“Do we really need to expend the money and effort to send training teams to other countries when there are so many other needs for missions and the church?”
This is a question I have been asked more than once. It is a valid question! Given the vast array of needs worldwide, should global training be a priority? There are at least three reasons training matters for the global church:
1. Training deepens the biblical and theological understanding of the global church.
Martin Luther warned that anywhere God builds a church, the devil builds a chapel next door. He meant that although Satan cannot prevent the spread of the gospel, he tries to sow confusion by offering counterfeit versions of the message.
Today, we see many examples of Satan’s efforts to confuse believers through false doctrine. Alongside a great revival in Africa, Satan has built a “chapel” of syncretism that blends elements of biblical Christianity with pagan practices such as witch doctors and the occult. Alongside the growth of the church in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, Satan has built a “chapel” of prosperity theology that promises health and wealth to anyone who has true faith.
Millions of sincere believers have been misled by these false teachings. Because these believers do not have a clear understanding of biblical truth, they are susceptible to “YouTube evangelists” who teach heretical doctrines. The answer to these false versions of the gospel is to build a solid foundation of biblical doctrine. This must start with the pastors. Because more than 85% of pastors lack adequate biblical and theological training, they are not always prepared to respond when their church members are being led astray.
As global trainers teach solid doctrine, pastors are equipped to combat false doctrine. Earlier this year, Johnathan Arnold taught dozens of Nigerian pastors about the importance of sound doctrine. They learned biblical principles to refute false doctrine and to establish their members in sound doctrine. This training will equip pastors who serve in a country that faces both Islamic persecution from outside the church and false doctrine from inside the church.
2 Training increases the number of workers available to serve the global church.
It is easy for those of us who live in the United States to forget the great need for Christian workers in the Majority World. In the United States, there is one pastor for every 680 people. In addition, many who lead Bible studies, teach Sunday School, and direct music programs have some level of Bible training.
Compare this to the situation of the global church. The most optimistic estimates suggest one pastor or missionary for every 3,500 people outside the U.S., and remember that fewer than 15% of these pastors have adequate training. Most pastors in the Global South have received less training than the average youth pastor or worship pastor in the United States! The global church faces a desperate need for workers. Part of the answer to this need will come through traditional Bible colleges, seminaries, and long-term missionary training. We must continue to support these valuable ministries. However, most of the 85% of undertrained pastors in the Majority World have no access to this training. Informal training programs, such as Shepherds Global Classroom, can take the training to these pastors in their home villages.
I am writing this report from Pakistan, where Dr. Steve Oliver and I are meeting with a group of 15 church leaders who currently teach SGC courses to pastors and church workers. Because Pakistan is an Islamic Republic that actively persecutes Christians, it is difficult to establish traditional Bible colleges. However, Shepherds Global Classroom has been given the privilege of partnering with Raja Samuel and the Antakya Church Leadership program to train a group of leaders to teach the SGC curriculum.
During the past two years, these leaders have established training programs in local churches throughout Pakistan. With no campus, no full-time faculty, and few resources, they are training pastors and equipping lay leaders in villages throughout Pakistan. Through these informal programs, scores of Sunday school teachers, Bible study leaders, and lay leaders have been trained to serve in their local churches. Global training is serving the church in Pakistan by increasing the number of trained workers available for ministry.
3 Training encourages unity in the global church.
From the beginning, Shepherds Global Classroom has sought to encourage unity and cooperation between churches. Our courses emphasize core doctrines that have been taught throughout the history of the church. As believers from various backgrounds realize how much they have in common, the church is unified. To see one example of what this looks like, let me take you to the Mayukwayukwa Refugee Camp, a camp of more than 10,000 refugees in the middle of the Zambian desert.
Several years ago, Pastor Allegri and a team from Africa85 began using SGC courses to train church leaders in the camp. There were fifty evangelical churches in this camp, but the churches were marked much more by division and strife than by Jesus’ prayer “that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me” (John 17:23).
As the church leaders studied together, God brought a new sense of unity among the churches at Mayukwayukwa. Pastors who had publicly condemned one another are now working together to advance God’s work. Training has been one tool for bringing unity to the church.
Does training matter for the global church? Absolutely! By deepening the theological and biblical understanding of the church, increasing the number of workers in the church, and encouraging unity in the church, SGC’s global training team serves hundreds of churches worldwide. I am thrilled to see how God is using training as one tool to strengthen His church around the world.
