It has been such a blessing to see the Ministry Training Institute continue to grow and develop over the last two years. Matt Larkin and his team have done a great job of developing the courses and organizing the program even through the unexpected pandemic. The first-year students have been faithful to continue to work even when the regular class schedule had to be altered to a mostly online format and have been willing to put in the extra time with reading, mentoring and assignments to make it work.

From a personal standpoint it has been a real blessing to see one student answer the call of God on his life and move forward with preparing and beginning to serve in the role of pastor. I have known Wayne Dunn for more than 25 years as I served churches in Eastern North Carolina, but I was his pastor for six years at Lees Chapel A.C. Church. He served as a deacon, Sunday school teacher, and Sunday school superintendent while I was there and did a great job. I had the opportunity to talk to Wayne about his commitment to Christ and God’s call on him from an early age at Camp Dixie. Chet Hart, Dave Ross and Wayne Lucas were serving at counselors and told Wayne about Berkshire Christian College. Wayne decided to go and attended for three semesters, studying God’s Word and seeking what the next steps would be for his life. He left intending to attend another Christian college, but got married and settled in as a lay leader in his church. His pastor Rev. Ellis asked him to speak not long after his time at Berkshire and Wayne continued to fill the pulpits in the conference when pastors called needing someone to speak for them. Wayne received his Christian Worker’s License but never went any further with his credentials. When I began to talk to Wayne, he was getting ready to retire from the postal service and still felt God’s call on his life. I encouraged him to pray about continuing his theological educations to prepare to serve as lay pastor. This was before MTI was even a dream, but he was one of the first people I thought of when we were preparing to launch the program. One weekend I was visiting Wayne and Marlene and shared about our plans for Ministry Training Institutes and sure enough, he signed up as one of our first-year students.

Now God has opened the door for Wayne to work as an interim pastor at Lee’s Union A.C. Church in Eastern North Carolina. We are all thankful for the students who have heard God’s voice calling them to pursue leadership in the Advent Christian denomination. These students can and will take on many different forms from young maturing leaders to those entering second careers or bi-vocational ministry.

A common misconception is that leadership development only takes place among young adults. However, God calls people of all ages and from all backgrounds to lead his church. It is our hope that MTI can be used as a resource to aid the local church in raising up leaders that truly reflect the many diverse faces of the kingdom of God; mature leaders, called for such a time as this. You can learn more about MTI at www.mtiprogram.com.