by Jeff Straub
Seminary professors who come to the classroom with missionary and pastoral experience can offer immense practical value to men preparing for ministry. I recently observed my fortieth anniversary of preaching the gospel. I began vocational ministry a few years later, in the fall of 1980, and spent a total of nineteen years in ministry in Canada: eleven as a supported missionary in Manitoba and then another eight years as a missionary-supporting pastor in southern Ontario. When I began to teach missions courses eight years ago, I determined to teach the classes so that both prospective missionaries and prospective pastors could benefit. I think that both the missionary and the supporting church need to think about the task of world evangelism deliberately and philosophically. Missionaries have only a few years to serve the Lord and churches have limited resources to devote to missions. Shouldn’t we use our time and money carefully to maximize our efforts? [Read more…]