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MINISTRY REPORT

“The Whole Counsel

of God” Fajara, The Gambia, April 14 - 25, 2014

INDEX

1. Findings from Exploratory Trip 2013

2. The Whole Counsel of God Course

3. Details of Course April 2014

4. Participant Overview and Feedback

5. Evaluation

6. Follow up Recommendations

7. Acquital

1 (Core Training and Development is abbreviated as CORE in this report)

Ministry report - “The Whole Counsel of God”, Fajara, The Gambia April 2014

1. Conclusions from Exploratory Trip June 2013

In May/June 2013 CORE assessed training needs in several West African nations. Discussions were held with local mission organisations, churches and bible colleges to ascertain if CORE’s courses would be useful in complementing their local ministries.

Emphasis was placed on the importance of ensuring that CORE’s activities would not be duplicating the work of other organisations on the ground. During that trip, CORE also conducted the “Foundations of our Faith” course. The course facilitator, Darien Khlentzos, drew the following conclusions from his time with the local Christian leaders and course participants:

1. Most Christians in the cities of Banjul and Serrekunda who were of African descent seemed to have a good grasp of the English language - a necessity for CORE’s courses.

2. There were few opportunities for Gambian Christians to receive bible training locally and the existing training was informal and below certificate standard.

3. Many of those in ministry struggled with foundational topics such as the grace of God, assurance of salvation, faith and good works, sanctification and other biblical concepts.

4. The Prosperity gospel was widespread and is a hindrance to the effective witness of the Church to Muslim communities. A gospel that says that God favours His people with material blessing only points to the Muslim community being the blessed ones as generally the Muslim/Arab community are wealthier than most. (17 people groups remain unreached in The Gambia - all Islamic).

5. The infrastructure was relatively good which would assist future set up and implementation of CORE courses.

6. The “Foundations of our Faith” (FOF) course was very well received by participants who welcomed the idea of CORE conducting further training courses in the future.

7. The hosts of the FOF course (YWAM Banjul) proved capable and trustworthy, and valuable partners for CORE training in The Gambia for future missions.

8. The high ratio of Muslims to Christians in The Gambia and the direction of national leadership suggested that the level of Gospel “freedom” in the country could change quickly - hence the present need to come alongside the church and help strengthen it.

9. “The Whole Counsel of God” (WCOG) course was an appropriate next step in light of the current needs of the local church and in relation to other ministry taking place on the ground.

After being invited by YWAM and other churches and para-church groups, it was decided that “The Whole Counsel of God” (WCOG) course should be conducted in April 2014, as a follow up to FOF.

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Ministry report - “The Whole Counsel of God”, Fajara, The Gambia April 2014

2. The Whole Counsel of God (WCOG) Course Rationale:

It is essential that ministers of the gospel and Christians generally have a solid understanding of the grace of God in Christ before they continue onto further biblical/theological study. In our experience this often does not occur – hindering both effective ministry as well as undermining further study. Similarly, there is a lack of awareness of basic biblical theology, and the Scriptures are often viewed as unrelated stories. The New Testament letters are rarely preached and as such there can be a very shallow understanding of the Christian faith, and vulnerability to heresies such as the prosperity gospel, legalism and an unhealthy focus on miracles. Church practices can often be a reflection of the traditional cultural practices rather than the dynamic life of fellowship within the body by the Spirit.

Course Objectives:

1. To give participants an overview of God’s plan of Salvation from Creation to New Creation as depicted in the Scriptures.

2. To give participants a basic understanding of key topics of doctrine such as the grace of God, justification, sanctification, assurance of salvation, faith and works, forgiveness, the role of the Holy Spirit etc., which are rarely understood, let alone taught biblically, in churches.

3. To help participants think biblically regarding controversial topics in the African Church, such as prosperity, suffering, miracles and signs etc.

4. To provide participants with resources to help them grow in their understanding and assist them in their respective ministries, such as hard copy and electronic books, audio sermons and copies of each of the course sessions.

5. To continue in relationship with participants through regular communications with them, providing assistance through further materials and advice, so as to follow up the work that has been done and to continue in fellowship with them until the next course takes place.

3. Details of WCOG Course - April 2014

Venue: World Evangelical Church centre, Fajara, The Gambia

Hosts: YWAM, Banjul, The Gambia

Recruitment: In consultation and close communication with CORE, our hosts recruited pastors and ministers from local churches and para-church organisations, as well as students and faculty from BBTC (Banjul Bible Training Centre). Recruiting was targeted and general advertising was minimal as we did not want to attract people who were not in existing positions of ministry. Each participant was required to fill in a registration form upon commencement of the course which provided information about their role in ministry.

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Ministry report - “The Whole Counsel of God”, Fajara, The Gambia April 2014

Teaching team

Dr Michael Eaton - Michael is married to Jenny and has four children. He lives in Nairobi, Kenya. He has spent time as a lecturer in a number of African theological colleges, and has pastored churches in South Africa, Zambia and is currently co-pastoring a church in the Kibera slum in Nairobi. Since 1986 he has been one of the leaders of the Chrisco Fellowship of Churches, which began as a prayer meeting in 1978, but now has churches in different parts of Africa, India and Europe. He has written a number of theological books including the Tyndale Commentary on Ecclesiastes, and scholarly work on the Puritans and on the

theology of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones.

Rev. Dr Ian Pennicook - Ian is married to Zara and has four children. He lives in Bowral, Australia. Ian is an ordained Anglican clergyman and has served as senior minister in four churches in Australia. He has a wide teaching ministry in Australia and overseas across various denominations. He was the Principal of Tabor College in Sydney for a number of years as well as serving at the same college as Head of theology. Ian has lectured in various theological subjects including Exegesis and New Testament Greek and has written a number of theological books.

Darien Khlentzos - Darien is married to Vanessa and they have one son. Since 2007, Darien lived and worked in various nations in Africa with an indigenous evangelistic organisation setting up evangelistic missions in partnership with local churches and conducting ongoing teaching/discipleship programs. During this time he became aware of the great need for further training opportunities. In 2013 Core Training and Development was incorporated as a vehicle to take biblical training to churches and Christian communities in areas under pressure and experiencing persecution in Africa.

4. Participant Overview and Feedback

NB: There were between 65 - 73 students in attendance on a daily basis. A number of the registration forms were only partially completed. The participant’s gender was not always clear from their name.

Registrations

79 participants total (consisting of 52 men, 27 women). 62 participants noted that they were involved in ministry in some capacity. The remaining 17 were members of local churches.

Types of ministry

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Ministry report - “The Whole Counsel of God”, Fajara, The Gambia April 2014

(Some noted involvement in more than one ministry and some did not specify) Male pastors/overseers/ministry founders: 29 Female pastors/women’s leaders: 9 Evangelistic/missionary work: 15 Youth/Children’s ministry: 8 Other ministries (Prayer, choir, ushering): 12

Church / Ministry background Around 60 participants were from Independent churches. 3 were from Baptist churches, and one participant was from a Catholic church. 7 were from ministries such as West Africa Mission, YWAM and Fellowship of Evangelical Students.

Level of Theological Education One participant had a Masters in Theology. Another said she had a Doctorate in Expository Communication but referred to herself as Pastor and her next highest qualification was a diploma in Pastoral Theology. Another 4 participants had either certificates or diplomas in theology/ministry. The remainder did not record any theological education at all. About a quarter did have tertiary qualifications in subjects like business administration, secretarial studies and teaching. Many of the participants had not gone beyond Secondary School.

Challenges in Ministry Some participants came from “Christian” families, many noting that they were nominal only and actually adhered to Gambian culture. Others were from Muslim families. Many noted significant financial challenges that limited their access to further training which they desired in order to improve the effectiveness of their ministry. Persecution and rejection by families was also often mentioned as a challenge in ministry.

Feedback from Participants: (photos are not necessarily those named)

“What really touched me is the teaching that I cannot lose my redemption. Once saved I am saved forever”…”I will pass on what I have learnt through preparing sermons based on what we have heard here”. (Pastor of rural village church, North Bank)

“It has opened my eyes to the power of the cross – the meaning of Jesus’ blood and joyful Christian life, and hopeful eternity that is mine. It has put the fire of the Spirit of God in my heart to reach out to the lost souls… Thanks, thanks.” (Minister involved in evangelism and missions, Banjul).

“I need to be trained. Lack of knowledge or ignorance makes me make a lot of mistake… This school has helped me to know things that will make me stand strong in Christ. It has equipped me to depend on God who is my source. He chose me for His purpose and let his purposes alone stand in my life. Thanks to all who contributed to this course.” (Intercessor, Banjul).

“Am so grateful that this teaching is a bible based teaching as this is what

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Ministry report - “The Whole Counsel of God”, Fajara, The Gambia April 2014

my ministry is. It helped me with what I have been learning from my pastor, … I have learnt of the truth about Jesus Christ” (Indigenous Missionary, Banjul)

“I am the only Christian from a Muslim family of 11. I have a passion for soul winning but struggle with persecution, finances and lack of training because I am working amongst rural people. This training has opened my eyes to the more basic truths of the gospel. I want to thank God for bringing such wonderful men of God to the Gambia to be a blessing to the children of God. I am highly blessed by all their teaching. It was great.” (Evangelist, Banjul)

“I think they’re doing a great job, and believe me, many of us, especially me, are going to take this teaching to many more people than could ever sit in this hall. So I encourage them to keep it up, as sometimes when you are in a ministry of this type you may not see the impact immediately, but I want to tell them that the impact is going to be really great. They’re reaching not just the cities of Gambia, but the outskirts - every area in a country like this.” (Senior pastor’s wife and church elder)

5. Evaluation

According to the verbal and written feedback of participants, the WCOG course was a truly enlightening and helpful experience. Many emphasised that it was the first time they had truly understood what God had given them in Christ, particularly in regard to the free gift of salvation, and how the Bible was one story of God’s plan of salvation. Some also mentioned how helpful it was to be taught from the Bible by those who were not demanding any financial response. Others mentioned that the teaching will assist them in reaching out to their mainly Muslim community.

At times the feedback sessions during which participants were expressing their gratitude for the training had to be cut short due to time constraints. One participant thanked those who gave to the ministry for giving towards the training rather than spending their money on ammunition and guns – revealing a little more about the context!

The question time in particular was appreciated by participants as it provided an opportunity to raise concerns and questions regarding what they had previously been taught, and indeed were teaching others themselves. Fervent discussion sometimes ensued particularly regarding topics such as prosperity, and the participants were challenged to think biblically about firmly held convictions.

At the end of the course participants were given books addressing basic biblical topics such as salvation, discipleship, and biblical theology.

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Ministry report - “The Whole Counsel of God”, Fajara, The Gambia April 2014

The Banjul Bible Training Centre was also given a number of reference books for their library. Email addresses of participants were collected for future communications and for notifications of ongoing training courses.

6. Follow up Recommendations

We make the following recommendations for ongoing training and support of the church in The Gambia:

1. The GWC “Explore” course would be appropriate for most students in The Gambia now that basic Christian foundations have been laid. Some participants would struggle with the assessment and examinations. We recommend 4 x 2 week teaching schools within the next 12 months to complete the 8 Explore modules, with each module being held over a 5 day period including examinations at the end of the week.

2. It is preferrable that the first two modules of “Explore” are held within six months in order to maintain momentum, and if this were not possible, we would advise that a bridging course in the form of an exegesis of Romans, was run for five days.

3. Appropriate training multi-media should be regularly posted on the CORE website for participants with a view to reinforcing what has been previously taught. Participants can be alerted to the availability of this material through regular email updates.

. Acquital 7

To follow this report.

Questions or further details: info@coretraining.com.co

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