Dear Friends,
Thanks for your interest and support of the Centre for Global Mission (CGM).
CGM does not have students of its own but forms partnerships with Christian organisations worldwide, that use our material to train leaders and grow their people. We have more than 30 partners working in over 41 countries. That means there are many people studying the Bible and growing in their trust in Jesus through PTC resources around the world.
Prayer for the work of our global partners is vital, so in this newsletter we are going to give you an update about some of our partners. We only have room to feature five of our partners but in future editions we will feature more of our work.
The Anglican Church of Madagascar
There are a number of ways that PTC courses are impacting the church in Madagascar.
- For several years Rev Al Lukabyo has been travelling to Madagascar a couple of times per year to teach PTC in French. The plan is to train people from all 6 dioceses with the intention that these people will become teachers in their own dioceses. This has helped PTC to become known and accepted around the country. Due to Covid this has not been possible in 2020-21 but Al hopes to recommence this ministry in 2022.
- The translation of PTC into Malagasy, the language of Madagascar, has continued despite Covid. The translation team are nearing completion of the first 6 subjects which will be ready to go online next year. However, the Malagasy PTC notes are already in use offline!
- Our key contact in Madagascar, the Rev Berthier Lainirina (Malagasy translation team and Provincial Secretary of the Anglican Church of the Indian Ocean), has been appointed as the Principle of St Patrick’s Bible College in Toliara in the South of Madagascar. With a new evangelical bishop (Bishop Samitiana) in place, Berthier is now able to implement a solidly bible focused curriculum in the Bible School. This includes a number of PTC courses.
- A new program to train village catechists (lay leaders who run churches) has started in a number of dioceses in Madagascar using PTC in Malagasy as the main teaching resource.
Please pray
- for Bishop Samitiana in Toliara Diocese and Rev Berthier in the Bible school as they get established in their roles
- for the use of PTC in the Bible School and in catechist training and for the recommencement of visits to Madagascar by the Rev Al Lukabyo
- for the Malagasy translation project team and that funds will become available to continue
African Enterprise (AE) – Pastors’ Training Course
Of our partners, AE has one of the highest numbers of students enrolled in PTC courses. They use an online learning platform and student database developed and hosted by CGM. AE mainly run evangelistic campaigns in countries across Africa. However, they became aware that new Christians in need of discipling were being referred to churches, where the pastor had little or no training. They decided to use PTC to train pastors and other lay leaders – hence for AE the name PTC means “Pastors’ Training Course”. AE have active programs in Kenya and Ghana but would like to expand the program to other countries if finances become available.
Through AE, the PTC course is having a huge impact. Here is a report from Salome Wanjiru, one of their students in Kenya:
‘My name is Salome Wanjiru, a Kenya Christian.
I was privileged to have been studying PTC this season. Things I thought I knew enough on Biblical interpretation have been expounded and made clearer.
I have seen the emphasis on the unity of scripture – that what happened in the New Testament had been foretold in the Old – and that Christ is the fulfilment of the Old Testament prophesies. It has never been so clear. So good to see that God has remained faithful throughout many generations and still is consistent in His character regardless of our faithlessness and disobedience.
When I was doing Doctrine 1 it was awesome to learn about the Unity and Uniqueness of the Triune God. That the three persons are distinct in the work they do yet one. I had no idea about the order – this too came out so clearly.
I appreciate that this course has not only benefited me but my family and friends. I am grateful for the opportunity. God bless AE and supporters of PTC.’
Please pray
- for the Pastors’ Training Course in Kenya and Ghana, that God would use it to grow disciples
- that the program would expand to other countries
- for the staff in Sydney who administer the program
Work for Peace – Faisalabad, Pakistan
Work for Peace is a Christian NGO in Faisalabad, that seeks to promote understanding between Christians and Muslims and also to promote the Gospel in various ways. The main ministry until now has been a Primary School (a project sponsored by Anglican Aid), where poor Christian and Muslim children can learn together.
The NGO was started by Imran Maqsood who came to Sydney as a refugee. As Imran worked alongside his colleagues in Faisalabad, he became aware of the need to disciple young adults from the Christian community, so that they could become more confident in their faith and have a good grounding in the Bible. As a result, in the last few months they have launched English PTC classes in Faisalabad.
Please pray
- for the development of these courses by Work for Peace in Faisalabad
- that young adults would sign up to the courses and be strengthened in their faith
- for Imran as he prepares to study at Moore College in 2022
Eurasian Missionary College – Kazan, Russia
Eurasian Missionary College (EMC) is a small Bible college in Kazan which trains gospel workers across Central Asia. CGM has been working with a translation team in Kazan to prepare the first 6 subjects of PTC in Russian without a clear way forward for using the resource once translated.
When EMC requested a partnership with CGM so that they could use PTC as the basis for their online syllabus we had an answer to our prayers. During lockdown this year as one of their projects, our team has been hard at work setting up the online learning platform and training EMC to enrol students and administer courses. There have been some additional challenges since the online platform is in Russian and some of the EMC team have no English! But praise God because all is nearing completion in time for the first students to begin their courses in November.
Please pray
- for the first students as they begin to study these courses in Russian
- that God would grow his church in Central Asia
- for the CGM team as they learn more about making courses available online in languages other than English
North India College of Christian Studies (NICCS) – Delhi, India
After much discussion we have signed an agreement with NICSS in Delhi to begin a new translation project which will see all of PTC ready for online use in everyday Hindi.
Pastor Joy Gill at NICCS has explained to us that there is a large gulf between written/academic Hindi and that which is spoken and understood by average people. Their aim in this translation is to have a resource that is widely accessible to Hindi speakers of all levels of literacy.
Please pray for the NICCS translation team as they begin work on this important project. Currently the team only have enough funds for the first of 19 PTC subjects.
- for Pastor Joy and the translation team at NICCS as they begin this large translation project
- for the outreach of the gospel in North India where there are millions who do not know Christ
- for funds to become available for this important project
These are only a sample of some of our Global Partners. One of these is well established but the rest are new and are grappling with how to establish new ministries and projects. Please pray as we provide resources to more and more ministries around the world and become involved in more translation projects.
You can also find out more about some of our partners using the below button.
To see more details of how you can support the current translation projects including Hindi, Malagasy, Russian, as well as Swahili and Farsi, please use the below button.
Thank you for your interest and partnership!
For your diary – CGM Event to be held in July 2022
Plan to join us for the CGM event of 2022, with speakers Simon Gillham and Malcolm Richards, as they explore Word ministries in an oral world. This event is entitled ‘The Written Word in an Oral World’. More information and the registration form are available using the buttons below.
