The lack of well-trained pastors and church leaders affects the health and growth of the church in many areas of the world.
How to address that need was the focus of over 600 theological educators who recently gathered in Albania, looking for ways to make Bible training more accessible and relevant for the challenges of our time.
SCRIPT:
Michael Ortiz ICETE Executive Director: When we think about what’s happening in the world today with the growth of the church and all the different ministries that are out there, theological education serves a vital role in helping to sustain the growth of the church and helping it to be sustainable over time.
VO: At the beginning of March, more than 600 participants from nearly 100 countries gathered in Albania for the global consultation of the International Council for Evangelical Theological Education. Theological education is the most vital global missiological endeavor of our time, says ICETE Executive Director Dr. Michael Ortiz.
Michael Ortiz: Without theological education, where would the church be in five, ten, fifteen years from now if there were not people that are trained and equipped on how to lead the church biblically and soundly through theological education? And that’s what we hope to do through ICETE.
VO: Ortiz says theological educators must rethink, reimagine and recalibrate the whole of theological education in order to remain relevant for the global church today. Therefore, ICETE introduced strategy groups that focus on some of the key issues.
Michael Ortiz: One thing that actually is really exciting about this week are the ICETE impact teams. These ICETE impact teams are smaller communities of practice that are talking about various issues that we fully believe need to be further elevated and included within theological education today. So we have people like that are talking about peace and reconciliation, creation care, youth ministries, children ministries, and all sorts of other topics. And even while I’ve been here, there have been people that have come up to me and said, “Can we start another impact team on something else, like persecution and diaspora and other topics?” So I believe that this week, the Lord is doing something to help us realize that these impact teams may be something significant for the world as we move ahead in theological education.
VO: Ortiz says that the global network currently touches around 300,000 people who are preparing for ministry, but he would like to see this grow to two, three, or even four million over the next few years. Only then can theological education keep up with the needs of the growing church around the world.
Timothy Goropevsek from Tirana, Albania.
Story Provided By:
Timothy Goropevsek, Executive Editor
Producing Organization
Christian Daily International
Recording Location
Tirana, Albania
Reporter / Producer
Timothy Goropevsek
Organization featured in this Story
International Council for Evangelical Theological Education
People Interviewed and their Titles
Michael Ortiz ICETE Executive Director
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