The US Pastors College - Together As One
Class of 2024 students with their wives (Left to right: Richard and Claudia Rodriguez, Nick and Jenna Richardson, Gil and Melanie Balch, Emerson and Tati Soares, Arturo and Sara De La Fuente, Mario and Diana Figueroa).
An update from Jeff Purswell, Director of Theology for Sovereign Grace Churches and Dean of the US Pastors College.
If you had wandered past the Pastors College classroom just a few months ago, you likely would have detected a medley of English, Spanish, and Portuguese echoing from our Louisville, Kentucky location. The “US” Pastors College hosted its most global class to date, the class of 2024, which graduated in June. Two of the six students traveled to us from outside the United States (Mexico and Brazil), while two of the four Americans hailed from Spanish-speaking backgrounds. And yet, despite the vast diversity of background and culture, these six men and their families formed a tight partnership and brotherhood that vividly displayed the gospel’s unifying power.
Class of 2024 students enjoying some fun and games.
I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen a PC class bond more quickly than these six students. Laughter filled the classroom from orientation day to graduation, and these men opened up their lives and hearts to one another from the very beginning. What a privilege it was to watch them link arms together, diving headlong into a year of rigorous theological study and discipleship, all for the purpose of fruitful gospel ministry.
Class of 2024 PC wives event.
Equally impressive were their wives. It was the first time we’ve ever brought in translators for our monthly PC wives’ meetings, and we needed two translators each time — one for Spanish and one for Portuguese! All the wives radiated exceptional courage and sacrifice over the year, which in God’s kindness, produced a harvest of godly fellowship and growth.
We witnessed deep friendships form across cultures as these families cared for one another throughout the year. It was not uncommon on a Sunday morning to see the bilingual PC kids translating for those who only knew Spanish, as they all played with children from Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville. The PC families gathered every month for a potluck, sharing dishes from home, playing games, and building memories.
C.J. Mahaney addressing the class of 2024.
And yet, it wasn’t mere friendship that bonded these families together. All the hard work of intentionally pressing through cultural and linguistic barriers was motivated by one all-encompassing, eternal factor: their shared unity in Christ, given as a precious gift through our Savior’s work on the cross. It was this blood-bought unity that made Graduation day — always bittersweet — especially poignant. We were made deeply aware that God Himself had brought this PC class together, not only to display the unifying power of the gospel but to equip these men for faithful ministry in different corners of His harvest.
Welcoming the Australian PC families when they arrived in Louisville on August 8 (class of 2025).
Please pray for these graduates, as they labor joyfully back at their home churches in Brazil, in Mexico, and throughout the United States. And please be praying for our current class of students as well, representing yet more international investment, with two Australians joining our seven American students. We long for this season of intense study and training to produce in them an ever-deepening hunger for God’s Word, a steady growth in joy and godliness, and a robust, enduring partnership for many years of fruitful labor in our churches.
PC Class of 2025 (Left to right — Back: Austin Loke, Mikey Roman, Leyton Adams, Titus Miller, Asher Donohue. Front: Zach Taylor, Joel Seric, Erik Schmaltz, Brayden Peterson).