April Newsletter

Gateway Theological Institute - The Adjustable Wrench We Needed
Roy Larsen, UIM Associate Superintendent

I have had several different used cars over the years. Preferring to save money, I change my own oil. The size of the oil plug is different on just about every car. Therefore, a valuable tool when crawling under the car to take out the drain plug is the trusty crescent wrench. It adjusts to whatever size plug I have. (A socket set is also smart but doesn’t fit my analogy as well). This past year the Hispanic Association in the Free Church gave our district an adjustable wrench and it is called Gateway Theological Institute. It has been useful for training leaders in different contexts. Let me tell you a bit about this training program.

In the EFCA, we value seminary training but realistically, not every pastor is able to go to seminary. The reasons are many. For some of our ethnic pastors language is a barrier. For others, it may be the educational requirements, the high cost of a seminary education, difficulty moving an entire family, their age, the lack of another pastor to take their place, etc. But as we span across our district, there is an increasing number of non-ethnic churches where a lay leader has become more and more involved in ministry and after years of exhibiting gifts for ministry, that leader is given a position as an associate pastor in the church. As a second career pastor, seminary is not always an option but the desire for training and possible licensing and ordination in the Free Church is still desired.

Gateway is a delivery system for theological and seminary-type education, giving the breadth of the education but obviously not the same depth. In year one, the teaching focuses on theology and each month a different point in the EFCA Statement of Faith is studied. Grudem’s, Bibe Doctrine is the theology textbook used. Students read the chapters, write out their doctrinal positions with supporting scriptural references and bring their work to class. There, they interact with the teacher and other students and learn more about the various positions, the supporting texts and how to defend their positions verbally. After class, they refine their papers and re-submit it to the teacher. The dynamic of 6-10 students allows them to more fully appreciate the differences that exist within the EFCA. Studying in this manner allows students to continue to minister at their churches while gaining valuable training. Over the course of this first year, they are building their doctrinal paper.

After year one, interested students will be encouraged to submit their paper and be examined by the district credentialing council for a possible license. Years 2-5 of the program involve study using dvd’s and a qualified facilitator.

Here are the sites and facilitators for 2008-2009:

Lebanon, PA/Allentown, PA
Marcos Solt, facilitator
The training is given in Spanish/English for pastors, staff, elders and leaders-in-training from Iglesia El Faro and Iglesia Evangélica de Fé.

Newark, NJ
Paulo Freire and Steve Carlsen, facilitators
Pastor, elders and leaders from Iglesia de Fé (Freehold church plant) and Iglesia Evangélica Libre de Newark are taking the classes, taught in Spanish and English.

Staten Island, NY
Jack Kroeze, facilitator
Pastors and associate pastors/staff from the NY Metro area are taking this training, entirely in English, at Salem Evangelical Free Church.

Gateway is not for those interested in "taking more classes" to increase their knowledge of the Bible. Rather it is intentionally geared to those who are currently in ministry or entering ministry, and working toward ordination or Christian Ministry license.

Perhaps you or some of your church’s pastoral and ministry staff would be interested in Gateway next year or sometime in the future. Let our district office know of your interest so we can begin planning future classes throughout the various areas of our district.

Many thanks to Alex Mandes (director), Ricardo Palmerin (academic dean) and Kris Driscoll (administrator) for helping make Gateway possible in the Eastern District. And MANY thanks to our facilitators for their great effort to train others and apply this adjustable wrench to building up ministry leaders who can more effectively exegete the Word of God and teach others.