About
Project: Pastoral Education,
West Africa (PPEWA)
HISTORY
Project: Pastoral Education, West Africa (PPEWA) work grew out of a request from Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church—Sierra Leone (CELC—SL) to resume advanced pastoral education sessions that the Rev. Philip Grovenstein, an LCMS Missionary, had conducted among the Kono people from 1988-1996.
BACKGROUND
Project: Pastoral Education, West Africa (PPEWA) is an ongoing volunteer labor of love that has provided advanced pastoral education services in Sierra Leone and Liberia since 2007. Its mission is to equip the pastoral leadership of the Lutheran churches in West Africa– Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, and The Gambia by offering intensive courses of study and printed theological resources, which, in turn, enhance the training of the general pastorate in each church body. Its vision is to raise pastoral competencies in the service of the Gospel for both outreach and the spiritual nurture of the baptized membership.
PPEWA is neither a direct mission of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, nor is it a Recognized Service Organization of the LC-MS.
Education is a chief concern of our church, your previous instruction has proven to be most useful, and we would love for you to return if you are willing.
- Bishop Martin Kamara
Evangelical Lutheran Church - Liberia
THE TWO-WEEK TEACHING SESSIONS
Since 2009, 23 two-week teaching sessions have been conducted in Sierra Leone and Liberia. Each session brings 15-20 indigenous Lutheran pastors and leaders to a residence and teaching compound (in Jembe, Sierra Leone, and the ELWA Center in Monrovia, Liberia) for an
intensive two-week educational session. The men take selected courses of study for continued theological equipping and pastoral formation. They also assist in the conduct of daily worship. PPEWA covers all of the expenses for a teaching team of volunteer LCMS pastors, together with all the expenses for the lodging, meals, instructional materials, and assistance for travel for the attending West African Lutheran participants. The expenses for a two- week teaching session averages $20,000.
The labors in West Africa have been in partnership and helpful assistance of the staff of the LCMS Office of International Mission (OIM) and its directors in West Africa. The staff at the LCMS OIM has offered
invaluable assistance to PPEWA with helpful advice and resources for travel, visa acquisition, emergency medical insurance, and instructional materials. We thank God for the continuing blessings that have come from our partnership with the LCMS OIM, its staff and personnel in
West Africa.
