Many Groups Represented at Training

Thirty two people from a kaleidoscope of countries and ethnic congregations — Sudanese, Navajo, Japanese, Korean, Hmong, Hispanic, Mongolian, Canadian, Puerto Rican, and Dutch — participated in a recent Timothy Leadership Training (TLT) program in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Based at Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, the focuses on providing training to church leaders, especially leaders of smaller congregations, on a range of topics.

Taught from TLT manuals in settings all over the world, TLT addresses topics ranging, among other things, from preaching and teaching to stewardship, pastoral care and overcoming violence in the family.

TLT participants who take part in the trainings are asked to draw up action plans and return to their churches to implement those plans.

When they return for another training, they must share how successful they had been in helping to bring about change in their churches.

The recent training occurred during the week of July 16-20.

Of the many stories shared at the recent training, a couple from Wisconsin reported how TLT’s stewardship manual helped their growing Hmong church become self-funded, having been dependent for many years on local Christian Reformed Church Classis funding.

“How amazing that they are now scheduled to lead TLT in Southeast Asia next month,” says a TLT news report.  

Woodlawn CRC (located in Grand Rapids, MI) has been sponsoring a Sudanese church which meets in their building.

Pastor Simon, who leads the Sudanese congregation, and two of his church leaders — Akout and Ayugen — wanted “to attend this session of TLT even though they would have to sacrifice their weekly salary from outside (non-church) jobs,” says the TLT news report.

Simon, Akout, and Ayugen are now motivated to bring TLT back “to Sudan to engage in broadening the community of believers.”

TLT asks congregations supporting immigrant ministries to consider partnering with TLT to help in training leaders of their immigrant ministries.