A specialty missionary training program aims at interning onsite.

By August 10, 2006

Madagascar (MNN)–Africa Inland Mission’s Marc Niles and his wife, Stacy, just wrapped up two years in the TIMO program in Madagascar–TIMO is short for ‘Training In Ministry Outreach’.

He details what they were doing. “It’s basically a program for new missionaries. Two years of training, as well as ministry. Our function there was really to learn the language and the culture and learn to work with a new team, and then obviously, to share as much as we could of the Gospel.”

The training takes place in the context of ministry and involves language learning, cultural adaptation, appropriate evangelism, spiritual warfare, and many other subjects through lectures, readings, written reports, discussion, and on the spot experience.

A TIMO team consists of a group of 6 to 10 new missionaries led by a veteran missionary or missionary couple for the purpose of LEARNING and DOING missionary outreach.

Niles says they concentrated on the Bara people. Their next step is undergoing a linguistics training program. It means it could be another year or more before they get back onto the field.

At the end of the training, the ultimate goal is to actually plant and establish a working and ministering church.

Champing at the bit? Yes; Niles explains why. “The leader of our village just became a Christian. He’s the key person in that he is the one who leads the community. He’s been one of the first in our specific area to become a Christian and this has huge implications on the rest of the community.”

If you want to learn more, go to: http://www.timo-aim.com/

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