Reason for the school of Christian ministry

St. Gregor's School of Christian Ministry was founded in 1995 with the vision to develop and train the laity to be able to reach out to the unchurched in Latvia and to nonbelievers in other areas of the world. St. Gregor’s is the only in-residence training center for laity in Latvia.

In the early 1990’s, after the fall of the Soviet Union, Latvians filled the churches throughout the country. Unfortunately, because there was, and still is, a desperate need for pastors and no trained laity, most churches were not prepared to teach and train those who needed to be discipled into the church.

Under the Soviet Union there was no opportunity to train and develop laity to assist the pastors in the work of the church, making it difficult for the mentoring process to be effective within the congregations. A new generation of Christian workers must be formed to help develop the laity in the local congregations.

The Task of the School

St. Gregor’s encourages students, males and female, to a deeper understanding of their faith, provides basic Biblical teaching and training in the areas of mission and evangelism, shut-in care, teaching Sunday School, congregational management, liturgy and training to quip Sunday School teachers. The goal of the church is for the graduating students to return to serve in their home congregations or to reach out to proclaim the gospel in other areas of the world.

Description of the School

Since most students come from non-Christian homes, this is often their first opportunity to live among Christians. Interpersonal Christian relationships are crucial to the development of the students. To encourage the students to develop healthy prayer lives, corporate prayer is held in the school’s chapel every morning, noon and evening.

St. Gregor’s provides housing in two-room apartments within the school and one hot meal that the community shares every day. Classes are held from Monday to Friday but students are encouraged to return home to serve at their local congregations on the weekends. Each student is assigned a local shut-in to visit regularly throughout the year. Ministry trips are planned to other congregations where the students are given an opportunity to put their teachings into practice by telling others about their faith and about the school.

The Director of the school, one full-time professor as well as pastors and professors from the University of Latvia teach classes. Many guest-lecturers from other countries give the students a larger world view of the work of spreading the gospel in other countries.

Program for the School

The school year begins in September and ends in May. All students are full-time. It is a one-year program, with the opportunity to attend a second year if desired.

Subjects taught include Old and New Testament, biblical and foreign languages, evangelism, and missions. Graduates from the school who have been missionaries in other countries return to share their experiences.

Results

Graduates return to their home congregations to continue the ministries in which they have been involved or to assist their pastors in developing new ministries within their churches. They are now able to provide leadership within the congregation. An example, last year a young man named Eriks was employed by his church as a chauffeur and caretaker. He wanted to help his congregation, but felt he had nothing to offer. After attending St. Gregor’s he has accepted the position of Director of Social Ministries for his congregation.

Some have continued their theological education at the University of Latvia, the Christian Academy (Latvia’s only Christian University), the Lutheran Seminary or abroad. At least three young men have become pastors.

There are still Latvians who were deported during the Soviet occupation and still living in Siberia. St. Gregor’s students have begun an out-reach ministry to these displaced persons. Graduates have been in Siberia every year for the past four years and are in the process of establishing a Lutheran Church in this mostly Orthodox region.

Financial Support

Financial support may be transferred directly to: