Why are all of these people smiling so big? 

Last week 3 of our teammates (see Mark, Kay and Karin below) traveled to Ghana and Kenya to “train the trainers” in the launch of a mobile phone based Bible leadership project.

The smiling gentlemen you see here are holding their training certificates after mastering the skills needed to install specific Bible software on mobile phones and administrate Bible leadership courses for hundreds of eager students in their own countries.

 

Yesterday we showed you a video presenting a quick overview of the project – called “Pastors Training in Leadership (PTL)”

Purpose of PTL:

Pastors Training in Leadership (PTL) is a three level series of courses on a mobile phone designed to equip pastors for church planting. Created by the Nairobi International School of Theology in Nairobi, Kenya, these courses provide theological training for pastors and lay church leaders.  Church growth in this area of Africa is happening at an exponential rate – and there is a drastic short supply of trained pastors.  Many congregations share a lay pastor – a “normal” church member who serves 2 or 3 churches while maintaining a full time job in his community.

PTL exists to provide the theological training pastors need to plant churches across the African Sahara Belt (Senegal to Somalia). Each of the PTL Coordinators are responsible to recruit pastors in their country and then encourage, mobilize, and energize them to go north to the Sahara Belt and plant churches, where the Lord is adding many to His church.

 

Prayer Requests:

• Ask God to protect each of these leaders whom our teammates served last week, who will in turn train many others to conduct the Bible training courses in their own countries.
• Pray that the Nairobi International School of Theology – creators of the course contents and curriculum – would quickly be able to translate their curriculum into French and other languages.  Many countries in Africa are waiting for this training, but need to have it in their own language.
• Ask the Lord to provide a mobile phone for each lay pastor who wants to take the course.  Smart phones are readily available in most cities, but must be purchased and cared for.

 

Praise for all the Lord Did Last Week:

• 28 trained church leaders were trained and certified for the roles of Technical Coordinator and PTL Coordinator representing 10 countries – from Ethiopia to Ghana to Swaziland to Zimbabwe.  Praise the Lord!
• Faith goal: 2,400 lay pastors equipped to plant churches in the Sahara Belt starting this year!