Dreaming Big: Church Ministries Institute Partners with Horizon International Schools
John Taylor
“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think . . . to Him be glory!” (Ephesians 3:20-21)
Have you ever had a dream so big that it made you shake your head in amazement? We shake our heads a lot at the Church Ministries Institute (CMI) as we reflect on our vision “to prepare workers who will establish and develop churches in Eurasia that are ready to replicate new churches cross culturally.” Eurasia (or the former Soviet Union) is a big place, home to over 280 million people in fifteen countries spread across eleven time zones and two continents. How is it possible to effectively prepare workers to covers so vast a region?
When the CMI was founded in 1994 by ABWE missionaries in partnership with Ukrainian church leaders, that dream seemed an impossibility. With the advent of modern technology, however, such a dream is no longer out of reach. And this hope has come through the ministry of Horizon International Schools (HIS).
The CMI presently offers extension courses to hundreds of students through a network of local church-based Bible schools and regional training centers. As successful as this program has been, there are still many more emerging church leaders with no access to training. Some live too far away to get to one of the classes. Others are in full-time employment, and cannot afford the time off work. Still others are in restricted access countries. For these reason, distance learning has gained a lot of interest among churches and theological schools in Eurasia.
When we first looked into distance learning, we were concerned that this form of learning would not provide the one-on-one contact with our students so essential to developing leaders. We have come to see the crucial role that a facilitator can play in building a learning community in which the truth is learned, discussed, and applied. By using the Moodle courseware provided by HIS, students are able to interact with one another and with the course facilitator, building a learning community that flourishes outside the classroom.
Through HIS, we have been able to join forces with several other organizations to expand our resources, thus avoiding the duplication of efforts and modeling the unity we have in Christ.
Avenues are also being explored to provide training “underground” to Christian leaders in restricted access regions. I recently had the privilege of teaching a group of Eurasian students from an Islamic region. Until now, they have had to leave their home countries with their families to seek training elsewhere. Besides the obvious economic considerations and disruption to family life, this approach has had the disadvantage of providing training outside of the context of their home environment and local ministry needs. When I asked the group if they would be interested in receiving training through distance learning, the answer was a unanimous and enthusiastic “yes.” They also mentioned several existing church leaders in their home countries who would be thrilled with the opportunity to receive continuing education.
We praise God for the partnership that has emerged between the Church Ministries Institute and Horizon International Schools. By developing a distance-learning program in the Russian language, the door has opened for us to reach a whole new wave of students, from the remotest parts of Siberia, to the work force of a major city, to restricted access countries, and even to Russian immigrant communities in Israel or the West. We are still shaking our heads, but in amazement at the possibilities as we move one huge step forward towards our vision of preparing church workers for ministry in Eurasia and around the world.
News on the Horizon, Vol 4 No.2 may 2008
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