| Dear Reggie and Carol,
It’s a busy time for TCM as we are in the summer semester of the 2018 academic year. At Haus Edelweiss Session 3 has ended and the staff is preparing to welcome volunteers, professors, translators, and students for Session 4. By the end of the two sessions 100 disciple makers from 22 nations will complete one of nine classes.
Those classes include:
- Mission in the New Testament
- Discipleship
- Theology and Practice of Worship
- Theology and Practice of Prayer
- Mission Theology
- Apologetics and Culture
- Survey of Church History
- Discipleship
- New Testament Preaching and Teaching
At the same time TCM Mentoring Centers have been busy with students completing face-to-face time with professors. Classes completed at Mentoring Centers have included:
- Theology and Practice of Prayer
- Mission Theology
- Pastoral Ethics
- Contemporary Issues in Intercultural Studies
- Christian Ethics
When TCM students are asked about their studies and the impact on their ministries they give more than a one-sentence response. Telling first about their ministries, they set the stage to explain why a TCM education is important in helping them become better equipped to share about Jesus. One such example is from Ilkhom who lives and serves in Central Asia.
Ilkhom answered God’s call upon his life and serves as the pastor of a church in the capital city of his country. He also provides leadership as the director of the theological institute in that city. His desire is to be as effective as possible in sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with the people of his country.
Ultimately, Ilkhom would like to earn his doctorate, which would allow him to teach as a professor in various State Institutes, especially the academy of sciences. In such settings, he will have the opportunity to talk about Jesus with many professors and educated people who are not believers.
As his ministry expands Ilkhom envisions also being involved in building a secular organization that provides services within the community and draws people to Christ.
Ninety-nine percent of the population of his country follows Islam, so many of the people he meets and ministers to are Muslim or come from Muslim backgrounds. The cross-cultural ministry courses that he has taken at TCM have provided him with knowledge that he has been able to apply to his context of ministry. He states those courses have added value because they are taught by a professor who is very knowledgeable about the Muslim faith.
Ilkhom’s TCM education helps him in two ways. First, as a pastor he teaches with a deeper analysis of the Word of God. Second, he continues to acquire deeper knowledge and better practical skills to share with students in the theological institute where he teaches. As he looks to the future his TCM education will provide a good foundation for teaching in many different types of settings.
Most often when sharing about the impact of their TCM education students and graduates will conclude with a comment that goes beyond education. One such comment heard at the 2018 Graduation Celebration was, “Because of all of you (professors, other students, staff, long-term and short-term workers) I have become more like Jesus.”
To each of you reading this – thank you for partnering with TCM in training and equipping disciple makers, going out and serving so that every nation will have effective leaders of disciple-making movements, impacting their churches, cultures, and countries for Christ.
Blessings on your journey,
Debbie |
