Educators Summit 2010
Multiplying Generations of Leaders
By Rod and Sherry Boyd

Larger group photo

Managua, Nicaragua was the site for the 2010 Bible School Educators Summit, conducted March 1st through 4th.  The Educators Summit has become much more than just a training conference. It’s a time for practical training, where leaders connect, where problems are solved, where vision is born. There’s a synergy that’s hard to describe… you just have to be there. The Summit is gaining momentum. There is a renewed interest in ministerial training among our national superintendents and Bible school leaders.

We had a record attendance of 222 at the Summit in Guatemala in 2008. So we had set the attendance goal at 250 for the northern Latin America/ Caribbean version of the 2010 Summit conducted March 1st to 4th. Since participants pay their own registration, travel, housing and meals, we weren’t sure how the world-wide recession would affect the Summit. Amazingly we had more than 250 pre-registered by the first week of February.

We were caught by surprise when final attendance reached 316 from 13 different countries, nearly 100 more than in 2008! We were overwhelmed and scrambling for materials the first night. For the first time in the 14-year history of the Summit, one of the non-host countries sent more delegates than the host country.

	Attendance		Country
	1		Argentina
	1		Chile
	1		Colombia
	35		Costa Rica
	83		El Salvador
	18		Guatemala
	31		Honduras
	17		Mexico
	78		Nicaragua
	18		Panama
	3		Puerto Rico
	7		Dominican Republic
	23		United States
	316		TOTAL

Priority 1:
Transgenerational
Ministerial Formation

We sensed the need to focus on discipleship and training that provides for the succession of faith, teaching and ministry to future generations. Each person left with the clear message that we must all invest in Timothies who will then do the same. 2 Timothy 2:2 marked the path for the Summit program:

“And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teacher others.”

A team of 30 superintendents, missionaries and international and national education leaders ministered in evening services, devotionals, general sessions and workshops. Seven publishing houses and ministries helped underwrite the cost of the event. Not only that, they gave away books, Bibles and other products to very happy participants.

We’re grateful for the Lords blessing on the Summit. It far exceeded our expectations in so many ways. Three special highlights stand out.

• The superintendent from El Salvador, a long-time friend of our ministry and ministerial training, shared a moving illustrated sermon. Five different El Salvadorans dressed in costume to represent the analogies that Paul had made to Timothy. He described the qualities of the pastor, teacher, athlete, farmer and soldier. It was incredible!

• An incredibly satisfying moment came when we gave each participant a copy of the new 2010 Basic Plan for Christian education for Spanish-speaking Latin America. This 400-page book outlines the teaching programs for the various levels, the largest section of which is the Bible school curriculum plan. In the last three years we invested hundreds of hours working with a team of 25 leaders to produce it!

The new plan was presented in a general session and two workshops were given to help educational leaders develop their own transition strategy to the new plan.

• Retired missionary Monroe Grams shared during one of the morning general sessions. The emphasis was not so much teaching. Instead it was an extended testimony about a missionary family, dedicated to teaching, training and discipleship. Rocky and Mona, two of his children also missionaries involved in training, shared in the session. Now their children are active in ministry. The Holy Spirit moved as the session concluded. The Grams family opened the altar to those who wanted to rededicate their lives to training and to passing this legacy on to future generations. It was powerful!

The Resource and Advisory Center serves 1,000 Bible schools, extensions and ministry training centers throughout Spanish-speaking Latin America. It is impossible for us to help each individual teacher or even director. Our strategy is to work through national leaders to organize and plan the Summits. Even so, our hope and prayer is that God would touch each pastor, teacher, director and leader that attends, who would in turn pass it on to others.

Our veteran missionaries had a very important part teaching in this Summit, whose lives and families give testimony to a legacy of ministry. Their example of commitment, sacrifice and perseverance inspired us all. One woman came up to us at the end of the closing banquet. We could tell that the Lord had touched her; it was difficult for her to even make eye contact. She put a note in my hand and squeezed my arm, she said thank you, gave us the following handwritten note and left:

Rod and Sherry,

It was so difficult, almost impossible, for me to come to this Summit. But I thank God for giving me this opportunity to grow, to receive the spiritual treasure from those pioneers that made it all possible. I’m returning home not just feeling spiritual satisfaction, but now with a new vision for my ministry. I thank you and your team for all that you did to make possible this great event.

—Maria Isabel, Mexico

We would like to thank all that prayed for the success of this Summit. God answered your prayer! Now please pray with us as we continue plans for the South American version of the 2010 Bible School Educators Summit coming August 30th to September 2nd. We are expecting 200 leaders from the nine Spanish-speaking countries of South America to gather with us in El Quisco, Chile (about 90 minutes west of Santiago on the Pacific coast).

Even though Chile has experienced a debilitating earthquake, national church leaders believe that in spite of what the enemy may send their way, it is time for Chile to ramp up ministerial training. They believe that the Summit will play a large role, preparing the work for the harvest God has planned for Chile. As evidence of this, we received word from Guillermo Gonzalez, the national Christian Education director, that the conference center where we will be having the Summit suffered no damage from the earthquake!