The Spurgeon Center exists to equip and encourage pastors to lead healthy disciple-making churches for the glory of God around the world.
We want to see this done in a five-fold fashion:
1. The shadow of a church’s pastor falls long. Where the one proclaiming the message lacks a Great Commission focus or fails to preach the Word, the church seldom-if ever-spotlights reaching neighbors and nations. The Spurgeon Center seeks to provide training and assistance for men with a Great Commission heart.
2. No church, seminary, or denomination can overemphasize the importance of preaching the Word. History reminds us that pastoral leaders do not default into biblical preaching; instead, only an intentional effort anchors men of God in the Word of God. The Spurgeon Center aims at providing resources and support for leaders who preach the Word.
3. A pastor who is not a strong leader or who has lost his vision to lead will likely oversee a non-growing church. The Spurgeon Center offers strong practical leadership training, thereby helping to raise up men who will lead in the task given to them.
4. Most churches in North America are not healthy. Few are growing through conversion growth. Discipleship is an incomplete, if not missing, component of church strategies. The Spurgeon Center aims at equipping both seasoned and young pastors to lead healthy churches.
5. The long-term effectiveness of church plants cannot be divorced from the spiritual vitality and leadership skills of the church planter. Healthy church plants-an undeniable need both in North America and around the world-require healthy church planters who A) preach the Word; B) know how to lead, and C) are learning at the feet of a veteran pastor or church planter. The Spurgeon Center seeks to assist such men.
Chuck Lawless
Dean of Graduate Studies
|
