02/09/06 :: Pastors College
Gaithersburg, MD >> Marcelo Del Castillo and his father, Jorge, traveled from Iglesia en La Paz (Bolivia) this fall to attend the Sovereign Grace Pastors College. Now more than halfway through the school year, Marcelo talks about what God is teaching him....
It seems like one week ago when we sat together for the first time in the Pastors College classroom: 19 men from different churches, different backgrounds, different ages, and different parts of the world. We did not know each other, but that was about to change. Our reason for being together was to be equipped in theology and practical ministry in order to serve our local churches and spread the gospel for the glory of God.
Photo: The Pastors College class of 2006. Marcelo is in the back row on the left.
The classes start on Tuesday and go to Friday afternoon. Assignments for the weekend are due the next Tuesday and then everything starts all over again. Every week there is a new subject, a new teacher, and a new way in which God brings light to old truths. Even though the work is intense, God has met us week after week, teaching us and holding up the mirror of his Word with its strong claim on our lives.
One of the things that makes each week unique is the teachers, who generally are Sovereign Grace pastors and an occasional guest. Their passion for God, the church, and the gospel is contagious, and every week we feel compelled by their example. Many times I’ve been asked which of the teachers has been my favorite so far. I always answer, “The one we had last week…” because every week God has used them to model godliness and inspire me and the others in some particular aspect of our life and godliness.
Every Wednesday we meet during lunch for accountability, and it is amazing to think that five months ago we were a group of strangers and now we know each other deeply. Friendship and fellowship are what make this environment unique. Week by week the class has been growing in unity by spending extended times together studying as well as having fun, praying, eating meals, even playing sports. It has been said that our class is not as coordinated as some of our predecessors. We agree with them, so to comfort ourselves we say that we are a smart class, or at least that’s what we like to think....
From day one God showered his kindness, love, and care on us and our families. We felt God’s love expressed through people by their care, hospitality, and support and in many other ways. They made our transition easy by opening their homes to share meals with us and looking for ways to serve us.
Looking forward to what God has in store for us in the future fills us with excitement. On the day when we are together in the same room for the last time as a class, our story will be the same: God has been faithful. It will not matter what classes we took, how much homework we had or who our teachers were. We were learning how to trust God more, day after day. With every trial and situation he has proved that he is faithful and does not change, because his love endures forever.
Your faithfulness endures to all generations;
you have established the earth,
and it stands fast.
Psalm 119:90
Earlier this year Marcelo and Jorge talked to Family News about what it’s like to attend the Pastors College together. You can read that interview here.