Introducing… Fernando Sevilla, Langham Preaching’s coordinator for Peru. He’s been involved with Langham for nearly two decades and recently shared the great joys and challenges of training indigenous Amazonian pastors.
There are 150 ethnic groups based along the Amazon in northern Peru, and Fernando says there is a “great need” for preachers in these areas to be trained to preach faithfully from the Bible.
The opportunity for Langham to be involved in training the Shipibo-Konibo community came about when one pastor, Samuel, became a member of an ‘escualita’ (Preaching Club) and attended Langham seminars.
It was very difficult for him, as Spanish was his second language – but the Langham Preaching team persevered, followed up with him and made a big impression. Samuel returned to his community, desperate for other pastors in his ethnic group to receive the same training. So they invited Fernando to bring Langham Preaching to their region.
Experiencing the culture
Fernando initially visited the area for eight days purely to experience the culture and day-to-day lives of the Shipibo-Konibo people, because it is so different to life in the big cities.
After much organising, and collaborating with another missionary organisation called “Three Waves”, the training took place in November for 40 pastors. The Langham Preaching team and attendees travelled for 10-24 hours by boat to get there.
Yet Fernando said the event was a “great joy”. One participant, the only female preacher to attend, had great difficulty getting to the training, but gave “the best sermon of the entire group”, Fernando shared.
He said that the event was also frustrating because of the language barrier:
“We learnt that we can change the way we teach, but not the content. This event was one small part of the entire process – we now mentor them. One event is not enough. We call them constantly to ask how they’re doing with the material, and whether they are meeting in small groups together”.
A huge lack of resources
The plan is to complete the Langham Preaching programme over the next two years, with three more similar events.
Fernando explained that the training is “very special, because there is a huge need and a huge lack of resources. There needs to be a learner-centred approach, which is more oral rather than text-based.
“Our team is keen to finish the entire programme, but it’s very expensive. Everyone needs to travel on tiny boats, and it is expensive for the team and the participants.”
Though 40 pastors did manage to attend, 20 more were unable to because of financial hardships.
Wonderful opportunity
And now Langham is being invited to train other ethnic groups, as they have heard how good the training is!
Praise God for this wonderful opportunity, and pray for the vision and resources to complete the programme.
If you would like to financially support Langham Preaching training in places like Peru, please prayerfully consider giving to the Langham Preaching programme.