Training & Education
Because our mission is to transform lives and communities through the power of the Gospel, that underscores the need for discipling and training national leadership. We have leadership training centers in Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Ukraine, Chile, and Ivory Coast. Christians, church leaders, pastors, and evangelists are taught theological and academic subjects to increase their knowledge in God’s Word and how to minister to their people, along with practical aspects of church life in their community. In the near future, Great Britain, Thailand, and Mexico will also develop centers to train leadership and encourage church-planting movements that will have national and global impact. Missionaries also train nationals to assume oversight over these training centers.
Literacy programs, especially in Africa, lay a foundation for the churches to be led by their own as Christians are enabled to read and study the scriptures for themselves. We also write and translate resource materials into local languages for pastors and teachers, or for use in church training or Sunday school. In several countries, HIV/AIDS instruction coupled with Bible study is impacting lives and communities – often resulting in the planting of a local church.
Community Health Evangelism programs bring results in rural and urban settings by preparing people within a community to take on responsibility for each level of the strategy. Trainers from a community are equipped to train others. These leaders propel the transformation that takes place within the community. These specialized jobs integrate well into CMF’s church-planting and marketplace ministries.
At this point in the world’s history, English is the preeminent language of communication and one of the most important means to gain access to the world. Teaching English as a Second Language provides a welcome platform for marketplace workers to enter closed countries and provide a service for the people of those countries. English classes and clubs offer a natural bridge for building relationships as a means for sharing the Gospel of Christ. In open countries, learning English provides national Christian leaders with skills to improve their way of life and to give opportunities for their churches to influence their communities and nations.
Among the urban poor, a good education is the foundation of a child’s future, developing the whole child and keeping him off the streets. Through our child sponsorship program, schools are structured to provide an excellent education for children, as well as food, clothing, medical care, books, and counseling. These schools impact families financially, socially, and spiritually, and are key components in the changes that take place within a community.
Christian international schools in Indonesia and Ethiopia provide a unique setting for teachers who want to serve in education as well as traditional mission service opportunities. They teach missionaries’ and business leaders’ children in academic subjects, biblical teaching, and Christian lifestyle. Through the school or beyond the school’s walls, there are many opportunities for participating in local missions efforts in churches, among the poor, in cell groups, teaching English, evangelism, women’s or men’s ministries, etc.
