December
21, 2005
This autumn
was especially strategic for BILD International. More than 50 international
leaders came to Ames in mid-October for four weeks of
special training and planning. Two dozen leaders from nine ministry
organizations in India representing more than 100,000 churches joined
representatives from major projects in Cambodia, Nigeria, and Peru as well as
others from Ghana, Sierra Leone, Central African Republic, South Africa,
Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar, Honduras, Australia, Japan, France, Portugal,
and Albania. The approval of visas, including all that were sought for
representatives from India, was a miracle in itself.
The four
weeks began with a one-day introductory seminar in Global Church-Based Theological
Education—a seminar which will be used by these leaders to orient and explain
BILD and church-based theological education to others in their ministry and in
their country more broadly. Much of the first three weeks was spent learning
BILD resources from the inside out. Leaders participated in workshops on
Teaching the First Principles, Acts, Pauline Epistles, and Paradigm
Transformation Projects on Theological Education and Doing Theology in
Culture. This experience helped prepare the leaders to use these resources in
their own ministries, as well as deepen their own foundations of biblical first
principles and "the way of Christ and His Apostles." Interspersed in this
training were days dedicated to building certified, nonformal, indigenous leadership
development program designs and portfolios for Type I–V leaders in their
movements. North American church leaders joined during the third week for
ongoing training in BILD resources, for fellowship, and to consider matters
pertinent to the North American network. The final week was mostly spent in
planning, as groups worked hard to put detailed training plans in place. "CEOs"
of the India-based organizations arrived during the final week to evaluate the
plans being made by their training teams. Foundation representatives and major
donors attended on the final day to review the reports and consider
possibilities for future funding. Next steps include raising funds, building
more detailed plans and management systems, and on-site visits by BILD staff to
evaluate the implementation of their training plans and to provide additional
services.
Special
speakers during the four weeks were Walter Kaiser and Ted Ward, both who have
been significant mentors to Jeff Reed as BILD and BILD's resources have developed
through the years.
- Walter
Kaiser, President
of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, with which BILD has developed a
cooperative Doctor of Ministry degree in Global Church-Based Theological
Education. He spoke about his mentoring of Jeff Reed, his own story, and
the story of the Bible.
- Ted Ward,
Professor Emeritus of International Studies and Educational Research, Michigan State University and Professor Emeritus of
International Studies, Mission,
and Education, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He looked back on 50 years
of nonformal theological education and described BILD's uniquely strategic
place.
India has long been on the hearts of
leaders at Oakwood Road
Church (ORC). Carol Cook, wife of Keith Cook, the chairman of the Elder Board of
ORC, grew up on an agricultural mission farm in India near the Nepal border.
The vision for BILD bringing non-formal, in-service leadership development to
other parts of the world came while Jeff Reed was visiting the farm in northern
India in the mid-1980s. It is a thrill
for ORC to be associated with the launch of a major new training partnership in
India, where Christianity is now
expanding more rapidly than leaders are being developed.
Most of the
international guests stayed in the homes of Oakwood Road Church members. Dozens of church members contributed through
hosting, transporting, cooking, serving, and helping prepare materials.
Families who hosted were impacted by the dedication, wisdom, experience, and
personalities of their guests. Guests participated in Sunday morning classes,
worship services (sometimes through an eclectic mix of international
musicians), midweek gatherings in homes, and a Lord's Supper (a 2–3 hour event
in which the entire church family shares a
meal that includes taking the bread and cup in remembrance of Christ). Several
guests remarked at how impressed they were by the depth of character, biblical
knowledge, and ministry insight of nearly everyone in the church. One
commented that even the folks washing the dishes in the kitchen were
spiritually mature. Some international leaders who have witnessed miraculous
acts of healing described their time in Ames
with Oakwood Road Church as being as spectacular as anything
they had experienced elsewhere. It was a wonderful time of mutual
encouragement.
The
training and planning were extensive and demanding, sometimes going late into
the night. Yet, everyone shared a sense of collegiality and appreciation for
the unique things that were accomplished. The four weeks concluded fittingly
with a wonderful banquet followed by a touching time of emotional farewells,
picture-taking, and invitations to BILD staff and ORC church members to come to
places all around the world. It was truly a strategic autumn in Ames.
Steve Kemp
Director, Institutional Partnerships
BILD International
