Approximately 350 Sunday School teachers on Guatemala’s Northern Verapaz District completed the first district-wide Sunday School and Discipleship Ministries International Teachers’ Diploma Program. The Second Church of the Nazarene in Cobán hosted the graduation event 5 October, and 700 Nazarenes from across the district came to celebrate. 

The training workshops were held throughout 2018 and focused on six main points — knowing my textbook, giving my class in 45 minutes, teaching with the five senses, how to prepare for a class, the teacher's profile, and Tell THE Story. Local pastors lead the training sessions, which were hosted at churches throughout the district.

District Superintendent Francisco Cho thanked Training Coordinator Francisco Tot Xol, SDMI District President Ricardo Coc, and all the pastors and churches who made each workshop possible.

"We thank God for the response of the church to this diploma program, remembering the principle that 'to be a good teacher, you have to be a good student,’" Cho said. "Through this training, we trust that God will fulfill the Pauline prayer: Transform yourselves through the renewal of your understanding." 

The district plans to offer the second level of this SDMI Teachers’ Diploma Program next year. 

--Church of the Nazarene Mesoamerica