- Pastors cover a 33 module curriculum over three years meeting one week per month.
- They are provided with an ESV study bible for a nominal amount – usually around $2, so that they feel they have contributed to it’s purchase and value it.
- Course materials are provided in paper form at a nominal charge although in the future ART is looking to provide a bible school on a Kindle or similar e-reader (see projects page).
- Training is free of charge but pastors have to make their own way to the class and cover any overnight accommodation costs. Sometimes pastors will sleep in a local church where the classes are held.
- ENJOYMENT OF THE BIBLE – God’s word has now become meaningful to the pastors now that they have a grasp of what it means and how to interpret it for themselves with God’s help.
- UNITY – pastors from different church have developed friendships and work together whereas before they saw each other as rivals.
- PREACHING – is now vastly improved, before ART training pastors would often make up a sermon on the way to church. A typical comment is “what were we about before”!
- PASTORAL WORK – pastors see the importance of visiting and nurturing their congregation.
- CHILDRENS MINISTRY – they have come to see the importance of training future generations and now train their own Sunday school teachers.
- GROWTH IN DEPTH – pastors are seeing their churches grow in depth. A tremendous encouragement when many see African Christianity as a mile wide and an inch deep!
Kenyan friends explained that part of the problem was that rural and slum churches were generally not well taught and the pastors had little real understanding of the bible. Some might even use scriptures such as “go in and possess the land’ to justify their actions.
The Fraser Peckham Trust commissioned a research project to investigate what was being done to train rural pastors. The result of that study identified the needs and that the best way to help the pastors was to train them in their communities.
In 2010 ART started the first three co-horts of pastors with the intention of learning from the project what worked and what didn’t. These three co-horts graduated in 2013.
Improving farming
Many pastors live on their own land, typically 2-3 acres, that they farm with their families in order to survive. Their churches are poor and not able to fully support them. Although farming has been carried out for many years there is often a lack of knowledge of modern farming practices, the best crops to grow and ways to increase the variety of produce grown.
In 2011 ART set up a 40 acre model farm in the Rift Valley with the intention of this being a place where we could train pastors, grow profitable crops and keep livestock. Unfortunately the first crop was destroyed by hailstones just before harvest. Although the crop was insured, APA the Nairobi based insurance company, have refused to pay out and there is a court case pending. ART lost $150,000 on the venture and had to withdraw from the farm which was under lease.
Undeterred by this experience, ART is still committed to help pastors practically and we appointed Zacharia Kamau, who finished his diploma in Agriculture in 2013 to provide training and on the ground practical advice to pastors. Our strategy is to work more directly with the pastors on their own land and to set up model farms on a smaller scale. Please pray for us as we seek to learn from our experiences and to help rural pastors not only in spiritual growth but also practically.
Sponsored projects
ART assesses the needs in each group of pastors in training and creates a projects list. These projects normally require a sponsor before we undertake them. Typical projects are:
- Providing bicycles.
- Installing electricity in a training centre, usually a church.
- Equiping a training centre with plastic chairs and tables. Many churches only have wooden benches to sit on and these can be uncomfortable for a full day of study!
- Providing basic equipment like flip charts
- Purchasing a motorcycle for a trainer to enable them to visit pastors more efficiently. Pastors in training may be spread out over a large area with no proper road.
- PayPal – go to the special projects page or the sponsor a pastor page and click the project or sponsorship option you desire (use the Quick Links on the bottom left of any web page footer). There is also an option to make a general donation.
- Credit Card – Credit Card payments are currently processed through PayPal. You don’t have to have a PayPal account to make a Credit Card payment this way but you will be asked to create an account. You don’t have to have the account set up as a Permanent PayPal account if you don’t want to. Simply check the option when it’s presented to “not set up a PayPal account”.
- Personal or Corporate Cheque – contact us through the Contact Page and we will send you the address to send your cheque to.
- Bank Standing Order – suitable for monthly sponsorship payments or regular general donations. Go to the Special Projects or Sponsor a Pastor (use the Quick Links on the bottom left of any web page footer), select the General Donation button on the “Special Project” page or Monthly donation button on the “Sponsor a Pastor” page. this will direct you to a simple secure form to fill in, we will then email you a form to print off, complete and sign that you should then return to us.
- Electronic Funds Transfer – Currently available for the one off donations for Pastors training , Special Projects or General Donations. Go to the Special Projects or Sponsor a Pastor, select what you want to donate to and you will land on a payment options page. Click the Electronic Funds Transfer button – this will direct you to a simple secure form to fill in and we will email you our bank details.