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Lesson
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Welcome to our global internet training school for the next generation of church and missionary leaders. This is a training school without walls, without frontiers, without any fees and one that leaps over every barrier of political, religious, racist, sexist and denominational prejudice, in the name of Jesus.
These lessons are provided at no charge to you and to South East Asia Mission Teams Missions Training Center (SMTC) by The DCI Trust in Great Britain. Dr. Les Norman of DCI and New Covenant International University is the author of the lessons. SEAMIST praises God for the lessons that follow, and for being able to present them to you free of charge. This is only possible because DCI and Dr. Norman have been so generous. You can learn more about Dr. Norman and DCI on their website: http://www.dci.org.uk. or on the About The Author page included here.
We hope that these lessons will inspire and bless you and thousands of similar like-minded people who live and dream in the passion of their first love for Jesus. The fact that you starting this course today means that you want to want to know the Lord better yourself, and in your heart you want to see the people in your family and nation, and the unreached peoples of the world turning to live a disciplined, holy life in the love and care of God through faith in Jesus Christ.
That was the Lord's call and vision for Paul's life and it is surely still the Lord's vision for us today. This Course will help you to do just that. Please read Acts 26.18.
This is Lesson One, it is very simple and just an introduction. The lessons that follow are more complete and filled with good things to learn and to do. I have personally done them all, taught them in class and now they are yours. I hope and pray that you will be as blessed, challenged and moved towards the Lord and His ways as I have been and continue to be as the years go on.
The Staff
SEAMIST Missions Training Center
How does the Course work ?
This Course follows the effective approach that Paul took with Timothy, please read this key verse: 2 Timothy 2.2. Paul learned this method from following the way that Jesus used his own disciples. We would like you to grasp this from the very start.
1. First of all we are going to pass on to you an outline of what we have learned over the years and with the help of the Holy Spirit, the Bible, our prayers and an open mind you will grasp the ideas.
The Course moves through various interlinking themes in an order which seems to most appealing and useful to the churches in the developing nations:
- Evangelism
- Mission to the Ends of the Earth
- Basic Christian Discipleship
- God's Passion for the Poor
- Finances in God's Kingdom
- The Call of God
- The Making of a Leader
- Building Church and Kingdom
- The Kingdom Comes
2. Secondly, if it is at all possible in your circumstances we really want you to pass on to others all that you learn, so that the word of God spreads. We will show you how to do that without spending a lot of money which we know is hard to find. See How to How To Open Your Own School to see how to do this. Your tutor and SMTC will be happy to advise you how to do this as well, just ask!
By the way when we say a school we do not mean that you have to open a special building with professional staff. Our students meet in church halls, in homes, in shops and even under palm trees in the open air. All you need is a group of willing people, a Bible, these materials and the presence of God with you though prayer.
We will help you to make a start, help you along the way, and later on graduates may ask us for help to begin their own projects in mission, care or Christian business, based in their countries.
3. Lastly, we want the people that learn from you to go and tell the people they know, using the same notes and simple ways of passing on the word of God.
- Look at the incredible mathematics of this:
- If you learn for yourself ~ 1 person hears the word of the Lord
- If you share the lesson with 10 friends ~ 11 people hear the word of the Lord
- If the 10 each tell 10 more people ~ 111 people hear the word of the Lord
- If the 111 each tell 10 more people ~ 1,110 people hear the word of the Lord.
- If the 1,110 people tell 10 more people ~ 11,100 people hear the word of the Lord.
- And suddenly you have a move of God. This has happened in China and is happening every day in parts of South America and Africa where 'Training by Multiplication' courses such as this are proving to be the only cost-effective way to teach the thousands of people who are deciding to follow Jesus.
- No special buildings or materials required just meeting and talking.
- "The things you have heard me say . . entrust to reliable men . . who will also teach others."
- ( Paul to Timothy, 2 Timothy 2.2 )
Together we can train many people to become mature believers and they themselves will go and do the work of the ministry - in evangelism, discipleship and in care for the poor, having found the faith, the works and the finances that are necessary to advance the gospel. In the first chapter of Genesis, when the Word of God came together with the Spirit of God, there was an explosion of new life and that is our prayer, that the Lord would do the same again, this time in your lives and in your community.
Is the course difficult ?
These lessons have been well tested in the churches of Africa, India and the Hispanic world, adapted of course to the local culture. They say the teaching is biblical, true, relevant to the developing world and focused on their passion, to finish the Great Commission so that Jesus can return. Many of the ideas have been born, tried and tested in the developing world, which is not very different from the first century Bible times.
With God's help the lessons will not be too difficult even for people with little or no education. The teaching is simple and uncomplicated. The words should be easy for you to translate if you need to and every diligent student can gain a valuable diploma which, with further study will count towards a valid, accredited University degree.
The notes are clear and easy to read and your friends can also download them free of charge and copy them by hand or by machine. Each lesson can be downloaded and copied separately so it is easy and affordable to obtain these studies. People can buy from you their photocopies of the studies one sheet at a time if necessary so even copying the whole course will not be too expensive.
Now, please go back to the List of Lessons and have a good look at all the studies and see what you will learn and all that you can pass on to others.
Lesson One ends by asking you to read every section of the Information Page to make sure that you know what to do.
This page is modified by SEAMIST from the original page with permission © Dr Les Norman | www.worldchristians.org, UK
Permission is granted to provide copies at cost price for study purposesbut not for sale or commercial purposes. Freely you have received, so please freely give.