TRAIN PASTORS
Pastors need to be empowered and equipped with necessary skills to make them relevant in their daily work in today’s evolving world of challenges. Minister of Employment, Labour Productivity and Skills Development Tshenolo Mabeo made this observation recently and urged pastors to undergo training. He was speaking in Gaborone at the launch of International Training Network (T-NET) last week. T-NET is an international intensive training programme for pastors around the world. It was started in 1996 in America by Bill Hull and Bob Gilliam, church consultants at Dallas Theological Seminary. According to T-NET Botswana chairman Bishop Bagwasi Bagwasi, the purpose of the programme is to help churches to be effective in order to finish the Great Commission. He said that it is currently operating in over 50 countries around the world with thousands of pastors enrolled for training. “It entails church planting, structuring the church for effectiveness, coaching leaders as well as management courses such as human resource supervision and accountability. “It achieves its mandate through network training systems called centres where pastors train other pastors and leaders with multiplier effect approach,” he said. Mabeo said T-NET is a commendable preposition for a knowledge-based economy as it answers the question as to what can be done for the church to have a transformational role in the country. “While academic knowledge is important, the church is highly resourced and experienced providers of services with regard to human development through spiritual and moral values which build perseverance and resilience that are necessary for discovery and innovation,” he said.