Leader Formation Through CFNA

rev. ron rall and some of the students

Paul once wrote to Timothy, “What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2). In the same Spirit of Paul’s command, CFNA is committed to raising up New American leaders for the Church, including a course of study to prepare potential candidates for professional Church work.

A couple of years ago, CFNA’s Chairman, Dr. Al Buckman and Pastor Ron Rall decided to implement a successful strategy they had utilized in their respective overseas mission fields. Crossing cultural boundaries to make disciples for Jesus involves raising up new leaders within the target culture, so they began a weekly leaders Bible study at the Peace Center, with about a dozen New Americans of diverse ethnicities—Eritrean, Ethiopian, Burmese, Burundi, and Bhutan Nepalese—to name a few. These students were being equipped to serve as evangelists and leaders of home Bible studies and fellowships.

A natural next step was to consider how this program might be developed to provide more focused training that would encourage some of these men and women to become professional church workers—pastors, deaconesses, or teachers. Therefore, in August, Dr. Buckman, Pastor Rall, and Pastor Michael Zeigler met with Dr. John Loum from Concordia Seminary to discuss this vision. Dr. Loum directs the Ethnic Immigrant Institute of Theology (EIIT) for the Seminary. The group decided to begin teaching a curriculum that would equip participants with basic knowledge of the Old and New Testament, along with Christian Doctrine, while preparing interested candidates to enter the EIIT program. We are eager to walk alongside these students and witness how God continues to shape them for continued service in His Kingdom. If you’d like to sit in sometime, the class meets at the Peace Center on Fridays at 4:30 pm.

By Pastor Michael Zeigler, PhD Coordinator, CFNA Leadership Formation Ministry