Welcome to my new blog! I started this new location because my old one, pastorgarryweaver.blogspot.com , does not reflect the focus nor character of my ministry. I hope all my old friends and some new ones will keep a check on this new blog site and read of my thoughts, experiences and adventures in training young missionary "Interns" at the CENTER FOR PIONEER CHURCH PLANTING in Los Fresnos, Texas.
The reasons for this blogs title "Training Real Missionaries" are manifold:
First,the CENTER FOR PIONEER CHURCH PLANTING or the CPCP where I serve as Director of Field Training is a training school for missionary candidates. We like to call them "Interns".
Secondly, The training our interns receive consists of classroom instruction by adjunct professors from prominent seminaries as well as teaching by many veteran missionaries who share their years of experience and wise council with them and on-the-field, hands-on missionary experience. (We estimate that while the interns are with us, 60% of their time is spent in class and 40% is spent on the mission field in Mexico, Papua New Guinea or India.)
Thirdly, My responsibility is to oversee the hands-on training mentioned above. This is accomplished by dividing the student body into church planting teams and giving each team a village or town in Mexico where they ARE the missionaries ministering to the spiritual needs of their village. They are there, not only to get experience for their future in missions, but they are actually doing missionary church planting while they are preparing to go to some other unreached area of the world. Therefore without hesitation I say that they are REAL MISSIONARIES.
