Timothy Leadership Training Successful

Slowly but surely Timothy Leadership Training (TLT) is taking hold and making a difference for pastors, lay leaders and others on mission fields in some 35 countries.

Christian Reformed World Mission officials say TLT's success rests in its ability to address one of the great needs of the day on mission fields: Leadership training that is affordable, doctrinally sound, and effective.

In so many places around the world, the church is experiencing rapid and explosive growth. However, leadership to sustain that growth is lacking. The Timothy Institute, in partnership with Christian Reformed Church in North America agencies and others, developed TLT to bring leadership training to those areas where it is greatly needed.

In 1997 a team of Christian educators from Africa, Europe and North America was formed to meet two challenges. The first was to respond to an urgent call for basic pastoral training coming from thousands of Protestant evangelists and lay pastors throughout Africa. The second was to promote economic sustainability within the churches and communities they serve.

This international team began to develop TLT. From 1998-2004 they field-tested it in 10 English- and French-speaking African countries. Week-long workshops were held with leaders from Anglican, Assembly of God, Baptist, independent churches and other denominations.

Soon, this training process began showing results.

Between the workshops, the pastors engaged their evangelists and lay leaders in the same training they had received. Training focused on pastoral care, Christian education, preaching, stewardship, and the relationship between work and worship as well as the problem of violence in the family. After many revisions, a training manual on each of these six subjects was published.

Those who put Timothy Leadership Training into practice have seen significant progress in their churches and communities:

• Pastors salaries have been paid on time
• Churches were built using only local funds from tithes and offerings
• Sunday school programs were strengthened
• Agricultural and economic development programs were developed, benefiting villages and urban neighborhoods
• A new spirit of evangelism and outreach enabled many new churches to be planted, even in predominantly Muslim areas.

Timothy Leadership Training (TLT) integrates its tested and seasoned educational methods into each of the six training manuals.

There is the inductive method of teaching. During each lesson, participants read and reflect on Scripture together. Questions in the manuals help the participants to discover what the Bible is teaching and how to put it into practice. TLT encourages Christians to search out God's will for their lives so they will grow in both obedience and maturity.

Developing action plans is also key. Participants are taught to quickly put into practice what they learn during each lesson. Through their plans they develop a renewed sense of responsibility. They also learn to report to each other during the following lesson. They share their achievements and the obstacles they face in their Christian service. Every seminar requires each pastor to formulate a specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound (SMART) action plan.

In addition, each seminar provides accountability, encouragement and problem-solving from within the group setting. Each seminar builds on the previous seminars, with the same group of people, so that the subject matter becomes ingrained in the hearts and minds of the participants.

Each TLT manual begins with scriptural teaching and builds a theology of ministry on the Bible, so that participants are interacting corporately with scripture. Built into the TLT program is an integration of all aspects of ministry, so that no one ministry subject (i.e. Stewardship) is handled once and then dropped.

The entire program is designed to become self-sustaining and self-propagating within four years; seminars are held in churches; participants lodge with locals.

After the first year, trainers begin training others and multiple aspects of sustainability are addressed during the seminars.

The TLT manuals can be used to train leaders who have had little or no formal education and they have been translated into several different languages.

Prayers and financial donations from supporters are enabling the Timothy Institute to continue its work. To donate, see the institute's Ways to Give page.

, Christian Reformed World Relief Committee and Calvin Seminary are working in partnership with the Timothy Institute to provide training sessions and funds. Numerous CRC missionaries are currently using the TLT manuals to train leaders around the world.

Much of the information for this story was used with permission from the Timothy Institute.