Tuesday, March 20, 2007, 7:35 PM., Panama City,
Panama… Everyone has arrived to the meeting room, sensing the
atmosphere of friendship and camaraderie. We haven’t been able to say
hello to everyone, but, as old friends, a smile from a distance is
enough for now. We have a “tight agenda”… we’ll have opportunities
later to have coffee together.
These friends and colleagues of Christian education
are gathered at a hotel in Panama City to dialogue over very important
topics that will affect ministerial formation in all of Latin America.
Having seen important changes in recent years, this group of key
people—20 leaders representing a dozen countries and key educational
ministries—has been called together to share ideas and promote
improvement. Nine national Christian education directors are among
those present.
Our first order of business is to listen to the
delegates as they share their areas of concern for their countries and
ministries. The dialogue process takes these 19 nominations,
consolidating them to the final list of 9 concerns. These are
prioritized by vote of the body and these top three are chosen for
consideration by the group:
- Better prepared teachers,
with emphasis in Pentecostal experience and continued, comprehensive
training
- Maintaining clear the
Bible school’s reason for being: the comprehensive formation of the
Pentecostal minister
- International unification
of criteria that includes educational philosophy, delivery systems,
accreditation standards and a glossary of terms
Small
groups study these topics, suggesting actions and strategies. Each
group makes its proposal to the larger group where adjustments are made
and additional actions are added. Many of these proposals are forwarded
to ministries for implementation. But these international leaders take
these ideas and begin to implement them immediately in their countries.
The Bible School Resource and Advisory Center (Centro de Recursos y
Asesoría) coordinates the follow-up, publishing results on our
website (www.ElAsesor.org,
only available in Spanish) and in our semi-annual bulletin El Asesor.
In addition, these topics serve as a base for planning the program for
the next International Bible School Summits, coming up in 2008:
Guatemala, April 14-17 and Buenos Aires, September 1-4.
The Dialogues take place in odd years; the Summits
in even years. The Dialogue is our opportunity to “listen.” The Summit
is for “speaking.” This year’s Dialogue has a new dynamic. The
official Triennial Educational Meeting (9/06, Managua, Nicaragua)
commissioned those of us present at the Dialogue to consider two topics
of very high importance:
- Implementation of the PROCEPA program
(Professor Certification Program)
- Review of the Basic Plan (curriculum) for
Bible schools
This made planning this year’s Dialogue a real
challenge. How were we going to fit everything into the two-day
agenda? But our colleagues and friends have been with us before and
have now achieved a new level of efficiency. And we’ve talked about
many of these needs before. Although our time is short, as a group we
are able to set the course for both of these important areas. Together
we not only finalize the 15 workshops that comprise the PROCEPA program,
but those present gladly choose one to write!
A long discussion about the Basic Plan combined the
observations of countries and ministries previously surveyed with the
work of the small group of the unification of criteria. The three main
areas of discussion were:
- Define which courses would comprise a
required study core; review the order of course study to increase
flexibility; and the addition of new courses to meet current
demands.
- Strive for unification of criteria in
program levels and degrees offered and the development of a glossary
of terms.
- Define credit hours and how different
delivery systems should be measured in fulfillment of those credit
hours.
A
follow-up Basic Plan Commission will be meeting in October in Honduras.
Any proposals will be made to the Administrative Committee for
Educational Ministries in September.
As Bible School Advisor for the Spanish-speaking
Bible schools in Latin America and the Caribbean for the Christian
Education Service ministry (Servicio de Educación Cristiana), we view
all those that attend the biannual Dialogues as members of the Bible
School Advisory Committee. This group understands that they serve a
vital role in both the development and execution of the Bible school
strategic plan. As such, they willingly participate in the planning of
the 2008 Bible School Summits, by consensus approving dates, locations,
theme, program and many other details.
Words cannot describe how privileged we feel to be
with these international educational leaders, to serve them, and to able
to count on them as part of the team. Their smiles and participation
honor us.
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