It is not a requirement to attend seminary or a Bible institute to become a Pastor in Nicaragua.  Even basic biblical training is not accessible or affordable for many of these pastors.  Most of the Christian study centres are in the capital city of Managua with the cost of travelling to the city often presenting a barrier. Pastors often don't earn a regular salary but instead receive an offering from their churches, which is not uncommon to be under $50USD a month.

This is why we offer Christian Leadership Training (CLT) at the Skylark Centre.  Training and encouraging pastors and local Christian leaders is a foundational part of our ministry of Threefold. 

Annual conferences at Skylark, led by a team of experienced Pastors from Canada, were staples from 2007 through 2019.  Travel has not been possible since that time, but it has opened the door to an even more effective and timely way to deliver this ministry.

CLT seminars began in earnest at Skylark in February.  Pastors and leaders from our Los Medranos community attended bi-weekly sessions on Saturday mornings through July to receive much-needed training in Biblical interpretation. These participants – ranging from 12 to 18 per session - were eager to learn and have already put that learning to use in their own ministries. The majority of the sessions were taught by Mauricio, our own Director of Operations, who is currently completing his Master of Arts in Biblical Studies at Grace School of Theology in Texas.  One session on prayer was taught remotely by Dr. Bruce, a member of past conference teams.

Watch this video to hear what two of the participants in the program had to say at the close of the first set of seminars.

This pilot project has been such a success that we are offering a second seminar beginning this month and running through October.  This course will focus on Christian leadership and will be taught remotely by Dr. Deane, another member of past conference teams. 

Another challenge facing Christian leaders in Nicaragua is ready access to Bible study resources. In order to improve effectiveness in their ministry, another need arises:  access to pastoral written and electronic resources (e.g. study bibles, bible commentaries and dictionaries, sample outlines for sermons). While many of these resources are available in Spanish, prices again make them out of reach for many of these pastors. Threefold Ministries is responding to this need with the creation of a Christian Study Center.  An existing building at Skylark is in the process of being converted, where Biblical resources, basic supplies, a computer, and a printer will be made available for quiet study, research and sermon preparation.

God be praised for this opportunity!

Please join us in prayer for these leaders – both those attending and those teaching.  Financial contributions to our “Best Start in Christ” programming to support this important, spiritually life-giving work are greatly appreciated.