Belize City, Belize…[Libna Stevens/IAD]
At the northeastern tip of Central America lies Belize, a country which boasts 30,000 Seventh-day Adventists worshiping in 72 churches and congregations and growing. However, the country has only one regional office and not enough pastors to handle the growing membership.
In an effort to help pastors, church leaders plan to enlist local elders through training seminars. One such seminar took place on June 23, 2007, in Belize City, where over 600 local church elders gathered to learn about general leadership practices and church administration.
Equipping elders is one of the top priorities that the church leadership in Inter-America has been promoting during the last five years to help care for the fast growing membership throughout the territory.
“It is very important to provide solid leadership for the church,” says Pastor Leito, president of the church in Inter-America. “In the Inter-American Division, we don't have, nor do we anticipate having, enough pastors for the exploding church, so the church elder then becomes a critical link in the administration of the church.”
Thousands of copies of the Elder's Manual have been distributed for free to head elders and copies of Adventist Fundamental Doctrines and related publications are now available at a very affordable price. Additional elder training seminars are planned throughout the territory.
Pastor Leito, who spoke to elders during the one-day seminar, is optimistic about the ability of the local church leadership in Belize to minister to current and future members.
The churches “have good lay leaders and also a very good ministerial group,” he says. “They are taking the first steps as a conference, and not everyone understands the responsibility that comes with authority.”
He says Belize has the potential to have its own union soon and that it is the strongest field financially in the North Central American Union based in Guatemala.
