Tim & Beth Lord

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Our Story

From the time he was a teen, Tim has felt called to full-time ministry and to teach the Bible. That passion has led him to teach Bible classes at a Christian school, pastor two churches, write a textbook, and serve in his current ministry with Africa’s Hope, where he helps provide quality materials to train pastors across Africa. Beth also has a lifelong passion for teaching God’s Word. The daughter of missionary educators John and Joy York, Beth was raised on three different Nigerian Bible school campuses, where she saw firsthand the impact of Bible training. Over the years, God has led Beth to pursue her calling in many different ways, from teaching children in the church nursery to doctoral students in the African classroom. Looking back, Tim and Beth can see God’s hand guiding them to their present ministry.

The Need

The church in Africa has experienced exponential growth over the last three decades as a result of dynamic church-planting movements. However, the number of new believers and new churches has vastly outpaced the number of trained pastors. Without proper training in the Bible and ministry, the church risks compromising and even losing this growth as new believers mix prior pagan beliefs with Christian teachings. Trained ministers are crucial for bringing the gospel to Africa’s over 800 unreached people groups. The harvest in Africa is at a critical moment in time, echoing Jesus’ observation that “the fields are ready to be harvested” (John 4:35).

Our Ministry

Tim and Beth are passionate about training African leaders, who will in turn be faithful to train others (2 Timothy 2:2) and share the gospel with unreached peoples. Tim oversees the writing and publication of the Africa’s Hope Discovery Series, a diploma-level Bible training program for use in our over 380 Bible schools across Africa. This series is crucial for preparing the next generation of African pastors and church planters to strengthen today’s churches and reach the lost. As new books are added in English, the Discovery Series and other discipleship materials are translated into 18 heart languages for use across the continent. Beth serves with Pan-Africa Theological Seminary (PAThS) to train and equip those at the highest levels of leadership in national churches and Bible schools across Africa. PAThS offers its programs in both English and French, with students and alumni serving in 31 countries. Together, Tim and Beth are working to train leaders in Africa—from those starting out in ministry to those in national leadership positions.