Training courses for volunteer pastors and pastoral staff were carried out in Liaoning and Yunnan provinces respectively.
Between July 18 to 22, Anshan Municipal CC&TSPM in Liaoning Province held a one-week training course for volunteer pastors, reported CCC&TSPM.
Most volunteer pastors who participated in this training are relatively old rural believers with low-level education attainment, lacking theoretical knowledge of Christianity. However, in the 1980s and 1990s, when there was a serious shortage of pastors developed in seminary schools, these people took up the mission of preaching. Now, they feel under-equipped and eager to recharge themselves.
This program offered nearly 10 courses, including policies and regulations, how to achieve the sinicization of Christianity, how to practice the core socialist values, how to be a pastor of righteous faith and righteous deeds, the history of church revival in Northeast China, and knowledge of the Bible. The teachers fully analyzed the existing problems in rural churches, especially how to identify and avoid heretical cults. Elder Shi Aijun, chairman of Liaoning Provincial TSPM and president of Northeast Theological Seminary, issued certificates of completion to participants.
The Christian Council of the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture recently hosted a two-day pastoral training course at Manyun Church. More than 50 key pastoral staff from across the autonomous prefecture participated in the training, CCC&TSPM said.
The leaders of the united front work department of the prefectural Party committee were invited to explain the Administrative Measures on the Management of Religious Clergy in detail. Rev. Yan Wen gave a lecture on "Systematic Theology: Quality of a Pastor", and Rev. Yu Di, the vice president of the prefectural Christian Council, talked about "Systematic Theology: Peace and Harmony".
The day before the opening of the training course, renewing the new certificates for “pastors” and “elders” by the provincial christian council had just been completed. Therefore, during the training, two pastors and 24 elders were awarded the new certificates.
- Translated by Shuya Wang