For the Kingdom to advance and the church to grow leadership development is crucial!
When we look at Jesus’ approach it is fascinating to see how He purposefully developed people who would, in due course, carry the weight of leading the early church forward. Though He spent much of His ministry surrounded by crowds, much of Jesus’ focus was on the Twelve. Around them grew the 72, and by the day of Pentecost, 120 believers were gathered. These formed the core of what was to happen when the Spirit was poured out on the church.
One of our key tools for developing leaders in the School of Leadership, a 2 year overview of the story of the Bible. The focus of it is giving a sense of how the Bible fits together, equipping people to think and therefore lead Biblically.
Over the past couple of years it has been a huge delight to get to know Joseph and Lillian Mwila. Joseph leads a church in Kitwe, Zambia, and oversees some 30 or so churches across the nation, most of which he and his team have planted. Lillian has pioneered an orphanage in Kitwe, seeing children rescued off the streets.
Gary & Barb Gallant, Lillian Mwila, Jeremy & Anne Simpkins
One of the greatest challenges that they face when it comes to training leaders across the churches are the distances involved, travelling in areas where there is often little access to any form of reliable public transport. Currently there are 25 of their church leaders doing School of Leadership, some of whom walk for hours before being able to catch a bus. In a poor nation, the cost of gathering the leaders together means that this is one of the major limitations for seeing the churches grow and develop.
We’re excited to be partnering with our Zambian brothers and sisters. They’re looking to train a further 15 leaders over the next two years, and we’d like to contribute to making that possible. A portion of our Gift Day giving this year will be given to them. And hopefully, sometime over the next 18 months, we hope you’ll all get to meet Joseph and Lillian.
