A Systematic Assessment of Missionary Candidate School 

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CHAPTER 3 The Ministries of MET

INTRODUCTION

Tangible evidence that the purpose of Missions Exposure and Training (MET) is being achieved is a successful Missionary Candidate School (MCS). Qualified African alumni serving in intercultural Christian service, fully supported by the African church, signify a successful programme. Pastors and Church Leadership Conferences, Missions in the Local Church Seminars, and Journey to the Unreached Tours, the first three ministries listed in the previous chapter should directly contribute to the fourth; namely, the Missionary Candidate School. This chapter defines the first three. Details of MCS are covered in the next chapter.

PASTORS AND CHURCH LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

During the researcher’s time at MET an annual Pastors and Church Leadership Conference was held each year at the MET Centre. Fifteen to twenty key Christian leaders from the southern Africa region were invited to attend the ten-day conference. Opening on Tuesday evening and concluding at noon on the second Friday allowed participating pastors to attend, while minimising the time away from their respective congregations (only one Sunday falls in the schedule). The purpose of the conference was to expose key Christian leaders to world evangelisation. The conference helped the delegates to understand that the mission mandate is for the Church Universal and that African churches should take an active part in that endeavour. With current church growth developments as discussed in chapter one (1.4.1), some rightfully argue that the African church should take a leading role in world evangelisation.
The following excerpts from a report which the present author wrote on the first MET Pastors and Church Leadership Conference held in December 1995 should give further insight into the programme. The 1995 conference marked the beginning of Missions Exposure and Training.
Networking with over thirty-five (35) institutions and organisations guaranteed an exceptional programme for the MET delegates. Representatives from thirty of these ministries gave direct input at the conference. The delegates were exposed to the strategies of mission boards within Africa and those from the West. They had the opportunity to experience the following:

• Observe ministry among the Zulus at the largest mission station in Southern Africa,
• Walk city streets and see Christian community development first-hand,
• Tour the largest Muslim mosque in the region,
• Visit the largest Hare Krishna temple in the southern hemisphere,
• Minister in cross-cultural churches,
• Participate in a Christian radio broadcast,
• Attend a children’s evangelism seminar,
• Tour leading mission ministries, and
• Participate in a mission conference of a local church.

Delegates took in lectures covering such topics as:

• A Biblical Theology of Mission,
• Strategies on Church Planting,
• How to Develop Missions in the Local Church,
• African Missionaries Ministering Within and Outside the Continent,
• Relief, Community Development and Social Services for Evangelism,
• Cross-cultural Considerations, and

Initial Response To The Conference

The response of the fourteen participants was overwhelming. Soon after the delegates returned home, referrals began to come to the MET office for formal intercultural mission training. Early in 1996 Missionary Candidate School opened. Each year the Pastors and Church Leadership Conference enlarged MET’s widening sphere of influence.
The following comments were expressed by those attending that first conference in 1995:
The need of the African church will be met by this ministry.
Church Planter – Zambia
The conference has really encouraged me and motivated me to continue training others on missions. It has been an eye opener and has made me see the need for missions.
District Superintendent – Zimbabwe
I found MET to be necessary, and vitally essential, in the task of equipping missionary candidates for world evangelism.
Pastor – South Africa
In my mind missions was for ‘whites.’ Now I understand that we can also be and send out missionaries.
National Assistant Superintendent – Zimbabwe
Such exposure is needful for pastors, so that they sensitise the churches to missions… MET has broadened my perspective on world missions, especially in areas of culture and strategies.
Pastor and National Executive Member – Zambia
MET has really opened my eyes on missions in both areas; whether to become a pastor who sends and supports missions or become a missionary myself.
Bible School Student – Malawi
Well targeted meeting, reaching to the goal, very educational and eye opening… This was an inspirational period for me in missions… Very enlightening and encouraging.
Bible College Instructor – Zimbabwe
Very enlightening… a very good time for me to get to know the other participants and to learn from them! It helped me to get a right, and more rounded, perspective on missions.
A Church Lay Leader – Zambia
After MET, I feel more confident and prepared as my family and I leave for the foreign field.
Missionary Candidate – South Africa
It is very essential for missions sensitisation and awareness among church leaders and pastors. It is a vital and integral ministry for leadership training… I have learnt a lot on how to organise our missions structure after comparing the different missions boards that we were exposed to. I have always believed in world missions, but MET has helped throw light on how to go about implementing my vision.
National Missions Director – Zambia
MET needs to be promoted in all our churches, and even other denominations… It has given me a chance to see how service ministries can be expanded in the local church.
Pastor – Malawi
A lot of material was offered on how the African church can get involved in missions overseas and other parts of Africa… MET has helped me gather courage and confidence concerning missions. It helped me to look beyond home missions to foreign missions. I have gained knowledge on how to gather and mobilise resources for missions.
National Bishop – Zambia
Although the primary focus of this study concerns another ministry within Missions Exposure and Training, namely, Missionary Candidate School, the effectiveness of these annual conferences cannot be overstated. MET required all missionary candidates studying at Missionary Candidate School to have a full and strong endorsement from their sending body. A majority of MET candidates have been referred by those who have previously attended a MET Pastors and Church Leadership Conference or by other missionary candidates, who are key leaders themselves.
Each day of the conference considered a different aspect of missions. As delegates were exposed to a variety of ministries, limited mission knowledge was expanded, misconceptions were corrected, and new mission possibilities, particularly in regard to the African church, were explored. The 1998 schedule is provided for further insight into Pastors and Church Leadership Conferences.

A Pastors And Church Leadership Conference Schedule

Missions Exposure and Training

Pastors and Church Leadership Conference
19 – 29 May 1998
Pretoria, South Africa
Tuesday, 19 May 1998
CONFERENCE OPENING
17h00 Arrival at MET Centre, Pretoria
18h30 Opening Dinner
19h30 Evening Session and Orientation
Wednesday, 20 May 1998
WORLD THRUST
WORLD SENDING SERVICE
MEDICAL MISSIONS
07h30 Breakfast
08h15 Devotions (each devotion led by a different conference delegate)
0900 Morning Session – Chris Visser of World Thrust
13h00 Lunch
14h30 Afternoon Sessions
14h30 – 16h00 Dean le Roux, founding director of
World Sending Service
16h00 – 17h30 Dr. Richard Honiker, lecturer at Medunsa Medical University with his wife, a medical nurse, Benitta Honiker
17h30 Dinner
19h00 Evening Session – Is The African Church Ready For Missions?
Don Barron, MET director
Thursday, 21 May 1998
THE AFRICAN CHURCH IN MISSIONS
WORLD RELIGIONS
BUDDHIST TEMPLE
DIDASKO
07h30 Breakfast
08h15 Devotions
09h00 Morning Session – Two lectures by Don Barron
09h00 The African Church In Missions
10h30 An Introduction To World Religions
12h00 Depart for Field Trip
13h00 Picnic Lunch
14h30 Afternoon Session – Tour the Buddhist Temple
17h30 Dinner at Didasko 2000 (a World Missions Centre satellite training school operated by the Apostolic Faith Mission church in Witbank, South Africa)
19h00 Evening Session – A joint session with MET and Didasko students (overnight at Didasko)

Declaration 
Acknowledgements 
Summary 
List of Figures 
Glossary 
CHAPTER 1 The Challenge Facing the Church Today – An Unfinished Task 
1.1 INTRODUCTION
1.2 THE RESEARCH QUESTION
1.3 THE HYPOTHESIS
1.4 RELEVANCE OF THIS STUDY
1.5 THE NEED FOR SYSTEMATIC TRAINING AND EQUIPPING
1.6 DEFINITIONS OF TERMS
1.7 CONCLUSION
CHAPTER TWO Why Mission? 
2.1 INTRODUCTION
2.2 CHRIST’S MANDATE – THE FIRST PRESUPPOSITION
2.3 THE PURPOSE OF THE CHURCH –THE SECOND PRESUPPOSITION
2.4 CURRENT WORLD CONDITIONS –THE THIRD PRESUPPOSTION
2.5 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST –THE FOURTH PRESUPPOSITION
2.6 THE TWO-THIRDS WORLD CHURCH
2.7 SYSTEMATIC TRAINING AND EQUIPPING
2.8 MET – ADDRESSING THE NEED FOR CROSS-CULTURAL TRAINING
CHAPTER 3 The Ministries of MET 
3.1 INTRODUCTION
3.2 PASTORS AND CHURCH LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE
3.3 MISSIONS IN THE LOCAL CHURCH SEMINAR
3.4 JOURNEY TO THE UNREACHED TOURS
3.5 CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 4 MET Missionary Candidate School 
4.1 INTRODUCTION
4.2 A BRIEF HISTORY
4.3 CONDITIONS FOR ACCEPTANCE INTO MCS
4.4 DURATION OF STUDIES
4.5 MET I
4.6 MET II
4.7 MET III
4.8 EXTENDED PROGRAMMES
4.9 CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 5 A Systematic Assessment of Missionary Candidate School 
5.1 INTRODUCTION
5.2 FORMAL TRAINING
5.3 NON-FORMAL TRAINING
5.4 INFORMAL TRAINING
5.5 CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 6 African Theology and Missiology 
6.1 INTRODUCTION
6.2 CONCERNS
6.3 THE STEPS TAKEN IN THIS STUDY
6.4 AFRICAN THEOLOGY – AFRICAN MISSIOLOGY
CHAPTER 7 Other Theological and Missiological Issues 
7.1 INTRODUCTION
7.2 LOCAL – GLOBAL MISSION
7.3 NETWORKING
7.4 SACRIFICE PRINCIPLE
7.5 THE ROLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
7.6 ESCHATOLOGY IN MISSION
7.7 CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 8 A Final Word 
8.1 INTRODUCTION
8.2 MISSION – THE PURPOSE OF THE CHURCH
8.3 THE THREE-SELF FORMULA
8.4 THE FOURTH SELF
8.5 TOOLS FOR THE AFRICAN CHURCH
8.6 PARAMETERS REVIEWED
8.7 MISCONCEPTIONS CORRECTED
8.8 A THESIS STATEMENT
8.9 FINAL WORDS
Bibliography
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MISSIONS EXPOSURE AND TRAINING: THE DEVELOPMENT AND ASSESSMENT OF A CROSS-CULTURAL TRAINING PROGRAMME FOR TWO-THIRDS WORLD MISSIONARIES