Philippine Pastors Institute - A New Year Begins

An update from Jeffrey T. Jo, Lead Pastor of Cross of Christ Salvation Gospel Ministries, Manila and SGC National Leader for our work in the Philippines…

In the last chapter of John Piper’s book ‘Brothers, We Are Not Professionals’, he wrote something akin to a thesis statement saying, “The tone of the classrooms and teachers exerts profound effect on the tone of our pulpits. What the teachers are passionate about will by and large be the passions of our younger pastors. What they neglect will be likely neglected in the pulpits.”

With our growing churches in Mindanao, the southern part of the Philippines, we have observed that our pastors are not getting any younger. We have encouraged them to raise up elders who will serve alongside them and we do this by building friendship and ministry partnership with the men in their local churches and by enrolling these men and themselves in our PPI (Philippine Pastors Institute) level 2 that focuses on Pastoral Theology.

For the past two years, PPI has focused on Foundational/Systematic Theology grounding our pastors and kids teachers on a theological exploration of God, humanity, and human relationships with God and the world. We have had 24 graduates of PPI’s level 1 over the past 2 batches.

For PPI level 2, we now have 13 enrollees who we hope will grow in a biblical understanding of their pastoral calling and gospel-centeredness as they serve both their families and ministries. Moreover, they will learn why biblical leadership matters, plurality of leadership, accountability and humility. In terms of ecclesiastical responsibility, they will be learning homiletics, hermeneutics, church membership, sacraments, soul care (counseling) and discipleship, all these in 9 months.

We started our class on September 24 with 13 excited students, 7 of which are young pastors whom we look forward to seeing carry gospel faithfulness to the younger generations. Our goal for the first quarter of learning is for them to understand their sacred call and exercise it faithfully and with Christlike humility. The passion and zeal to serve should just be a by-product of their deep understanding and inspiration from the gospel of Christ, who has called them to both salvation and service.

Part of the PPI program is for students to nourish friendship and partnership in ministry. We hope to remind them of the significance of continuing their relationship even outside the walls of our classroom. We try to enhance the 4 ‘Fs’ every time we gather – faith, fun, food and fellowship. We end our week of learning by having our wives with us in singing, games and the study of God’s word on marriage and parenting. In this way, we see ourselves not in competition but in cooperation, not just learning academically but growing together as a family in unity, purity and humility.

This was Paul’s prayer as well for the believers in Philippi. He exhorted them this way:

“So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:1-8)

May both the teachers and students of PPI admire and be awed by the glorious gospel of Christ, inspiring our hearts to make His Name known not only in Mindanao but even to the different parts of the Philippines and the world.