Many of church leaders find themselves serving several congregations at the same time. The nearest neighboring pastor might be more than five hours away. As our pastors serve multi-point parishes, it becomes essential to offer them the opportunity to be fed by Jesus in the hearing of His Word through study and having evenings to enjoy much needed fellowship with pastors.
A recent conference hosted by the Luther Academy in Argentina saw more than 75 pastors receive recently translated and published Pastoral Care Companions with prayers and Scripture readings for the sick, the depressed, those suffering the recent death of a loved one and many other moments of crisis in one’s life. In addition to this, each pastor received a communion kit from the LWML and were led through the teaching and practice of visiting those in need of the Lord´s presence through bread and wine, His body and blood. Many of these pastors were overjoyed at this teaching and encouraged to have both the means (kits) and the teaching brought to them again in being provided the tools to properly serve the Lord´s people.
Through the offering of more than 50 conferences in the past 5 years, Luther Academy encourages national leaders throughout Latin America. Each year ten conferences, taught by pastors and professors from Latin America and the U.S., are held in countries Bolivia, Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala, Panama and Paraguay that cover a variety of topics depending on the needs of the local pastors. This work especially emphasizes the practical application of topics in the ministries at the grass roots level.