Escola Cristã de Pastores (ECP)
Have you ever wondered what it looks like for a region to see, on the one hand, significant church growth and, on the other hand, the equally striking advance of false teaching? It looks like Nordeste, the northeastern region of Brazil, where the prosperity gospel and extreme versions of liberal theology have gained footholds in both local congregations and the institutions that train future ministers. When Pastor Sandro Eugenio asked himself how he and his church should respond to the crisis, the answer was the Escola Cristã Pastores (Christian School of Pastors—ECP), a church-based seminary in the coastal city of Natal that helps future pastors develop the knowledge, skills, and character they need to faithfully shepherd local churches.
But turning the dream of ECP into a reality was no simple task. Students would need rigorous biblical training, personal mentoring, and supervised apprenticeships in ministry. Where would they find the resources, time, and energy to launch and sustain a work of that scope? Pastor Sandro and the Igreja Batista Cristiao (Christian Baptist Church—IBC) toiled for more than two decades, ministering, praying, mentoring young men, and seeking a way to inaugurate a school that would prepare Nordeste’s next generation of pastors. TLI has come alongside this work by helping develop strategies and structures to launch the school and make it sustainable. In 2022, Escola Cristã de Pastores, in partnership with TLI, launched its first cohort of students. TLI provides qualified instructors to teach four seminary-level courses each year, while ECP provides additional courses, personal mentoring, and ministry opportunities, all aimed at training and equipping faithful pastors who can plant and lead healthy, gospel-centered churches throughout northeastern Brazil.
TLI partners in this work with instructors who seek to serve the local churches in Nordeste by training the next generation of their gospel ministers. Instructors who teach at ECP develop their own courses based on the parameters outlined in the school’s academic catalog and deliver them in a one-week modular format through an interpreter. Please consider whether you could play a direct role in serving Christ’s Church by helping form Brazil’s future pastors.
DATES
May 13-20, 2023
LOCATION
Escola Cristã de Pastores (ECP)
Natal, Brazil
