Educators Summit 2008, Guatemala
By Rod and Sherry Boyd

After months of planning by the Resource and Advisory Center for Bible Schools, 222 educational leaders from 13 countries gathered in Guatemala City, Guatemala for the four-day Educators Summit 2008, April 14-17. These national leaders, missionaries, international ministry leaders and teachers explored New Horizons in Ministerial Training. The principle emphasis of the biannual summit is to assist those involved in the 900 plus Bible schools and extensions in Spanish-speaking Latin America and Caribbean.

Three morning general sessions provided the anchor points for the theme and teaching of the Summit. The ABCs of Our Contemporary Commitment to Ministerial Training helped participants understand the changing landscape of ministerial training and the commitment that is required to respond to today’s demands. The Challenge of Unification of Criteria reminded those involved in Bible school ministry of the importance of identifying and fulfilling necessary standards. From the Basic to the Essential… and Effective challenged attendees to evaluate current programs and provided a variety of implementation tools.

Each participant was able to attend six of fifteen different workshops that offered topics ranging from teaching methods to library management, from writing skills to ways to use technology to improve the Bible school. The new PROCEPA program was inaugurated, offering five of the fifteen possible workshops. PROCEPA is an international certification program for teachers and administrative personnel that is administered by the Resource and Advisory Center.

National superintendents and missionaries shared in the morning devotionals and evening services. These speakers brought to life the Ephesians 3:14-21 passage. With special emphasis on verse 20—“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to his power that is at work within us”—they reminded us of God’s desire to work through us to do much more than we can even imagine.

The Summit concluded with a banquet where each participant received their certificates and gifts from the various publishers that co-sponsored the event. The Resource and Advisory Center presented Jeremias Bolanos, superintendent of El Salvador, with a plaque honoring him for his support of ministerial training and his eight years as president of CELAD, the international organization of Assemblies of God in Latin America and the Caribbean.

We are grateful for the impact of the Educators Summit 2008, Guatemala. We heard so many positive comments. The most meaningful came from the National Christian Education Director of one of the Central American countries. He said, “This is the best conference I’ve ever attended! We were clearly shown the changes we need to make and what we need to do.”

The biannual Educator Summits are an essential part of the overall strategy of the Resource and Advisory Center. In the odd years the Center hosts International Dialogues. National representatives, key missionaries and international ministry leaders give reports for their countries and international ministries that include special needs and challenges. The group prioritizes these needs and chooses 3 or 4 for further consideration. Small groups analyze each need and offer a preliminary plan of action. These advisors assist the Center to further develop these plans that include themes and teaching that are presented at the Educators Summits that occur in even years.

Because of the cost of travel from the “southern cone” countries of Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia and Peru, the Center has begun a southern version of the Dialogue and Educators Summits. Please pray for the upcoming Educators Summit 2008, Argentina that will take place in Buenos Aires, August 26-29. We are expecting 150 educational leaders from eight different countries.