Most pastors throughout the developing world have had little or no formal training in the Bible, theology or practical ministry skills. They became a Christian and began sharing their faith and followers of Jesus started looking to them for leadership on how to grow as a Christian. Since they are only one or two steps ahead of their followers they are burdened and feel inadequate to lead these people. They want training but are not able to leave their homes, families and work to go to a Bible school or seminary to get training. This is where CCI comes into their lives and brings this training to them where they live and minister. CCI desires to facilitate and encourage church planting activities within each country. During the initial training event, church leaders are presented with the opportunities and needs of their country for planting churches. After the training event, CCI conducts regional pastors’ conferences in an ongoing relationship for further equipping. We desire to see each local church mobilize their people for mission service among the unreached. CCI also sees the valuable need to help pastors in the United States provide a training curriculum to equip their people to be ministry leaders and lay pastors serving in their local churches, as well as, preparing their people for mission service. Some North American Churches have used BTCP in global contexts where they go and provide training for the missionaries and national churches and pastors with whom their churches already have relationships. So, partnerships exist at various levels with National Church Organizations, Church Planters, Expatriate Missionaries and North American Churches. This is CCI’s Mission to help equip church leaders who can teach others. CCI provides this training initially by partnering with a group of pastors, churches, missionaries and organizations to host a Teacher Training Workshop (TTW) in the area closest to where the partners are centrally located. The TTW is a two-day training event focused on training pastors and churches leaders who would take what they have learned and go teach it to others in their areas. The comprehensive training materials we use starts with the Bible Training Centre for Pastors’ (BTCP) curriculum, a curriculum covering 10 courses over a period of 520 in class hours and another 200 hours out of class doing assignments and reading through the Bible. We also provide training on God’s Financial Principles teaching how to be a good steward of the resources God has entrusted to you. Developing an Acts 1:8 Mission Strategy is another important course for the local church leadership. Periodic ongoing training events are available. Churches in North America and other countries around the world, can partner with CCI to train and equip their people. The process is simple as you follow a few steps. It starts with pastors and church leaders coming together with a desire to train and equip their people. They will contact CCI to discuss the responsibility of partnering to host a Teacher Training Workshop (TTW) in their area. Basic responsibilities of the host are:
The host will provide the venue for the TTW. A church or meeting room with tables and chairs. AV equipment is needed to show “power point.”
The host will provide snacks and, depending the situation, meals for the participants and trainers. Some of the finances to help with this could come from the cost of those attending the TTW. The host will recruit and invite people from their churches or organizations who would be able to be teachers of others. All the churches in the area would be invited to participate by sending people to become trained. The host would provide financial remuneration for the trainers’ lodging, meals, airfare, and provide an honorarium. (In developing countries, the above financial commitment is negotiable depending upon the partner’s budget and CCI’s budget.) CCI would determine who are the best and closest trainer(s) available to teach at the TTW. The date and location of the TTW would be set with the designated host. Recruitment and invitations are sent to sign up the attendees. They would register and pay the cost for attending the TTW. The cost would include the TTW workbooks they will receive. At the end of the training event, each attendee who be invited to become a ministry partner and commit to start teaching what they have learned to others. For more information, contact David Nelson at [email protected].
