We believe in training church leaders as missionaries.
The growth of the Church in the developing world is growing at a staggering rate, and yet, it is growing faster than leaders can be raised up, let alone trained.
Unlike in the West, where seminaries and training institutions are readily accessible, pastors in the two-thirds world can only look to the willing members of their congregations to plant and pastor new churches in the next village or town. Unfortunately, the risk of syncretism and acceptance of false doctrine is rife.
It is at the grassroots level where the Live School is able to make a marked difference. Live School curriculum is available on small devices so local pastors can sit in an office, classroom, church, or even a hut with five to fifteen of their people and train them.
After the 5-month teaching phase the students are sent to plant or run a new church under the leadership of that pastor. Apart from training those already in leadership, the Live School has proven extremely effective in raising up and training new leadership. The curriculum and personal nature of the school lend themselves to identifying and encouraging those with the gift of leadership, raising up a new generation of men and women who are ready, able and equipped to do the work of the Kingdom.
TESTIMONIES
Lubango, Angola – The original Lubango Live School only had an enrollment of 20 local church members. But after about two weeks into training, the pastors of the town came into the class asking if they too could be trained. The pastors had seen the remarkable change in the members of their church who were attending the school. The Lubango School ended up having two shifts: a day shift for the original 20 students and an evening shift for 22 pastors. In the outreach phase of training, the pastors started eight new cell groups in the town.
Kwa Ndebele, South Africa – A Live School was established in this community not far from Pretoria to train seven pastors. All of the pastors testified that the school taught them topics, which were extremely relevant to their daily lives, yet which they had never heard or been taught before. Though most had been to seminary, they felt that certain Live School courses went into more depth than any of their previous studies. At graduation, they declared that they were seeing both a spiritual and numerical growth in their churches, way beyond any expectation. One pastor said that the giving at his church was increasing remarkably. Another pastor said that by teaching some of the principles he had learned in Live School, his congregation was more grounded in the Word. One pastor testified that he had learned more in his few months at the school than he had in the four years he had spent in seminary.