Pastor Orlando walked up to me at the end of training on Friday. The course had concluded, and many of the students had left. He asked me, "Do you remember when we first met in 2019?"
I remember that meeting very well. Orlando has become a dear friend of mine since that first meeting in 2019. I have heard him preach on several occasions, and I have watched his preaching improve as he has learned and grown. Orlando wants to know Christ more intimately, and he knows this can only happen as he studies the word accurately.
"When you told us about the training of TLI, I knew I needed it," Pastor Orlando said to me. "Then, when you came to El Salvador to meet with students, explain what TLI does, and show us a sample class, I knew I needed it even more. But after going through these four classes, I now realize I desperately need this training. I have never asked questions of a passage. I have never understood how to make observations. I have never seen how all of Scripture points to Christ. I am very thankful that the Lord brought TLI to El Salvador!"
Another brother in that course told me, "A few of the other students and I have been talking this week. We feel that we need to stop preaching our topical sermons and start preaching through books of the Bible." This statement made me very curious, so I asked him to tell me why they are thinking this way.
"As we have been learning how to see the point of the author and how each passage of a book works together to make the main point of the whole book, we have concluded that we have mishandled God's word. We now think it is much better for us and our churches to study through books of the Bible so that we correctly understand what the Lord is saying and do not mishandle His word."
TLI's vision is to strengthen local churches, and we do that by empowering local leaders. In class, we teach our students and give them practice in observing what the author is doing in a given passage. They see first-hand how powerful the word is when correctly understood and relevantly applied. Praise God for the transformation he is working in El Salvador!
