The vision
The Philippines, and beyond.
A new partnership is forming in the province of Cavite: sixteen pastors, nine training trips, three years. Further partnerships are being considered on the islands of Cebu, Mindanao, and Mindoro. And the pattern behind it has already been proven.
Why the Philippines
The church in the Philippines is growing far faster than its pastors can be trained. Most of the men shepherding these congregations will never have access to a seminary — not because they lack the desire or the gifts, but because the schools, the books, and the teachers simply aren't there.
Josh has already taught extensively in the Philippines — hermeneutics, biblical theology, Old Testament narrative, the Gospels, the Psalms, Ephesians, Isaiah. The new partnership turns those individual trips into a sustained, sequential program.
The plan for 2027
Sixteen pastors. Nine trips. Three years.
01
A cohort, not a conference
Sixteen Filipino pastors, walking together through a multi-year curriculum that covers the whole counsel of God — how to understand the Scriptures, and how to preach them.
02
Nine trips over three years
Roughly three training trips a year, each building on the last. Between trips, the pastors put the training to work in their own pulpits and report back.
03
Trained men training men
Every pastor in the cohort is urged to pass the training on to others. The aim is a multiplying movement of expository preaching that outlasts the trips themselves.
A new venture
Reaching the island of Mindoro.
While only a few hours away from the bustle of Manila, the island of Mindoro feels like a different world. While pastors around Manila generally have access to training and resources, those on Mindoro do not. Stemming from his doctoral work exploring training among oral cultures, Josh plans on launching training on Mindoro in partnership with Filipino graduates of previous cohorts. This new work, starting in 2027, will pioneer methods and approaches that will help TLI and its partners train in new regions of the world.
A proven pattern
This has worked before.
Over the past eight years, Josh coordinated training for ten Pakistani pastors — men who could not be reached in their own country, so the training met them in Dubai and Amman. Today, six of those pastors continue to work with Josh monthly as they move through the ordination process.
While Josh's work has focused on Pakistanis and Filipinos over the last five years, TLI has graduated dozens of cohorts around the world.
The Philippines partnership applies the same patient, relational model — and partnerships beyond it are already being explored in Africa and Asia.
From a trainee
A testimony from one of Josh's trainees will appear here soon.
Pray for the work
Please pray for wisdom, and for the provision of funds and teachers. Then consider whether your church might share in the work itself.
See the need