Last fall, Shepherd Project’s president, Dr. Craig Smith, had lunch with Onias Tapera, a church development leader in Zimbabwe.  During that lunch, Onias shared that he usually loans Christian books to pastors but that, due to a donation, he had recently been able to permanently give some books to a few pastors.  These pastors had been so excited to be able to own these books that they had literally danced with joy!

In hearing about how desperate the leaders in Zimbabwe are for resources, Dr. Smith immediately realized that God was speaking, leading him to take some of the teaching and training that Shepherd Project provides here in the U.S. to a church community in Zimbabwe that is clamoring for what many of us take for granted here in the U.S.

Shepherd Project Ministries is partnering with Christian World Outreach and working with leaders in the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe to bring a pastor’s training conference to Zimbabwe.  We will be working with about 300 Zimbabwean pastors, providing teaching and training on issues from interpreting the Bible, responding to cults and leadership development.

The conference will take place from May 27-31, 2013 in Harare, Zimbabwe.

The average U.S. Christian in a good church has more extensive biblical training than many of the faithful men and women leading churches in Zimbabwe.  The Christian church leaders in Zimbabwe are actively seeking to be equipped to rightly understand God’s Word and strengthen their flocks with sound doctrine and effective leadership.

Unfortunately, access to biblical resources and training are severely lacking in Zimbabwe.  The Pure Truth Pastors Conference will be able to make a tremendous difference to the Christian movement in Zimbabwe. By training 300 (or more as funds allow) pastors and giving them solid, replicable skills in biblical interpretation, theology, Christian leadership and apologetics, we will be having a profound impact on God’s people in Zimbabwe for generations to come.

Shepherd Project Ministries is a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization that focuses on equipping God’s people to dig deep into truth and reach wide into the world.  The team we will be taking to Zimbabwe to contribute to this conference includes:

Dr. Craig A. Smith, Ph.D. – professor (adjunct) of New Testament and Christian Doctrine at Denver Theological Seminary

Mark Chadwick – IPG Senior Organizational Consultant at Compassion International

Other teachers at the conference will come from Shepherd Project staff, pastors in Zimbabwe and from the faculty of Bible colleges in Zimbabwe.

We will also be taking along our international conference team and summer interns who will be serving the pastors and leaders throughout the event.

We are currently raising the funds needed to make this important conference happen.  If you feel led to contribute, please do so here: