by Tabitha Plueddemann

Equipping Servants Internship (ESI) is a grassroots, holistic approach to leadership development and discipleship. Begun by SIMers Kep and Debbie James, it has been grounding and transforming hundreds of church leaders in Bolivia for the past 7 years.

Through ESI, men and women are assigned to close-knit single-sex groups of 15, who meet weekly for 2 ½ years. They discuss an assigned Bible passage and, after a few weeks, take turns leading the sessions and preparing discussion questions themselves. They also share in ‘transparency groups’ to maintain accountability.

Students come from many denominations and backgrounds. Each group is intentionally assembled to include as broad a range as possible, in order to build friendships and break down barriers. Group members remain in active ministry during their time in ESI.

Currently there are 16 groups with 220 active participants in the Departments (states) of La Paz, Oruro, Cochabamba, and the Beni—one half of Bolivia’s Departments. There are 13 Bolivian instructors and only one expatriate.

Why mentoring is vital
Bolivia has one trained pastor for every 10,000 people. The quality and methods of theological training result in weak churches that make little impact on society. ‘They are challenged to do very little problem solving,’ says Kep. Typical seminary graduates do not know how to study the Bible, so they teach by lecture and rote memorization.

By contrast, students in ESI learn Bible study methods, principles of interpretation, Bible doctrine, public speaking, and methods of discipling and counselling. They are encouraged to think for themselves, but they do not study in isolation.

Training at ESI is consistent with the stated core values and ministry priorities of SIM for developing leaders. Our missionaries are responsible for ‘mentoring one another and the people in their ministries, and for transferring skills in the context of authentic relationships,’ says International Director Malcolm McGregor.

In transparency groups, students talk about their struggles in the areas of purity, marriage relationships and ministry. After meetings, they often go out to eat salteñas (a meat pie) and talk. This is valuable because many Bolivian pastors don’t have the opportunity to socialize with other church leaders.

Kep says that he too has been transformed through ESI, both personally and in the quality of his teaching and preaching. ‘I am very thankful for Bolivian colleagues who help keep me in learning mode!’ he comments.

Meet Edgar
In 2004 Kep met a young and discouraged pastor. Edgar Mamani wasn’t seeing the growth he’d hoped for among the churches he led for UCE (Unión Cristiana Evangélica), the Bolivian denomination that relates to SIM.

Over the years, Edgar had become an excellent preacher, but his messages focused on his own experiences and ideas and were weak in biblical exposition. In addition, he felt that some UCE pastors mistrusted him because of mistakes he’d made in his early teens.

But he was eager to grow in his understanding of God’s Word, so Kep invited him to join an ESI (Equipping Servants Internship) group. Through ESI, church leaders are being transformed as they are taught, discipled and challenged. 

Learning to think and live biblically
Like thirsty ground, Edgar soaked up everything. Shortly after graduating from ESI, he said, ‘Learning to think and live biblically has impacted the way I do ministry, the way I share Christ, and the way I teach and preach.’ 

In fact, Edgar’s teaching changed so much that he lost about a quarter of his seminary students. They didn’t like his focus on Jesus and the cross, preferring his former topics, such as health and success. But, in time, there was standing room only in Edgar’s classes.

When Edgar finished ESI, Kep invited him to become a Pastoral Assistant (PA) at Iglesia La Comunidad, a church in La Paz which Kep and Debbie had started with a team of Bolivians in 1990. This church, which is led by Bolivians, has a two-year PA programme, through which young pastors are mentored in godly character, Scripture, doctrine and ministry skill.

Over the past 3 years God has used Edgar in ever-increasing ways to impact dozens of churches in El Alto. He also leads two ESI groups of his own, and was commissioned to lead a church plant in late 2007.

‘It has been one of my greatest joys to be able to invest my life in pastors like Edgar, seeing them impact the lives of others in a way far beyond what I could ever accomplish,’ says Kep.

PRAY
• that God will raise up the best minds, with hearts on fire for him, so that his name will be glorified in the Bolivian Church.