CONTINUING
EDUCATION CONFERENCES
Bi-Monthly Conferences for OBM students and pastors taught by subject matters experts.
WHY WE TEACH.
Since 2000 we have trained pastors in coastal Kenya, and over those years we saw the same pattern. Men had been taught sound doctrine, general Bible knowledge and the basic ministerial tasks. They had not been taught how to do the work those responsibilities require. The job had been described to them. The practice of it had not.
We also came to see that developing a pastor alone is not enough. A church matures when the people around him mature with him: the elders and deacons who serve alongside him, the women who teach the children, the members who carry the work between Sundays. So these conferences are not for clergy only. Pastors, their wives, church leaders and students of our School of Theology sit in the same room, and increasingly it is Kenyan pastors who teach them.
In the United States and many places throughout the world, professionals must complete continuing education, or "CE" classes, to remain current in their profession and satisfy their annual licensing requirements. That is where we get the name. The Great Commission never described a single lesson either. It sends the church out teaching them to observe all things, which is patient, repeated work rather than one event.
So we return on a regular cycle to teach the practice of ministry: how to run, lead, grow and serve the local church, beyond basic Bible lessons. Planning and delivering a sermon. Handling church finances. Counseling the grieving. Raising up the next generation of leaders. Teaching children and youth. Each conference builds on the ones before it.
The aim is a church that does not need us: leaders who are competent, teaching that is sound, and a congregation able to reproduce itself without depending on Western money or Western teachers. These conferences are one building block of that, not the whole of it. And a leader equipped to do the work is far less likely to drift from what he was taught into what we call "doctrinal-slide," which is why sound doctrine governs every conference we hold.
WHAT WE TEACH.
Why not simply teach general Bible theology? Because leaders become vulnerable to other explanations of ministry and doctrine when they have not fully recognized that the first-century church system was developed perfectly by the Lord. The New Testament lays out the roadmap for a healthy, Christ-focused local body of believers. We teach the how and the why of each called responsibility against that roadmap, so that an alternative explanation has nothing to stand on.
The topics come from what our pastors, their wives, deacons and lay leaders actually need in order to grow a local church. Community outreach. Discipline and reconciliation in the local church. The importance of church membership. The roles of elders and deacons. Planning, writing and delivering an expository sermon series. The biblical position on tithing and congregational financial support.
WHERE & WHEN
WE TEACH.
Topic: Community Sustaining Tools Teacher: Rev. Dallas Turner Location: OBM Headquarters - Kaloleni
Topic: Teacher: Rev. Dallas Turner Location: OBM Salaita Church near Taveta
Topic: Ambassadors for Christ (1Cor5) Teacher: Dan Trantham Location: OBM Salaita Church near Taveta
Topic: Holy Spirit Teachers: Rev. Dallas Turner, Jerry Poston, Patrick Foss Location: OBM Shanzu Church
Topic: Sermon Writing and Lesson Development Teacher: Dan Trantham Location: OBM Shanzu Church
Topic: Church Finances Teachers: Rev. Dallas Turner, Bob Vigoren Location: OBM Shanzu Church
Topic: Local Evangelism Teacher: Pastor Lawrence Duhon Location: Taveta Activity Center
Topic: How to Develop and Grow Women’s and Children’s Ministries Teacher: Greg Windell Location: Girl Guide Camp Shanzu
Topic: The Pastor's Marriage and his Family Teacher: Dan Trantham Location: Girl Guide Camp Shanzu
Topic: Biblical Positions of Leadership in the Local Church Teacher: Dan Trantham Location: Girl Guide Camp Shanzu
Topic: Doctrine and the Dangers of Charismatic Teachings Teacher: Dan Trantham Location: Girl Guide Camp Shanzu
Topic: Conversion, Regeneration, and Sanctification Teacher: Pastor Lawrence Duhon Location: Girl Guide Camp Shanzu
Topic: Discipline and Reconciliation in the Local Church Teacher: Dan Trantham Location: Girl Guide Camp Shanzu
Topic: How to Reproduce a Disciple Teachers: G.H. Cain, Rev. Chris Parker Location: Girl Guide Camp Shanzu
Topic: Church Membership Teachers: Mike Dougherty, Michael Faubel, Gus Campuzano Location: Girl Guide Camp Shanzu
