Fast-track finance course offered to Hispanic pastors

Biblical principles are reinforced throughout the Faith & Finances course, providing wisdom to overcome real-world pitfalls.

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STCH (South Texas Children’s Home) Ministries and The Chalmers Center have developed a Bible-based finance course with fast-track facilitator certification offered to Hispanic Texas Baptist pastors at no cost.

STCH Ministries is a faith-based nonprofit organization best known for providing safe homes for children and families during times of crisis.

But the organization has nine distinct ministries including Christian counseling for families, international mission work and training programs that deal with faith, work, and finances.

The fast-track finance course was compressed and designed in cooperation with Convención, at no cost for pastors and designated church leaders. The Faith & Finances course is generally 12 weeks long, and the facilitator certification course is an additional four weeks, costing $279 online. In order to accommodate a pastor’s busy schedule, this fast-track course offers all training in just 10 weeks.

Tim Tolosa, director of the San Antonio region and Blanca Eschbach, site coordinator, recently met with ConvenciĂłn leaders.

“I am so excited about all that God is going to do through our partnership,” Tolosa said.

Impact on families and churches

Jesse Rincones, executive director of ConvenciĂłn, expressed gratitude for the valuable resource. As pastors become facilitators of the Faith and Finances class in their own communities, he said, he trusts it will have a profound impact on families and churches throughout the state.

Raul Elizondo, pastor of New Life Baptist Church of Calallen, became interested in financial training after observing Pastor Jimmy Rodriguez, director for the Corpus Christi region, teach a class. He then offered the 12-week Faith & Finances class at New Life Baptist Church, where more than 40 participants enrolled.

Elizondo said he was able to witness a financial, spiritual and relational breakthrough in some of who families that took the class. As he saw families get rid of debt, their marriages became stronger.


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“A big percentage of the families in my church grew up in poverty. So, we had people that had been freed from sin but were still a slave to the lender,” he said.

Elizondo believes a healthy perspective, when it comes to finances, can make a great difference in churches.

“I believe there are a lot of churches struggling because we are afraid to talk about finances in our churches. It’s something that we need to not be afraid to deal with because our people shouldn’t be a slave to anyone. And I believe Jesus came to set us free. Yes, even from our financial debt,” he said.

Specific topics include:

  • Overcoming financial challenges.
  • Discovering values and attitudes toward money.
  • Seeing how money is intertwined with relationships.
  • Learning how to make a financial plan that works.
  • Retirement strategies.
  • Dealing with financial emergencies.
  • Using the right kind of financial institutions.

The classes will be taught online through Zoom on Tuesday evenings from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. beginning Sept. 14 and ending Nov.16. Pastors interested in participating in this course must apply online at: www.stchm.org/life-skills-training/faith-finances-application.

Biblical principles are reinforced throughout the course, providing wisdom to overcome real-world pitfalls. Pastor Donnie Anthony of Mission City Church in San Antonio recently offered the Faith & Finances class to his members and was grateful for how it ministered to his people. “Our church is all about transformed lives, and it is evident that those who took the class experienced transformation in their finances and faith,” he said.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was originally posted June 4.  The headline and first paragraph were edited, and one paragraph removed, on June 9.


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