Training

The concepts, principles and practices of the Arts and Orality are changing the face of missions around the world. More than 70% of the world’s population are Oral Learners, by necessity or by preference. Most of the fabric of worship and community life find voice through artistic Imaginative expressions.

Mission leaders are saying that Orality is a game changer, both for global mission and local ministry. Oral art forms exist universally; so they must be culturally relevant and reproducible to any place and in all people groups. Artistic expression and Orality methods stand as critical strategies vital to completing the Great Commission.

This seminar will address many important topics related to Integral Mission, Participatory Learning, Reproducible Strategies, Sustainable Development and other applications. Come ready to have your imaginations about strategic ministry expanded and inspired. For more information on Arts and Orality, visit www.actinternational.org and/or www.orality.net - www.water.cc/orality

A wholistic way of ministry, integrating the physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual, the “Great Commission” combined with the “Great Commandment” reveals the practical power of Christ. See live actors perform the River Crossing, hear the story of the Mountain Top Village and learn about Mr. Mafu and his horse.

This highly interactive seminar will focus on several of the core values of successful wholistic ministry: the integral relationship between the physical, mental, social, and spiritual, seeking the total development of the whole person and community; sustainable programs that are owned by the people and built on local initiative, as demonstrated through volunteerism and strengthened through capacity building; efforts that are concentrated on long-term solutions that break the cycle of poverty and disease, through training, equipping, and empowering people to do for themselves.

Is it God-honoring to attempt the Great Commandment without a plan to obey the Great Commission? Is being satisfied with fulfilling the Great Commandment Satan’s greatest tool to hinder the progress of the gospel? This coach-facilitated learning adventure will guide you through implementation of a reproducing, sustaining strategy that multiplies disciple-making disciples and sustains movement. When the genuine gospel moves, it transforms individuals and communities in ways that allow the Great Commandment and the Great Commission to have a Kingdom impact that bears fruit that last.

In the presence of coach practitioners, each attendee will have a chance to not only learn the fundamental principles of multiplicative disciple-making but also assess their current situations and see how they can both fulfill the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. This learning adventure will include: • the 8 fundamental elements of a disciple-making ecosystem; • the DMM Strategy Cycle, how to keep the tactics and strategy clear; • curriculum development, where to start reading the Bible and why; • the 5 fundamental questions that every organization must answer to be effective; and • how to design a 90 Rollout of DMM in the attendees’ context.

Community Health Evangelism (CHE) focuses on the root causes of poverty, disease, and spiritual error. By wholistically training local community members to share the Good News and mobilize community action, communities are able to practice disease prevention measures, enhance agriculture, generate enterprise, and make disciples of Jesus. Local leaders gain the ability to implement sustainable solutions utilizing local resources and appropriate technologies. CHE is a proven, practical, and multipliable strategy for ministry.

The CHE Vision Seminar is highly interactive and designed for people wanting a brief but thorough introduction to CHE. After completion, participants will have the basic understanding and tools to introduce CHE to other individuals, church groups, or organizations. Further participation in a Training of Trainers 1 (TOT) is encouraged. This seminar is a valuable experience for anyone interested in Christian missions.

Collaborative for Neighborhood Transformation (NT) helps people in the neighborhood transform their lives and communities from the inside out. Hope, health, and enthusiasm towards neighborhood life happens as people: know, love, care for and serve their neighbors; take responsibility and work to change their reality; experience reduced disease, crime, drug abuse, and alcohol addiction; and know Christ with healthy, growing churches, and improved employment and living conditions. NT is wholistic, integrating the physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual—revealing the practical power of Christ. By training local community members to share the Good News and mobilize community action, communities can practice disease prevention measures, enhance agriculture, generate enterprise, and make disciples of Jesus. Local leaders gain the ability to implement sustainable solutions utilizing local resources and appropriate technologies. NT is a proven, practical, and multipliable strategy for ministry.

The Standards of Excellence (SOE) in Short-Term Mission is an accrediting and resourcing body for those who send, receive, facilitate, and support short-term mission (STM) endeavors. This workshop is designed to help SOE adoptive members understand how they can incorporate and achieve competence in all Seven Standards of Excellence. It also provides a review of how to form and manage a Peer Review process, should a member organization desire to pursue full accreditation. The workshops are taught by experienced SOE trainers (usually two). They are interactive, use case studies and small group discussions. Maximum impact short-term mission (MISTM)-grid theory and the supporting principles behind the standards are review

This practical, highly interactive, Biblically-based seminar will draw on the experience and lessons learned from training, mentoring and coaching Christian leaders in more than 80 nations. The workshop will begin by comparing Biblical leadership perspectives with those influenced by our particular cultures and worldviews. This seminar will also address understanding how leadership styles impact cross-cultural teams and ministry, how to lead change in your ministry and howto management conflict. Dave Johnson (DAI Director of Latin America and Karl Mueller (DAI Senior Consultant for North American Diaspora Ministry) will serve as facilitators. DAI has been committed to developing servant leaders for 22 years. Through mentoring, coaching and training, ministry leaders are transformed and communities impacted around the world. In 2017 DAI’s 150 staff from 33+ nations measurably impacted more than 27,000 leaders around the world.

Increasingly, ministries are adopting practices to assess and celebrate the fruit of their work. Outcome-based evaluation— adapted from the social sciences—is helping organizations to better understand the way God is changing lives through their ministry strategies. This information is being used to improve programs, inform prayer, steward resources, support strategic decisions, and communicate with donors. In this eye-opening and practical seminar by Calvin Edwards and Jim McGee, you will learn about kingdom values supporting program evaluation, start to develop your own tools, and think through how to use evaluation information. Through illustrations and by making technical concepts simple, the seminar will set you on a path to assess your organization’s impact based on well-stewarded information.

The Ripkens have interviewed over 700 believers living in persecution from more than 72 countries. As they listened to how these brothers and sisters came to Christ and what the impact of their persecution was they learned how to thrive amidst suffering, not merely survive.  There is a lot to be learned from these followers of Christ. Believers in persecution remind us that persecution in the Bible is normal. Suffering for Jesus is as common as the “sun coming up in the east”. At this conference, the Ripkens will share truths about our biblical heritage of both crucifixion and resurrection that these believers  want us to know and understand and apply to our ministry both across the street and around the world. Believers challenge us to boldly follow Jesus no matter the cost.

During our time together we will look at:

*How does faith survive, let alone flourish in the places of the world that are overcome with the darkness of sin, despair and hopelessness?

*How can we help to expand the Kingdom of God by sharing truths and practices learned from believers in persecution and applying them to our ministry?

*Knowing that many in America do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God or that He is the only way to eternal life, do you consider it a great honor to walk across the street to share Christ with your neighbor?  How can we apply what we learn from our Brothers and Sisters in persecution to the culture where we have grown up?