Psalm 50:6 "And the heavens proclaim his righteousness, for he is a God of justice."
One of the challenges facing rural African churches is the need for trained leaders, people who have a deep understanding of God’s Word. This doesn’t come easily in a setting where believers, while sincere, have no real training in how to study and share from Scripture. In rural Malawi in the 1990s, the trend was for a believer with a heart for sharing God’s Word to start a church…and, generally, designate themselves as the pastor.
It was keenly on the heart of EI Malawi’s partner church, the Evangelical Baptist Church of Malawi (EBCM), to train these ‘pastors’ to truly embrace the full significance of that title. Due to the cost, sending them all to Bible School was out of the question.
Enter “TEE”…Thelological Education by Extension. This program was introduced in 1990 by Pastor Jim Clemens from Canada. Jim, alongside 2 trained Malawian pastors, began a program for teaching men to be able to study and teach the Bible to their congregations. Each participant had a series of lessons that they had to complete. At designated times, these students would come together with Pastor Jim and his trainers to go through the materials of the course. It took about a year to go through the whole course. At the ‘graduation’ in 1990, 54 of the 61 men, including 1 woman, received their certificate amid great rejoicing. “Their excitement was contagious and was felt by all!”
TEE continues to be a part of EBCM’s leadership strategy for their rural church leaders.
