Lausanne World Pulse – Overview of Missionary Training Resources
By Rob Brynjolfson
Trends and Issues in Missionary Training
The world of training today now includes opportunities for distance learning. Most schools have developed distance learning initiatives or have looked seriously into doing so. The Internet provides a delivery vehicle that allows for an interactive and virtual classroom learning context. E-learning does not look like the well-weathered correspondence courses of old.
In-service training is emerging as the new development in missionary training. Motivated from a desire to provide the very best in education, and not merely to ease the burden of pre-field requirements, well-designed in-service training should provide new missionaries with information so that their urgently needed skills can be developed on the field. This will require the development of new training courses aimed at the areas of needed skills like cultural adaptation, language acquisition, and later, interpersonal skills, and eventually leadership skills. Recognizably, there is a relationship between in-service training and member care. In-service training is both life-long and initial entry in focus.
Even as missionary training has become more practical with a focus on skill development and critical spiritual/character formation, many missionaries continue to leave for their field appointments without receiving cross-cultural specific training. In-service training may assist in the initial development of needed skills and ongoing formation of character and spirituality, but there continues to be a need for sending agencies and churches to value and promote pre-field cross-cultural training. Evidence supports that this kind of training produces effective missionaries.
Available Resources
The IMTN seeks to promote integral missionary training by strengthening and encouraging the multiplication of holistic missionary training programs. The primary task of the IMTN is to resource trainers and this is done through the development of training materials, books, articles and courses in a variety of languages.
Printed materials are available through William Carey Library and many resources are available for download upon registration at www.TheIMTN.org. Training resources in languages other than English is slowed by the challenges of developing new materials or translating existing ones into strategic languages. Volunteers are encouraged to assist in this development. Online courses are now being offered in both English and Spanish. The first of these, Working Your Way to the Nations, is an immensely practical mobilization and preparatory tool for those in the process of following through on a missionary commitment.
The newest World Evangelical Alliance Mission Commission publication and training resource is Integral Ministry Training Design and Evaluation (2006) and can be previewed electronically at www.TheIMTN.org and is available for purchase from William Carey Library. This book provides the “how to” of developing an integral missionary training program, and includes valuable tools for evaluating and improving existing missionary training programs.