Coming in 2016: Apollos Project Cuba
Over the past number of years Cuba has been experiencing one of the greatest revivals in church history. As a result many men and women, with a calling from God and a love for His people, have been appointed pastors over thousands of new church plants. They are committed and passionate about the people and Kingdom of God but have little or no formal biblical and theological training. There are several foreign schools and a domestic school that are helping to establish accredited ministerial education on the island but these programs take years to complete.
A typical Cuban church
Recently, we were introduced to Dr. Roy Versoza who has a passion to see church pastors and leaders trained in the areas of exegesis and hermeneutics. These two subject areas are critical to understanding the Bible in its original context and then being able to relate the Biblical truths to today’s audience.
This is why and how the Apollos Project came into being. Dr. Versoza has taken these deep and weighty subjects and distilled them down into a format that maintains the integrity of the subject matter but makes it understandable to those with minimal formal Bible training. The project is about training pastors and leaders so they can be, “a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15.
Apollos Project Conference
Dr. Versoza has held several conferences in the past two years, training several hundred pastors and leaders but during Dr. Versoza's last visit to Cuba in October of 2015 he trained 12 national and district leaders to be Apollos Project trainers. These leaders have put together a plan for 2016 to hold four training sessions in each district which will lead to the training over 3000 pastors and leaders.
The General Superintendent of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Cuba, Rev. Eliseo Villar says that this training program comes at a critical time for the church in order to retain the harvest of souls that have been brought in God’s Kingdom in Cuba. The pastors and leaders need to know the truth of God’s Word the way it was intended from the beginning to keep heresies from getting into the church.
Certified national and district leaders in the Apollos Project
This project will require 21 conferences that will cover the entire island. They are two days each and they will need funds for transportation for the trainers and pastors to get to the sessions, meals and materials totaling $25,000.00. It sounds like a daunting number but that is only $8.00 per pastor!
Will you consider partnering together with the Cuban church to help train and retain the harvest of souls in that great nation?
Bendiciones and gracias,
Gary Empey, global worker to Cuba