Transition

We are trying to move into a different phase of our work. Since we arrived near the end of September, we have been visiting the Mennonite church locations, talking with bishops and pastors, listening to their vision, and trying to distill what we are hearing into a leadership training plan that will strengthen the churches. That was the first phase and we decided to use the first months, to the end of 2012, for that. Now we have done it. So we are moving from the exploration phase into the implementation phase, and trying to adjust our thinking in that direction.
In summary, the plan we are proposing is to prepare local pastors to lead training seminars for their lay leaders. We are committed to work in the background in a "capacity building" role so the program will not depend on us or other persons and resources from outside donors. In the past, when missionaries left, too often their programs also stopped eventually, because they depended too much on outside expertise and funds. We were told, "We want a program so that, when you leave, we can carry it on." So one of our priorities is to keep it as simple and "grass-roots" as possible.
The Mennonite churches have vision for evangelism and church planting, but they lack people with training to put in leadership in the new churches. So that is the need we are focusing on first. Some of the subjects they would like to focus on are Mennonite history and faith, discipleship, Bible study methods.
We will begin with "training of trainers" workshops for the pastors, and we are scheduling them in the various dioceses (the Mennonite churches in East Africa is organized in dioceses, each led by a bishop). The focus is on basic, entry-level Bible study with training in discipleship and leadership. As we have presented the plan to the leaders, they have all said, "this is what we need." We will begin with the first of these, in a sort of pilot program, on January 21 in Kenya, with others to follow in February.
So we feel like we are about to begin what we came to do, even though we are still working to develop materials. Books and printed materials are too expensive for many of the people in rural areas, so we are developing most of our own materials, using the Bible as the main textbook. Recently, we have been thinking about the need to provide materials in Swahili, especially Anabaptist-oriented, and we are considering a special project to develop a translation team to make some of the key books and materials available. On our recent trip we had a request for a Swahili translation of the "Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective" by a pastor who has read it, and that started us thinking. Several times we heard concern that the younger leaders are borrowing from other traditions and denominations, and therefore a need for more awareness of our own tradition.
There is a spiritual struggle as well. Some of the churches face a need for revival, to move beyond a focus on organization to working and walking with God in the power of the Holy Spirit. So as you pray, think of the training programs and those who will benefit from them, pray also for the present church leaders, for sensitivity to God's Spirit.