21 passage. With
special emphasis on verse 20—“Now to him who is able to do
immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to his power
that is at work within us”—they reminded us of God’s desire to
work through us to do much more than we can even imagine.
The Summit concluded with a banquet where
each participant received their certificates and gifts from the
various publishers that co-sponsored the event. The Resource and
Advisory Center presented Jeremias Bolanos, superintendent of El
Salvador, with a plaque honoring him for his support of ministerial
training and his eight years as president of CELAD, the
international organization of Assemblies of God in Latin America and
the Caribbean.
We are grateful for the impact of the
Educators Summit 2008, Guatemala. We heard so many positive
comments. The most meaningful came from the National Christian
Education Director of one of the Central American countries. He
said, “This is the best conference I’ve ever attended! We were
clearly shown the changes we need to make and what we need to do.”
The biannual Educator Summits are an
essential part of the overall strategy of the Resource and Advisory
Center. In the odd years the Center hosts International Dialogues.
National representatives, key missionaries and international
ministry leaders give reports for their countries and international
ministries that include special needs and challenges. The group
prioritizes these needs and chooses 3 or 4 for further
consideration. Small groups analyze each need and offer a
preliminary plan of action. These advisors assist the Center to
further develop these plans that include themes and teaching that
are presented at the Educators Summits that occur in even years.
Because of the cost of travel from the
“southern cone” countries of Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay,
Bolivia and Peru, the Center has begun a southern version of the
Dialogue and Educators Summits. Please pray for the upcoming
Educators Summit 2008, Argentina that will take place in Buenos
Aires, August 26-29. We are expecting 150 educational leaders from
eight different countries.
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