THE ROLE OF CHURCHES IN TRAINING OF MISSIONARIES

Adedayo Oladele Odesola

            The local church is God’s agent for transformation in any society. The churches undertake this noble task through the missionaries that are trained and sent out to various lands to propagate the Gospel message amongst the unreached people groups.  In order for the church to have enough missionaries to undertake this venture, the church must be involved in the training of missionaries. The writer has discussed four major areas in which the local churches must be involved in the missionary training. The four roles are first, the profiling of missionary, second, the recruitment of missionaries; the third one is curriculum development, while the fourth role is welfare package.

Missionary Profiling

This word, profiling is used in the sense that the local church will determine the characteristic of the candidate for missionary training. The missionary’s assignment is unique and the local church will be in the best position to discover such character traits among the church members who are willing to be trained as missionaries. The following listed will be appropriate profile for a missionary candidate: (i). Tolerance of ambiguity, (ii).Cognitive and behavioral flexibility,(iii). Personal self –awareness, strong personal identity, (iv). Cultural self-awareness, (v). patience, (vi). Enthusiasm, (vii). Interpersonal sensitivity, (viii). Tolerance of differences, (ix). Openness to new experiences and to people who are different,(x).Empathy, (xi). Sense of humility,(xii). Sense of humor.1 The missionary candidate must meet up with more than seventy percent of this profile.

Recruitment of Missionary Candidate

The local churches will play a prominent role in short listing the qualified candidate for training in the seminary, Bible College, or missionary training centers. The faculty will need the information from the local churches on the ideal candidate; the local church will use the following criteria in recommending the candidate. A man or woman that is ready to serve and not to teach, a man or woman of God with Christian character, a person of prayer, a person who has experienced the power of the Holy Spirit, a man or woman who is able to adapt to a different culture, and a person that is called by God to serve  the people in another culture. 2 The objectivity of the leaders in the local churches on the information supplied will go a long way to determine the success of the candidate.

Curriculums Development

Whenever there is gap, between the theory and the practice, the first place to check for correction is the curriculum.3 Every training institution’s curriculum writing and development is essential. The local churches must be co-opted by the training institution in developing the curriculum for missionary training. The curriculum must undergone periodic review because of the dynamism in the changing world. In this twenty first century if the gospel will have its proper place, the curriculum in our seminaries and missionary training institutes must undergo the desired restructuring that will meet the needs of the century.

Welfare Package

The local churches must be the supporter to both the missionary candidate and institutions where missionary are trained.  The local church cannot stand aloof and watch the institutions and student struggling for fund. The Local churches must have adequate funding for faculty development and research, good environment; support the less privileged students with scholarships, food supplies, library, and other necessary needs.

Conclusion

            The writer has been able to discuss the four essential areas in which the churches can play good roles in missionaries’ training. This is not suggestive that only the discussed roles are the only ones but the writer focused on those aspects because of his personal conviction that if those roles are well focused by the churches the missionaries training in the twenty –first century will achieve the desired result.

Endnotes

1. Kohls L. Robert & Brussow L. Herbert, For Cross Cultural and Diversity Trainers, USA:1995, p.104
2. Taylor David William, Internationalizing Missionary Training: A Global Perspective, Grand Rapids, USA: Baker Book House,1991, p.118
3. Isaiah E. S, Lecture Notes on Philosophy of Education, Singapore: Bethany International University Singapore, 2009