WHAT’S NEXT FOR CTO?
This India trip, number 14, was extremely successful and accomplished much more than we ever expected, but we also realized it was probably our last trip. I say that for 2 reasons: 1) our age is making it very difficult for us to keep doing this and there are more effective ways of doing what we do in India and 2) CTO is growing and advancing in new ways and areas which need our time and resources.
So, what’s next? The short answer is “I don’t exactly know.” The longer answer is that there are several strands that weave together in our ministry today. We have grown way beyond the yearly pastor’s conferences held in India. The books, the web site material, the 3 weekly blogs I send out, and our expansion into Africa and South America show the direction CTO is moving. Book translation and distribution is really expanding. I just met someone interested in working with CTO to translate some of my books into Burmese (for Myanmar pastors). They are already in English, Hindi, Telugu and Spanish with some in Odia and Swahili. Pray for wisdom as God leads and directs us in the future. These really are exciting times for CTO. God has used this ministry way beyond anything I ever imagined.
- PASTOR’S CONFERENCES IN INDIA. This is what we started with and has been the heart and core of our work, but we are growing beyond this and reaching many more pastors in other ways. I’d like to see this continue, at least with other US pastors willing to work with us in India. It does take a lot of time and money to have these conferences, though. But they are a good way to train and encourage pastors, and our main way to distribute books. The conferences cost about $20 per person in addition to $25 worth of books per person. About 1,000 come to our 2-week conferences. As you can see, this is a major expense.
- PASTORAL BOOK DISTRIBUTION. I have written 16 books for pastors, 14 are now in print (we don’t have the money to print the other 2). These go into much more detail than the conference sessions. They can be shared with others and provide a complete library about the basics of ministry. They are being used in several languages in Southeast Asia, Africa and South America. Books can be very costly to print and transport.
- ONLINE RESOURCES. We have an excellent web site with many free books, articles and information about pastoring, marriage and family, spiritual warfare and all areas of Bible study and Christian living. LifeWay offers my books in 4 modules to train pastors online. This only costs about $1,000 a year. It is very cost effective.
- BLOGS. I send out 3 weekly blogs, each to about 200-250 people. One is just for pastors in India and similar places. It is to teach and encourage them. Another is a devotional with an update of what CTO is doing and pictures of the work. The third is about spiritual warfare. I get very good feedback on all of these. (Let me know if you are interested in being added to a mail list.) This ministry takes a lot of time, but very little money.
- TRAINING IN OTHER AREAS OF SOUTHEAST ASIA, AFRICA & SOUTH AMERICA. Pastors who train and mentor pastors in several other locations have come upon my books online and are using them in their local conferences. They contact me. It’s a part of our ministry that is rapidly growing all by itself. The books are in English, Telugu, Hindi, Spanish, Swahili, Odia and soon Burmese. These men aren’t paid, but most need help with printing costs. I just got a request from the dean of a very respected India seminary to use my books in Swahili when he does pastor training in Kenya and Tanzania! CTO’s leader there will work with him. I just heard from someone who wants the books available in Napal
It would be great to have all of these continue to grow and spread, and to some extent they will, but we don’t have enough resources (my time and/or your money) to focus on all of them. We’ll see how God leads in the next few months. As Henry Blackaby always said, look for where God is working and follow His lead. Pray I’d have wisdom to do this.
PRAYER REQUEST: Pray for our finances. All our bills are paid and we have enough in India for the next few months, but we have very little in our account. I thank those of you who give regularly. I’m not asking you to give more but to pray for others to start giving. If you aren’t a regular contributor, please consider our ministry needs. Pray for God to provide for what He wants us to do.
cto Rev. Dr. JERRY SCHMOYER
Christian Training Organization
Jerry@ChristianTrainingOrganization.org
(India Outreach, Spiritual Warfare, Family Ministries, Counseling, World View)
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