Christian Mission Aid
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Lay
Leaders’ Training Seminars Little help is at hand for many
Kenyan pastors in the ministries within their churches. If there is any help, it
is from lay leaders who are often very enthusiastic but lack proper training.
Layleaders are an essential part of progressive ministry, and therefore
need more training to enable them reach the many people who need to hear the
Gospel. In recognition of this need, CMA has been involved in lay leader
training for the past 16 years. The chief objective of the lay leaders’
training seminars is to train them properly, in subjects such as evangelism and
community outreach, so that they can be more effective in the church and
society. Proper training of lay leaders
has led to Christian Mission Aid being recognized as one of the best
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO’s) operating in Maasailand.
For sure the lay leaders training project has helped to develop good
relationships between the church and government leaders. Above all, the trainees
have reached out to more people leading to spiritual growth as well as more
initiative for development in the areas. Last year was very exciting for
the lay leaders as they went through their training with a lot of joy!
In April and June we held lay leaders’ graduations in Nyanza and
Maasailand. CMA staff, well wishers and relatives of the graduating pastors
gladly gathered for the ceremonies as a total of 78 lay leaders, representing
various denominations graduated. Even more leaders became part of our training
program and are looking forward to a future of learning and sharing. The
Approach.... In a dimly lit classroom in the
middle of almost nowhere, lay leaders meekly sit and listen to the heavily
accented voice of the man standing at the front.
The teacher quickly scribbles some of his words on the blackboard with a
piece of chalk, producing lots of squeaks and white dust. The teacher is Mr. Ajigo, a
highly qualified lecturer in the area of Church and development.
His approach in teaching is unique and the pastors enjoy his lessons. “You’ll find a mother
feeding her child on alcohol so that the baby can get drunk and go to sleep
without eating. What will you do? Will you start talking about God or will you
first feed the child? Tell me!” Mr. Ajigo tells the pastors. They all have
their own different answers and he listens. The aim is to ensure pastors
make the much-needed difference in their society after the training. Community
Development is incorporated into outreach because people need solutions to other
problems they face in life as well as hear about God. In the process of the training,
the pastors realize that they can help improve the people’s standards of
living. They know their role is to sensitize community members to development
especially in the hard economic times being faced today. Various definitions and
processes of Community Development are explored. It is clear that the
information given is very important as the pastors quickly note down almost
everything said! “What
we need is to empower our communities to be able to speak out... But motivating
a powerless people can be difficult.” Said Mr. Ajigo, a highly qualified
Community Development lecturer tells the lay leaders. Changed
minds? “ I think the approach CMA
has taken in teaching us is good and more people should use it.”. These were
the words of Pastor Ndirangu during the Maasai layleaders training seminar. This
kind of sharing of views definitely brings about The pastors changed their way
of looking at life. For example, when they started the training, many pastors
thought that development is about waiting for donors to bring materials and
build for them roads, schools and water reservoirs.
By the end of the seminars the pastors had adopted a different view, that
development is about motivating local people to understand the agency so as to
participate in the programs based on the agency’s understanding. Nodding in unison, it was clear
the lay leaders’ understanding of their role in development was well addressed
and they would make a difference in their societies. They asked various
questions on aid-dependence, failed community projects among other things and
were satisfied with answers given. Today they are making a lot of difference in
their societies by disseminating various information in their churches- current
information about HIV/AIDS, drought, aid, and community projects among others. Information
is power! True! Information is power as
demonstrated by the lay leaders attending our training seminars. The pastors’
greatest joy was receiving a lot of information that many other people in their
societies do not have. When Steve Timbe, CMA’s
Outreach Coordinator, went out to recruit pastors to be involved in the
seminars, he put emphasis on the following criteria for selection of the
pastors: People with responsibilities in their churches and communities, people
who look forward to coming to CMA seminars because it is an opportunity for them
to learn many things, people who can humble themselves and become students all
over again, and above all, pastors who want their churches to grow.
The response was overwhelming as so many wanted to be part of it! “God is holding us
accountable for the time we are here. Mr.
Steve Timbe, CMA Outreach coordinator with the loads of materials given to the
pastors during the training. They included stationery, Bible guides among other
reading materials. FAT
people? Considering that we were
dealing with people from the church, devotion was an important part of the
seminar. Every morning the pastors
started with devotion and this was one of the ways of strengthening the pastors
to be more encouraged as they attended the seminars.
One of the most relished topics
covered during devotion was on evangelism. The pastors gave qualifications of
those called to evangelize and came up with the acronym FAT:
F for faithful people The interactive sessions
encouraged all the members of the groups to contribute towards the subjects of
discussion. A lot of concentration
and enthusiasm during the devotions was encouraged by the question - How would
it feel to be like Jesus? All the
pastors in the seminars would definitely want to be like Jesus in terms of
character, delegation of duties in the church, being available for the people,
being faithful, sharing experiences with each other and teaching others. Grow
and spread your wings.... “If your congregation has
remained at 50 for the last 10 years, just know that you’re not being
effective in your church. So what
we want are results. God wants results too.
So we must be effective.” Pastor Kilangu, giving a lecture on
evangelism told the lay leaders. A church, which is not growing,
is just as good as a dead church - the pastors were told.
But what should they do about the growth? Have vision! They were reminded that where there is no vision people
perish. To give the pastors an idea of
how growth can take place, the movie Peace
Child was used to help the pastors see how they can listen to society so as
to communicate with the people. The
pastor also taught on the value of women in society.
He noted that little value seems to have been put on women while they
continuously sustain their communities. “I
thank God for CMA. God has used it to do big things.
It has enabled many people to go to Bible colleges, Bible seminars, and
AIDS seminars; given Bibles among many other things. All this with very few staff members to reach out.” Pastor
Kilangu said. Encouragement.... Mr.
Steve Timbe, the CMA Outreach Coordinator always has words of encouragement for
those chosen to be part of our Outreach activities.
He told the lay leaders: “Even when we end the program you can continue
to work together in spite of being pastors from different denominations- a
reason why fellowshipping together is important.
We also want to know whether what you are being taught is making any
difference, thus the need for evaluation. Our
objective is to assist you to ensure that your church grows... We should be able
to share what God has done.”
The
Pastors felt encouraged and transformed and they expressed it.
They shared and said that being a leader in the church would no longer be
just about standing in the pulpit but ensuring that growth took place in the
people’s spiritual as well as physical lives. They quoted all the topics
learned during the seminars that included Christian leadership, Importance of
prayer, evangelism, community development, time management,
agriculture, and personal etiquette for pastors among other subjects.
Most encouraging were the
Bibles and reading materials presented towards the conclusion of the seminars -
many pastors gave thanks to God and to CMA and even gave examples of how the
Bibles would be used in their lives - their churches, families and to other
people around them. The
best encouragement ever! Steve
presenting Bibles to pastors who had earned them by faithful attendance of
lessons and Bible study; and enthusiasm for God’s word. The Graduations....
All the pastors were excited
about the graduation. They invited
their children, relatives, church members - almost everyone was invited! None of
the pastors wanted to miss the opportunity to receive their certificates
personally, so they were all present. The graduations would also be graced by
CMA representatives and partners who wanted to be a part of this important
event. In Nyanza, the CMA Director and
the administrator, Larry and Debbie Kitchel were welcomed with a lot of pomp.
They presented the certificates to the layleaders amidst a lot of cheering and
celebration. In Maasailand Mr. Steve On both occasions, Steve
assured the graduates that CMA would not turn her back on them after they
graduated. Instead, CMA planned to monitor each of them by visiting them at
their churches and assisting them with Bibles and materials as the need arose- a
promise that has been well kept. The Pastors have received NIV study Bibles and
Bible study materials that have helped their ministry - they say their ministry
has grown many times bigger. Conclusion Towards
the end of last year, we held a unique lay leaders training seminar in Nairobi,
Kenya. It was unique because it targeted pastors ministering in one of the
biggest slums in Nairobi, Mathare. It was even more unique because these were
really young and vibrant pastors and all from the city! In the past we have been
focusing on training rural pastors but we had no regrets as we targeted these
‘city’ pastors - for a big difference is being felt in the slum. The
fruits of the layleaders training seminars have been seen countrywide. Four lay
leaders have joined Bible College and we are encouraged by their progress, even
more want to join Bible College. Other pastors have formed large groups that
encourage people to love God as well as improve their standards of living. Many
now recognize that ignorance should be eradicated, that layleaders can also
build communities and that the church still has the major role in changing the
society into what God wants it to be. Christian
Mission Aid is committed to the process of Christian leadership development as
an essential means of strengthening the church in Africa. We are grateful for
your faithful prayers and the gift of many faithful Christians from the ends of
the world. You have helped advance CMA’s commitment through obedience to the
great commission so as to ensure maturity of ministry. Thank you! Ready to reach out: Mathare pastors during their seminar. The pastors were very happy for the concern shown to them through CMA. They look forward to more training seminars. For further information, contact us at: Africa@CMAid.org
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many
changes.
We
need to go back to our churches and make a difference. It will be clear that we
were here for a purpose. Churches have initiated many programs. Many
organizations have programs e.g. CMA in Nyanza, they must help change these
communities.
Timbe encouraged the pastors to use the lessons for the growth of their church
ministries.