FOWM #239

DEAR FRIEND OF WORLD MISSION:

As Spain moves toward becoming a more post-Christian society, churches need to be at their strongest. Our partner church in Spain is FIEIDE, Federatión de Iglesias Evangélicas Independientes de España (Federation of Independent Evangelical Churches of Spain). Currently, in the Spanish Federation of Churches (SFC),

59 percent of its 69 established congregations have fewer than 50 members. Only 17 national pastors are being sustained full-time by their churches. In 27 congregations, missionaries have been carrying out the pastoral ministry. When they eventually leave, churches struggle to fi nd leaders with suffi cient levels of training. � e future stability of these churches depends on developing leaders, but many potential leaders are already deeply involved in ministry, so it is diffi cult for them to take time for further education.

SFC’s Evangelical School of � eology strives to meet this need through online theological training that does not require students to leave their places of ministry. � e current online student body includes pastors, elders, deacons, Spanish missionaries serving outside Spain, youth leaders, and worship leaders. Online studies are integrated with ongoing ministry, personal accountability, and supervision to ensure a holistic approach to lifelong learning and personal and ministerial growth. Indeed, online programs such as this represent the wave of the future for theological education.

Will you join us in contributing to the strengthening of healthy churches in Spain through developing and educating leaders? FOWM Project #239 will enable more students to benefi t from the online degree program, give them opportunities to engage in regular face-to-face encounters with their online degree peers and teachers, and provide teaching staff with necessary IT equipment and software.

� ank you for investing in programs that continue to nourish local leaders by providing them with ongoing training as they help lead our partner churches in Spain.

For the sake of the whole gospel across cultures and around the world,

AL TIZON, Executive Minister of Serve Globally

Training Leaders for Healthy Churches in SpainDani Zafra, EET student trained in the Dual Programme approach, inducted

as pastor in Benicarló, june 2017

OPPORTUNITIESIsaac Arbalat is the program’s fi rst dual plan student and was recently inducted (with his wife, Karla, pictured left) as a “pastor-in-training.” One other student (Dani Zafra, pictured on front) has also been inducted after following a dual program approach to train and initiate pastors.

6/18

WAYS TO GIVE…

• Give online at CovChurch.org/donate

• Charitable gift planning at CovenantTrust.com

• Monthly donations atCovChurch.org/resources/eft-forms

Your regular gift to FOWM projects makes a difference. You can also endow your annual support through your estate plan. Contact our partners at Covenant Trust Company, (800) 483-2177, to learn more.

To make your gift today, please � ll out and return the enclosed donation card in the return envelope, or mail to:

The Evangelical Covenant Church Attn: Friends of World Mission8303 W. Higgins Rd.Chicago, IL 60631

For more information, visit CovChurch.org/fowm

Nurses Training School in Africa

Thanks to the great response to FOWM Project #226, Karawa’s two nursing schools are � lling their new library and skills room with books, equipment, and students. The building is expected to be completed at the end of June, and students will be able to use it to study for � nals.

The library’s solar lighting will also provide students who have no electricity at home a place to study in the evening or on dark, rainy days. Thank you for your generous gifts enabling the Congo Covenant Church to educate their future medical professionals by providing them with a library—and with books, computers, and light.

UPDATE

PROJECT #226

Online Degree StudentsFLEXIBILITYBecause online degree students of the Evangelical School of � eology have varied jobs, they fi nd the fl exibility of the online degree allows for training in ministries as diverse as teaching, social ministry, and youth ministry.

FACE-TO-FACE GATHERINGS Although online degree students of the Evangelical School of � eology complete most of their coursework remotely, face-to-face gatherings with their teachers and with fellow students are a part of the program. Meals together are important in Spanish culture, and these gatherings allow students who are typically separated by signifi cant distances to develop community with their mentors and peers.