The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.” (Luke 22:25-27 ESV)
In 1985, President Daniel Ortega was hailed as a hero of liberation for overthrowing the Somoza dictatorship in Nicaragua. But with his return to power in 2007, that liberating spirit was marred by a desire for control, and the Ortega government descended toward a new dictatorship. As one analyst put it, “Nicaragua slid into totalitarianism ‘gradually, then suddenly’” (Christopher Sabatini, Chatham House).
Ortega’s regime has been marked by political repression and the suppression of dissent in recent years. Hundreds of thousands of Nicaraguans have fled the country, while those who remain endure persecution, imprisonment, and even death. Churches once free to minister now operate under increasing hostility.
Nicaragua has become a restricted access country—a nation where foreign missionaries face significant entry hurdles. This is something Patricio Paredes (Pat)—WordPartners’ Regional Director for Latin America—has faced first hand. “WordPartners’ staff cannot travel to Nicaragua,” he says, “Many churches are suffering right now . . . and even our training partners need a special permission letter just to visit churches.”
The Streets of Nicaragua
In order to overcome restricted access hurdles, WordPartners’ staff must rely on our training strategy. We equip pastors to train pastors to preach God’s Word with God’s heart through a four-year, cohort-based process. By God’s grace, this model equips pastors who can launch new cohorts in regions where we cannot travel.
While Ortega solidifies his position of power, WordPartners’ training partners from across Latin America are cultivating a counter-culture of humility, service, and empowerment in Nicaragua.
Long before WordPartners began training pastors on Nicaraguan soil, the Lord was laying a foundation through faithful men in neighboring countries. Pat has been equipping pastors to train pastors to preach God’s Word faithfully across Central America for 14 years. Last year, he worked with 58 training partners in 12 countries. In Costa Rica, Pat has been mentoring William and Candido. William is from the Island of Ometepe on Lake Cocibolca in Nicaragua. As he has been learning to use the Dig & Discover Principles in his own ministry, he has had a growing longing to equip pastors from his own country.
The training on Ometepe is a response from God’s heart for this nation. We are very excited about the transformation we are seeing in our fellow pastors on Ometepe.
Yet, Pat has not merely equipped William and Candido with principles for Christ-centered, expositional preaching. He has also discipled them in Christlike humility as he embodies the apostle Paul’s attitude toward the church in Corinth, “Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm in your faith.” (2 Corinthians 1:24 ESV).
Pat’s goal is to increase pastors’ joy through fellowship around God’s Word. To do this, he focuses on making deep relational connections as he trains pastors to preach Christ-centered, expositional sermons and equips them to train others.
Ovet (from Honduras), William, and Candido
Pat explains that the equipping process isn’t just about knowledge transfer. Training happens not only in the classroom but around shared meals, friendly competition, and time spent together.
We don’t just finish a workshop and say goodbye. Training and mentoring means engaging like a father who teaches, then encourages as the pastors make their own decisions. They’re going to start new workshops with new pastors, and we have to be there—to encourage them, to refine their skills, to support them as they go to different countries. We carry ourselves not as the experts, but as brothers who have some experience in this area. We become part of the group. We eat together, we laugh together, we even play together.
Pat recounts a moment with Jorge, a Honduran pastor who made some of the first inroads into Nicaragua. Jorge reflected on the difference of Pat’s approach to training:
Other teachers that have come here to do some of the conferences . . . go back to their hotel, and they don’t eat with us, they eat apart, and they don’t know us. But Patricio and his team stay, engage, and enjoy life with the pastors they serve.
Pat seeks to develop open, meaningful relationships that span years of training. His goal “is to allow them to really speak out and even tell me things that they don’t like about me, things that they see that are not working.” This approach builds confidence in the pastors and ensures open communication throughout the training process.
Nicaraguan Celebration
This culture of openness creates surprising moments of joy and trust—even in the midst of bruises and blunders. “I was playing soccer with Jorge once,” Pat laughs. “I was the goalie, and he kicked the ball so hard it hit me straight in the face. It really hurt, and Jorge was afraid I might not let him stay for the workshop. But we were just playing. Other missionaries had conditioned the men to fear making mistakes, but for us, it was just part of being together.”
This sort of togetherness yields fruit—pastors not only learning but leading.
In the context of these rich relationships, Pat empowers training partners like William and Candido through the WordPartners’ advanced training process—workshops specifically for pastors who become training partners. He keeps an open conversation going with each trainer between workshops. They discuss future planning and consider new pastors who might be developed as trainers. Pat explains:
I am always in contact with them through WhatsApp, and I encourage them . . . to be in contact with the people that they’re going to be training to prepare the classes themselves, to organize the schedule, and to assign the different sessions to them.
As part of the advanced training, Pat also attends some of the partner-led workshops. He helps the men prepare for the workshop by reviewing their sessions the day before the core training. “I ask . . . ‘Okay, what are you going to emphasize in this session? Give us a little nugget of what you’re going to do.’“
Ometepe Cohort
After Pat observes the workshop, he meets with the training partners for follow-up coaching. He asks, “How did you feel when you gave the session? How do you think the session went?” This gives him the opportunity to see how well the trainers are able to self-evaluate. He also provides instruction and feedback: “The goal is to encourage them with the good things they did and to help them with the things that need to be improved.”
This approach—patient, relational, and grounded in the Word—is now shaping a new generation of pastors on the Island of Ometepe, Nicaragua.
As William and Candido develop a group of pastors through workshops on Ometepe, they are modeling Pat’s training methodology and character. Through a joint effort of Honduran pastors working with William and Candido, a group of about 18 Nicaraguan pastors recently completed a partner-led 2 Timothy workshop. One of the pastors reflected on the event, “We are happy about the outreach to Nicaragua. [The training on] Ometepe is a response from God’s heart for this nation. We are very excited about the transformation we are seeing in our fellow pastors on Ometepe.”
While Ortega solidifies his position of power, WordPartners’ training partners from across Latin America are cultivating a counter-culture of humility, service, and empowerment in Nicaragua.
This is why WordPartners exists. Not to lord authority over pastors, but to work with them for their joy in Christ through his Word. Dictators like Ortega lord their finite power over vulnerable people. But the humble love of Christ is overcoming by the infinite power of God’s Word. This is the long-term fruit of relational, generational training. It is not flashy. It is not fast. But it is fruitful. And it is changing the narrative on an island in Nicaragua—not by overthrowing regimes, but by equipping shepherds to serve like Jesus. This is no small thing. Only Christ can create and sustain this kind of transformation through the power of his Word and Spirit.
On the horizon, the Nicaraguan cohort of pastors will participate in Genesis and The Gospel of Mark workshops. These workshops mark a key turning point in the training process as some of the pastors will be asked to start leading training sessions. Pray for William and Candido as they begin to equip pastors to become trainers in the months ahead.
Join us as we give thanks for the pastors across Central America who faithfully preach with the servant heart of Christ. Ask the Lord of the harvest to give them the rich fruit of joy as they serve his church with his Word.
Please pray for unity and ongoing collaboration among our training partners in Latin America. Pray that the Word of God would continue to overcome every human power and would flow powerfully through their churches to every nation.
