Tim Beavis: Training Leaders in the Philippines

Fruitful & Unexpected Ministry

I'm preparing to head home tomorrow after an exhausting and encouraging time of training leaders here in the Philippines. The two words I would probably choose to sum up my time here are "fruitful" and "unexpected."

After arriving in the Philippines in late October, I traveled to meet with some of our regional leaders in Iloilo before traveling on to preach and teach a week-long course to around 50 Pastors in Cebu. Many of these men travelled in from different islands across the Philippines. Some of them coming from remote jungle areas. These Pastors were hungry for equipping and in addition to the long days of teaching, many of them sought me out during breaks, lunch and after class in order to ask questions and seek counsel. Several expressed to me that they had been on the verge of leaving ministry, but as a result of the training they had a fresh sense of calling from the Lord and a renewed sense of vision for their work.

From Cebu, I traveled to Manila where I was invited to preach. I had been told I would be preaching one message at one service, after preaching they asked me to stay longer and give another message later in the day. Next, I traveled 2 hours south of Manila to Cavite for another week of training. This time I taught Hermeneutics (How tho study the Bible) to a group of 32 Pastors. Many of them told me that they had never experienced anything like this before and felt so encouraged and equipped to be able to practice what they had learned in their own lives and churches as well as to teach it to others.

My final stop was to Baguio, a city in the mountains in the northern Philippines (6 hours by bus from Manila). After arriving there I was surprised to discover that I had been invited to speak to a group of several hundred cadets at the Philippines Military Academy (think of the Naval Academy, West Point and the Air Force Academy combined). This is the premier officer training academy for all of their armed services. What a privilege to present Christ to some of the future leaders will hold some of the highest offices in the country. My primary purpose for traveling to Baguio was to speak at a Pastors Conference, the theme of which was Transformed by Grace. Many Pastors came to this, some traveling 9 hours from the provinces to attend. During the conference I preached through the book of Titus over the course of multiple sessions and engaged in an open Q&A discussion where the Pastors were able to ask any question about the Bible, theology and ministry. The feedback was so encouraging as person after person came up to me after the conference to tell me how impactful the time had been.

Finally, late last night (or rather very early this morning), I arrived back in Manila after another long bus journey. I took a taxi from the bus station to my hotel, during which time I got talking to the driver. It turns out that he is a Pastor of a small church and that he drives a taxi at night to provide additional support for his family. As we talked, he began to share with me some of the challenges that he was facing in his church and he asked me how to deal Biblically with these various issues. So at 3am (which is not exactly my sharpest hour), the Lord gave me one more opportunity to equip a Pastor and to encourage him in the work.

Thanks for your prayers and financial partnership which enable us to do equip and train Pastors and leaders like these all around the world!

- Tim Beavis