News of Our Work from Around the Globe

Country Context

Rwanda is a land-locked, mountainous country in the heart of central Africa. Although very small in size, it has the densest population in Africa, with a total population of just over 10 million. Today, this busy country is trying to look to the future and put the genocide of 1994 behind it. Major development projects are taking place in rural areas, impressive new buildings are sprouting up in the major cities, and Rwanda is in the process of taking the significant step of moving from being a French to an English speaking country.

However, the genocide, with the 1,000,000 lives lost, cannot be put away so neatly. On a practical level, many refugees are still returning to the country and their re-integration into society presents the risk of disrupting tenuous racial harmony. Also, the genocide raises questions for the church as Rwanda is a country with a very high Christian majority of 82 percent.

Launch of the JSM-Langham Preaching Movement
Following a  line-up meeting in Rwanda, a number of local leaders indicated their enthusiasm for starting the preaching movement in their country by forming an organizing committee of six persons to oversee the development of the seminar in Rwanda.

 

In mid-October 2009, 32 pastors and lay preachers gathered together for the Level 1 training event, with two Langham Preaching facilitators – Gordon Woolard from the USA and Mercy Ireri from Kenya. Mercy went down with a bacterial infection on the first day, and was unable to teach until the final day of the event. One of the pastors said, in a rather matter-of-fact way, "that’s why Jesus sent the disciples out two by two. It makes sense."  He was right: Gordon was able to sustain the teaching and training, and Mercy was then ready to share news of the development of the Kenyan preaching movement, including its wide network of preachers’ clubs.
 

Gordon reported on the response of the pastors: "Some came up to me and said their whole way of approaching the Bible is shaken up. They used to pick their topics and then find supporting verses.  I explained to them that that pre-judges the meaning of the passage before they have studied it...So we work hard at studying the passage and then discovering the message God has for his people."

 

He continued: "They get it, and they like it, even when it demands a longer and harder time of study.  At least they have the confidence that they are teaching what God intends."

 

The group was serious about follow-up, and formed seven regional groups that will meet for ongoing support. An all-member refresher event is planned for March.  And the next main event will be the Level 2 program, which will run from October 25-29, 2010.

 

Thank you for your prayers and support!

The Commentary:
This life-giving promise compelled WordAlive Publishers–in partnership with John Stott Ministries–to produce a translation for one of the most comprehensive African resources. The ABC, the first-ever single-volume commentary for Africans, by Africans, has moved forward in production, with over 80,000 copies being distributed. With great excitement, WordAlive Publishers is planning the first print run in 2010 for the Kiswahili translation of the ABC.

A translation team comprised of seven people at the Masters and Ph.D. levels from both Tanzania and Kenya started the project, including Dr. Aloo Mojola, one of the most experienced Bible translation consultants in Africa. The translation took more than 20 months to produce, with plans to print in between 10,000 and 15,000 copies. The volume is schedule to go to press on February 15, 2010, available to order in May.

 “The publication of the ABC was long overdue and it has become a vital resource for pastors, in churches, homes and theological institutions,” said David Waweru of WordAlive, who is heading up the translation project. “We have seen a trend in which many institutions purchase the commentary for their graduating classes. Many copies have also been purchased by missionaries based in Africa hoping to understand the African point of view and perspectives in the interpretation of the biblical text and contemporary issues.

 

"It is with deepest gratitude that WordAlive Publishers extends our appreciation to Langham Partnership for the very generous donation that made the this translation possible. We believe the Kiswahili ABC will have tremendous impact on the body of Christ in East Africa."

Your Opportunity:
John Stott Ministries is committed making this important resource available to pastors in Kiswahili-speaking countries by purchasing and distributing 3,000 copies of the book. Over the next two years, these copies will be distributed to:

•    Pastors who participate in preaching seminar programs in Kiswahili-speaking countries
•    Seminary graduates in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and the DR Congo
•    Seminary libraries in the same areas.

Undoubtedly, the Kiswahili ABC will have an impact on the church in East Africa for generations to come.

 

Now, with the help of a Christian foundation’s matching grant challenge, your financial support for the Kiswahili ABC will have double the impact for the pastors and professors of East Africa. Learn more about how you can put this book into the hands of a teacher or pastor.

DONATE NOW

The first Level 1 Langham Preaching seminar in Papua New Guinea has taken place earlier this month at the Christian Leaders Training College (CLTC) Banz, an hour’s drive east of Mt Hagen. We were warmly welcomed by Principal Ezekiel Ivihi and his staff. This is Langham Preaching’s third initiative in the Pacific, supported and funded by Langham Partnership Australia.

PNG seminar

 

118 preachers attended from 24 different denominational groups, as well as students from CLTC, a contingent from SIL-Wycliffe, delegates from Gospel Recordings, Evangelical Alliance, and a number of other organisations. The seminar was facilitated by Paul Windsor, Associate Director for Langham Preaching, with Melbourne’s Andrew Reid and Tim Johnson. This was Andrew's first return to PNG after spending his childhood there. Many participants spoke of the seminar as a time of deep personal renewal. “A long time in ministry can leave the tools going blunt,” said Pastor Gireva, a senior pastor with the Christian Life Centre. “This week has been about becoming spiritually sharpened again.”

Sermon outlines around the auditorium resembled an art gallery

 

During the group feedback sessions we posted the preachers' sermon outlines all around the auditorium. “It resembled an art gallery as people wandered around,” said Paul Windsor. “The quality of their work progressed so much through the week that during the final feedback session I decided to walk through the gallery myself and stop and ‘commentate’ on the various features of each outline,” he said.

Dr Rosie Crowter with seminar participants and books by her late brother Phil.

 

Five associates of Australian Indigenous Ministries joined the seminar, building partnerships with CLTC and Langham as they develop preaching training for an indigenous Australian context, and David Kima, Director of the very active Evangelical Alliance-PNG brought an enthusiastic contingent from Goroka. Another key initiative of the seminar was the provision of the late Phil Crowter’s highly-acclaimed Pray-Prepare-Preach resources to many of the participants. It was a highlight having Phil’s sister, Dr Rosie Crowter, a missionary in PNG, with us. Rosie came with a group of pastors from Western Province. The Level 2 seminar in PNG, preceded by a condensed Level 1 for a small group to be selected from denominations and provinces under-represented this year, is on track for December 2010. Pray for Emmanuel Kauna, David Kima and other members of the local organising committee.

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Fount of Wisdom was founded by Steve Westergren in 2004, and is the only non-denominational evangelical publisher in the country. In all, FoW has published more than 30 titles, from a Cambodian authored commentary on Ephesians to a devotional of grace, a great need in a country stained by years of bloodshed.

Since then, FoW has published more than 30 titles: from a Cambodian-authored commentary on Ephesians to a devotional of grace, a great need in a country stained by years of bloodshed.

 

But just like the goal of John Stott Ministries, Fount of Wisdom’s vision is particularly to see indigenous writers and publishers equipped to serve the Cambodian church. Native writers are difficult to find since the Khmer Rouge killed most of the country’s educated citizens – and Christians – in the late 1970s. But Cambodia’s now-flourishing church – there are 200,000 Christians in an estimated 200 small churches – and young population – 60% are under 20 years old – mean that there is great potential for the growth of Christian publishing.

 

 

 

 

“Although we have skilled foreigners, they don’t completely understand the heart of Cambodia as Cambodian writers do,” says Savy Dith, editor at FoW. “We believe the good news will spread much faster with their help.” Langham’s Publisher Development ministry is geared to seeing publishers like FoW lay strong, indigenous and sustainable foundations for the future.

 

When you (Langham Literature) said, ‘Our ambition is to see indigenous ministries like Fount of Wisdom serving the local church and society on the one hand, while moving towards long-term sustainability and viability through book sales,’ I was very excited,” says Steve Westergren. “It is exactly what we are trying to do here at Fount of Wisdom.”

 

FoW needs immediate support publishing a range of Khmer-language titles in 2010, including Spiritual Leadership (J O Sanders), Calvary Road (R Hession), a church history volume and a commentary of Nehemiah.  The New Bible Dictionary will be a significant longer-term project.

However, Langham’s hope is to capitalise FoW more significantly so that they can publish 15-20 titles a year, with an increasing proportion written by national authors, doing so without requiring ongoing outside financial help. Please pray:

• For Steve Westergren as he lays this publishing foundation and seeks to mentor and hand over to Cambodian Colleagues.
• For Timothy, a young Khmer Executive Director in training who will increasingly take over Steve’s role.
• For funds to enable Langham to provide the required capital and training.
• That God would bless the Cambodian church through FoW’s high quality Christian literature.

 

 

The Literature program works with some 29 publishers to distribute English and French publications to the Majority World at minimal expense. Previously, books were not centrally located, and equipment was not available to quickly distribute much needed literature. Orders placed with partnering publishers could be slow – sometimes taking 30 days or more to be filled – and sometimes lost because shipments could not be tracked.

 

Now the Literature program can offer a more efficient service and can include titles from Majority World authors which were previously too costly or otherwise impossible to ship. Best of all, the warehouse has plenty of space – room for growth without too much adjustment for the next four years.

 

Participants included pastors, student workers, theological educators, missionaries among the poor, as well as the director of a wholistic hospital ministry. We were graciously hosted by four Langham Scholars: Paul Swarup (chairman), Finny Philip, AK Lama, and Paulson Pulikottil. People came from Rajasthan in the West to Assam in the East. Much of the conversation focused on Uttar Pradesh which, if it were a country, would be the seventh most populous country in the world.

 

India presents different challenges from the other countries in which the Preaching Program is involved. There are multiple grassroots training ministries already in existence. JSM-Langham Preaching becomes the catalyst who convenes the table around which these people gather, enabling them to network with each other and share resources.

 

Various fresh initiatives emerged from this consultation:

a. the intention to launch the Level 1-4 preaching seminars in Assam for the churches of the Northeast with AK Lama as the key reference point;
b. the commitment to an ongoing “‘training of the trainers” through an expanded and strengthened consultation programme in which issues are probed (for example, the challenge of training preachers within the mainline/urban/educated church vs. the emerging/rural/semi-literate church) and we audit the training which is occurring with an eye on the ‘gaps and overlaps’ – and looking to address both these situations;
c. the convening of a consultation in South India.

 

It is with great encouragement that Langham Partnership International helps to establish quality training for the future of the church in India, and at the same time foster Langham Scholars in their committment to effective grassroots ministry.

 

It was a mature group. Ten years of preaching experience was a requirement for participation. They tended to be senior pastors and leaders with responsibilities well beyond their own local churches. A number had graduate degrees in theology. It was a representative group. They came from right across the country with pastors (some travelling 48 hours by train) from the majority of provinces being present. So it is quite conceivable that thousands upon thousands of believers in China will be impacted by the training that is offered.

 

Two highlights will linger in my memory. One was that moment during training when small groups write their sermon outlines from designated passage on the whiteboard.

 

Nine groups crammed their Chinese characters onto the board, and then each one submitted themselves to the evaluation of their peers and the trainers. They were so honest with each other and they had such fun doing it. Raucous laughter often would fill the room. With this lightness of spirit so evident, I had to remind myself that some of these people had paid a great price for preaching the Gospel! The second highlight was when the group was split into seven regional groups to discuss how they might start local ‘preaching fellowships’ in their areas. Watching them enjoy meeting each other, share email addresses, appoint a coordinator and agree on a date to meet… We had to add another session because they just would not stop talking! It may have only been half a drop in a bucket, but there was this overwhelming sense for me that the quality of biblical preaching in China was being impacted before my very eyes.

 

A recurring piece of feedback from the participants was a new seriousness in their commitment to ‘a systematic and balanced preaching of the whole Bible.’

 

We plan to meet for Level 2 in 2010, and there are plans to run another Level 2 concurrently with a new group of people. Please pray that under God’s good hand these plans will materialise and that participants will be able to travel safely and easily to the venue.

 

Nowhere has this been more true than in the Solomon Islands. From Pentecostals, Nazarene, Catholics, Worldwide Church of God, to Scripture Union, Campus Crusade, and Bible Society to the largest groups present – the South Sea Evangelical Church (SSEC), the Anglican Church of Melanesia, and the United Church of Solomon Islands – there were 67 people who gathered near Honiara for the Langham Preaching training on 16-19 June 2009. On the final evening, tears were shed as participants prayed for the church in the Solomons. As one pastor expressed, “This is just what the Solomons needs. We have for too long kept to our own little boxes.” And so this was a week which nurtured both biblical preaching and the unity of the church.

 

Training was in the hands of Chris Mulherin (Australia), Langham Partnership International Director Chris Wright, and Langham Preaching Associate Director Paul Windsor, and focused on the basic skills of understanding the text and building clear, faithful and relevant biblical sermons. One highlight of the week was the opportunity to have lunch with the Archbishop of Melanesia, David Vunagi. Langham Preaching thrives on the endorsement of leaders like Archbishop David.

We have agreed that Level 2 training will be held from 19 - 23 July 2010 with a condensed Level 1 event immediately prior to this week so that an even larger group of pastors can stay on and journey on to Level 2 and 3.

 

Largely due to the commitment of Langham Partnership Australia (LPA) and Director Wendy Toulmin’s vision and energy, Langham Preaching is off to an excellent start in the Pacific. Godwilling, in 2010 Vanuatu will hold a Level 3 and both the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea will hold a Level 2 seminar. With Langham Scholar, Ma’afu Palu, recently appointed to the Sia’atoutai College in Tonga, there is also local expertise on which we can draw.

 

But all is not well …. The teaching in churches in Central America is often weak. National leaders report that it can be superficial with very limited Biblical content. There is evidence of confused and divisive teaching, the pervasive influence of prosperity theology, and even some heretical extremes. The need for pastors to learn to study deeply and preach faithfully is imperative, and addressing this is an urgent priority.

 

Langham Preaching Latin America is calling together key trainers from 11 countries in Central America*, to embark on a three-stage training programme over the next two years. Starting in October 12-16 2009, 35 leaders will meet together for training in biblical preaching. They will benefit from:

 

• weeklong training seminars with practical lectures, Bible expositions, and group study
• help in the framing of training programmes for their own countries
• books to support Bible study and exposition
• fellowship across 11 countries, establishing a wide network of preachers and trainers

 

And this is not just for their own benefit, but so that they can then develop national training initiatives in their home countries, equipping small teams of pastors and lay preachers throughout the region. Langham Preaching is already working in partnership with national churches in many South American countries. The Central American project is the next big step in the steady work of equipping a new generation of Bible teachers.

 

What they are saying:

‘The Central American project is the biggest and most strategic effort of Langham Preaching Latin America this year. We look forward to its impact throughout the region in the years to come.’
Igor Amestegui

 

‘I want to express my gratitude to the Lord for what we have experienced in the Langham Preaching programme. The Lord has greatly touched my life, encouraging me to work more effectively with the tools I have received.’
Daniel Mardones, pastor and homiletics teacher, Chile

 

‘If the need for Langham Preaching is great in South America, it is even more needed in Central America.’
Jorge Atiencia, Bible teacher and trainer, Colombia

 

‘As thankful as we are for church growth, the ministry of Bible teaching is vital in these critical times for the church in Central America.’
John Stam, LAM missionary, Costa Rica

 

‘I could not agree more when our Langham trainer said that he is more than convinced that this is a good and strategic way to equip leaders in the world.’
Chris Jonah, Sierre Leone

 

‘I have worked with the Church for more than 18 years, but I have never seen such direct Bible-centred preaching methods and contents. I wish I could have known this many years before. I am now well equipped to handle the Bible properly.’
Samuel Makocebe, Tanzania

* Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Venezuela

 

Local facilitators

The growing demand for local, grassroots training cannot be met without more local facilitators. This year seven preaching seminar ‘graduates’ accepted the invitation to be trained to teach level 1 material. Two of them conducted the basic lessons of ‘text-to-sermon’ for the level 1 delegates and received feedback from their trainer colleagues afterwards. These seven have committed themselves not only to conducting local Level 1 training (often taking unpaid leave and travelling at their own expenses), but also to meeting together twice more in the year to sharpen their skills.

 

Inter-country co-operation and networking

Frank Luvanda (Tanzania) and Barbara Tumwine (Uganda) joined the Kenya seminar facilitators team. It was great to have their help leading small groups and demonstrating good Bible handling skills. There are lessons about sustainability and regionalised training that we can learn from the Tanzanian and Ugandan experiences, and we hope this is reciprocal: that their experience in Kenya will feed into the growth of the preaching movements in both those countries. This growing sense of fellowship in the East Africa region brings a very helpful exchange of ideas, experience and personnel. This wider team could provide the future training, not just for level 1 locally, but also for levels 2 and 3 nationally. We thank God for such committed, humble, gifted workers willing to give their time to train others!

Jenny Brown is a Langham Preaching facilitator, and is on the staff of All Souls, Langham Place in London.