Pastoral Training

You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
2 Timothy 2:1-2

We believe that Paul established a pattern for pastoral training with his young protégé, Timothy. Saved during his teen years, Timothy followed Paul on two missionary journeys and learned directly from him. Later in Paul’s earthly ministry, it appears that Paul recommended that Timothy serve as a pastor at the church in Ephesus. While Timothy served as a young pastor, Paul felt it necessary to write to him and encourage him in his work of shepherding and leading God’s flock.

One of the areas that Paul exhorted Timothy to work hard at was the training of men for pastoral ministry. Paul set forth the qualifications of these men in 1 Timothy 3 and he instructed Timothy to faithfully pass on the important doctrines of the faith to these men in 2 Timothy 2. The way that we practice this admonition is through local-church training called Practorium.

Practorium combines the theological study of a seminary alongside the practical aspects of ministry and understanding church life. Men who are training to become pastors will often join the current elders during their weekly meetings; they will be given various teaching and/or ministry assignments to perform in the local church, and they will also have to complete academically rigorous course studies that cover all aspects of theology and Bible knowledge.

Because many men who are in Practorium are also working full time, classes are offered on weeknights or on weekends. Each class is taught by an ordained pastor using materials from several different seminaries, or, in limited cases, materials developed by the pastor himself.