Dear friends of CGM,
Thank you for your continued support of CGM, through your prayers and through your giving. In this newsletter we will update you about some of our partners as well as progress made by our CGM team based at Moore College.
FRENCH TRANSLATION PROJECT
We have completed the translation of all 20 current PTC subjects into French. It has taken many years of work by translators and our CGM staff to complete this project.
These subjects are now available to any partner who wants to use them for their students in the following situations:
- No internet and no phone: PDFs for local printing or electronic distribution
- Smartphone or device available with limited internet: PTC Lesson Apps
- Internet available and familiar with technology: Online Learning Environment
FRENCH LANGUAGE PARTNERS
Currently we have 8 partners around the world using French PTC.
Students from these 5 partners access PTC subjects through PDF format and/or PTC Lesson Apps:
- Centre Chrétien du Lac Kivu (CCLK), DR Congo
- Anglican Diocese of Antananarivo, Madagascar
- Anglican Diocese of Toliara, Madagascar
- Anglican Church of Seychelles
- Eglise Evangélique Libre de Nouvelle Calédonie (EELNC), New Caledonia
Students from these 3 partners access PTC subjects through an Online Learning Environment (Moodle):
- African Enterprise
- CMS Australia (any CMS Missionary has access to all available languages)
- Anglican Diocese of Mauritius
Pray:
- Thank God for all the translators, checkers and staff who made French PTC possible.
- Thank God for the donors who funded this project.
- Pray for all the students who are using/will use these French resources.
PTC LESSON APPS
We are currently rolling out the PTC Lesson Apps to CGM partners who have expressed interest in using this new IT tool.
The PTC Lesson Apps are beneficial for students who have limited access to the internet because of cost or availability but own a smartphone or a mobile device. Typically, these are students in more urban areas of less-resourced countries.
This new technology provides interactive content to students and once they have downloaded the apps to their mobile device, it enables them to access the interactive course content without requiring the internet. This may also be a helpful way to avoid expensive, local printing costs for CGM partners if their students have access to a basic mobile device.
Our partner in the Seychelles has already indicated how helpful this new tool has been for their students “… student feedback has been positive. The review questions are a massive help for learning and revision.”
The technology behind these apps has been developed in-house by CGM staff. It has required much work from our team in development and then the detailed work of getting the PTC Lesson Apps ready for use with all the various language content installed.
Pray:
- Pray for CGM Team members as we continue to work on this technology and prepare the Lesson Apps for our partners.
- Pray that more partners will take advantage of this new technology for the benefit of their students.
For more information about how CGM works to understand its partners’ technology needs watch the video below.
PARTNER UPDATE – JOFC THAILAND
Having been established 17 years ago, the James O. Fraser Centre (JOFC), is a Bible College in northern Thailand, named after the first missionary to the Lisu people in the early 1900’s. JOFC was founded to train gospel workers from Lisu and other minority people groups.
JOFC has been partnering with CGM since 2018 and since that time PTC has been a core part of the curriculum. Students have access to the PTC through an Online Learning Environment (Moodle).
For a number of years JOFC has been translating PTC subjects into the Thai language. Recently a project has begun for the translation of PTC into the Lisu language by a team across the border in Myanmar. In addition to their Moodle, JOFC will be using the PTC Lesson Apps in Thai & Lisu languages.
Pray:
- Pray for the students and staff at JOFC as people are trained as gospel workers for the Lisu and other minority people groups in Thailand (and Myanmar).
- Pray for the ongoing PTC translation projects for the Thai and Lisu languages.
ARCHBISHOP OF CHILE, ENRIQUE LAGO & THE DEVELOPMENT OF MOCLAM
Many readers will know of MOCLAM, the CGM partner that offers PTC courses in Spanish in Latin America and Spain.
Archbishop Enrique Lago, who became Archbishop and Primate of the Anglican Church in Chile in January this year, is a strong advocate for PTC. This is because, when Enrique was 23 or 24 years old he was discipled by Australian Missionary, Grahame Scarrett. They studied the Bible together using PTC courses that Grahame Scarrett was translating into Spanish. They did not realise it then, but Archbishop Enrique had become the first student to study Spanish PTC in what today is known as MOCLAM.
Recently, the Rev Chris Overhall, a CMS missionary who works for MOCLAM in Chile, recorded an interview with Archbishop Enrique Lago. Listen to Archbishop Enrique as he explains the impact that these Spanish PTC courses have had, not only on his own life and Christian convictions but on the entire Anglican Church in Chile. Hear from Archbishop Enrique Lago in the video below.
Pray:
- Pray for students studying Spanish PTC in Latin America and Spain.
- Pray for CGM’s Partner MOCLAM and their team who promote and run courses in the Spanish-speaking world.
NEW CGM PARTNERS
CGM has recently signed an MoU with these two new partners:
Tertiary Student Christian Fellowship (TSCF), PNG
The partnership between CGM and TSCF (PNG, IFES Affiliate) started though CMS missionaries Marion and Keith Birchley (recently retired) working with the TSCF. Initially TSCF graduates began studying PTC through the Moodle administered by CMS Australia. The PTC students were receiving great benefit from these courses, so with the news that the Birchleys were returning to Australia, the TSCF leadership approached CGM so that a direct partnership between TSCF and CGM could begin. TSCF now have their own Moodle and the TSCF graduates are once again able to study PTC online, equipping them for future Christian ministries.
Zion Covenant Reformed Church (ZCRC), Philippines
ZCRC is a church from the Reformed tradition in the Philippines. The church was looking for theological education resources in English from a reformed, evangelical position and when they became aware of PTC, the leadership of ZCRC made an application to become a CGM partner. ZCRC requested CGM to provide an Online Learning Platform. In the future, ZCRC may be able to offer online courses to other reformed churches in the Philippines.
Pray:
- Give thanks for the partnership with TSCF and pray for the TSCF graduates who are now studying PTC.
- Pray for the students and staff at ZCRC as they commence the PTC course online.
CGM PUBLIC EVENT
Embracing Hard Ministry – The Bible and the Practice of Global Mission
In July CGM held another of its public events. The aim of these events is to stimulate Christians in Australia to engage with the Bible and with missiological thinking as they go about their lives and ministries.
In our advertising for this year’s event, Embracing Hard Ministry – The Bible and the Practice of Global Mission, we said:
‘Since New Testament times, some of those motivated with a passion for sharing the Good News of Jesus have embraced ministry in very hard places, struggling with stony ground and with little or no obvious gospel fruit. For hundreds of years and in many places around the world, this has also been the experience of some cross-cultural mission workers. But what does God think? Whether in a local church or in a missionary location, how does someone decide between struggling on faithfully, despite the lack of visible gospel fruit, or moving to more fertile ground where God’s Spirit is more obviously working and where fruit is more available?’
To help us answer these questions, we invited Richard Chin (National Director AFES) to give a Biblical perspective of the issue while David Williams (Director of Training & Development, CMS Australia) gave insights from the history and practice of Global Mission. A question time and panel discussion followed.
If you missed this event, you can watch the recording below.
PLEASE PARTNER WITH US
Pray
Please continue to pray for all of the CGM partners around the world. Pray as they identify the most effective means to deliver PTC courses to students in their varied local contexts.
Please pray as well for our CGM Team:
- Marty Olmos – Educational Technologist
- Rev Tim Hu – IT and Partner Training
- Lynn Darwall – Translation coordination and CGM administration
- Bishop Malcolm Richards – CGM Director
Give
Would you like to support our translation projects? Some projects are fully‑funded but others are in need of funds. See our website to donate to one or more of our projects. You can give to our CGM Translation Fund to support all of our projects (where needed) or you can give to a specific language.
THANK YOU
We value your prayers for us and our partners. Check out the rest of our website and learn more about the ministry of CGM and our gospel partners.
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