Eleazar Ziherambere Reid Trulson Title: "Formation for Ministry: Learning from Partners in Europe and Africa"

 

Workshop Description:

While proclamation of the gospel helps people decide to follow Christ, discipleship is an ongoing experience, a journey. Our formation as disciples and disciple-makers takes place in cultural contexts that are both defined and changing. Postmodernity. Post-Christendom. Christianity Lite. Christianity a mile wide but an inch deep. These 21st century realities challenge us to learn from our global mission partners as we seek spiritual formation for ministry. African partners are reflecting on genocide in cultures with majority Christian populations. European partners are reflecting on the marginalization of faith in cultures embracing post-Christendom. To what kind of discipleship is God calling us? What insights from these global partners can help shape us for ministry in our own contexts?

Presenters:

 

Reid Trulson

The Rev. Dr. Reid S. Trulson serves International Ministries as the Area Director for Europe and the Middle East.  He oversees the work of American Baptist missionaries throughout Europe and the Middle East while initiating and building partner relationships with 51 European and Middle Eastern Baptist Unions. Reid was ordained at the Friendship Baptist Church, the oldest African American Baptist Church in Pasadena, California, where he served as Minister of Christian Education.  Moving to Wisconsin he served the First Baptist Church of Antigo and the Underwood Memorial Baptist Church of Wauwatosa. During his twenty-three year pastoral ministry, Reid was President of the Wisconsin Baptist State Convention (now ABC of Wisconsin) and a member of the ABC General Board.  For eight years he was a member of the Board of International Ministries, serving two terms as its president. Reid became Area Director after he and his wife Janelle had served five years as American Baptist missionaries to Europe.

Reid graduated from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis with a B.S. degree in History and from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California with M.Div and D.Min degrees. From 1971-72 he worked with the Scripture Union in Scotland and Ghana, West Africa. He began his work with International Ministries in 1995. Reid and Janelle have two daughters. They live in Collegeville, PA.

Eleazar Ziherambere

The Rev. Dr. Eleazar Ziherambere serves International Ministries as the Area Director for Africa. He oversees the work of American Baptist missionaries throughout Africa while initiating and building partner relationships across the continent. Eleazar served as a pastor in the cities of Butare and Kigali, Rwanda before becoming the General Secretary of the Union of Baptist Churches of Rwanda (UEBR). He was then called to serve as the first full-time General Secretary of the All-Africa Baptist Fellowship (AABF). In this capacity he served as Regional Secretary for Africa for the Baptist World Alliance. During these years he also served as President of the Protestant Council of Rwanda. His work was disrupted when the 1994 Rwanda civil war made it impossible for him to obtain the governmental documents necessary to travel freely throughout Africa. Unable to continue his ministry with the AABF, Eleazar accepted the call from the ABC of New Jersey to serve as Special Assistant for International Affairs.

Eleazar graduated from the Interdenominational Seminary of Butare, Rwanda with a B.Th degree in Theology and from Virginia Union University School of Theology with M.Div and D.Min degrees. He began his work with International Ministries in 1999.

Eleazar and his wife Speciose have three daughters and two sons. They live in Pottstown, PA.