AIM trains leaders

Tomorrow’s church is being significantly shaped through institutions and programmes of theological education, as men and women are prepared for future leadership. This is as true in Africa as it is anywhere else in the world, and AIM has always understood that.

This is why we recruit theological educators to teach in most of the African countries in which we work, and it is also why we seek to help all those engaged in theological education to do the best job they can. One way we have done that, going back to 2001, is through regular theological educators’ consultations, which we organise in partnership with SIM. The last such occasion took place in Johannesburg in 2009, and the year before that we held one in Nairobi. They have been much appreciated: according to one participant, it was ‘very much worth the cost of coming, and having work pile up behind me’. Now we are planning two consultations to take place back-to-back in April 2011, first in Nairobi and then in Johannesburg.

Your help to subsidise costs

Both missionaries and national staff are encouraged to come to these consultations. We organise them in the two centres – Johannesburg and Nairobi – to minimise travel costs, but some folk still have to come long distances to attend. This has significant financial implications even when using the cheapest route available: travelling from Madagascar to Johannesburg or from Congo to Nairobi is costly, and theological schools find it difficult to make ends meet at the best of times. So, we try to subsidise travel costs.

Our policy has been that each participant pays the same flat rate which covers both the cost of the consultation itself and the price of travel, regardless of where they come from. But this means that we have to find money for the subsidy. For this reason AIM International Office has just opened a new project, the sole purpose of which is to subsidise the participation at theological educators’ consultations of those – expatriates and nationals – who work in AIM-related programmes of theological education. The number of the project is IO-132.

Essential training

Given the critical importance of quality theological education for the health of the African church, we would like to ask you prayerfully to consider supporting the project – and making a real contribution to the growth of ‘Christ-centred churches among all African peoples’ through the development of theological educators.