by Dow, Bible School for the Nations staff / BELT Ministries
“All the walls of disunity have come down [between pastors in Isiro],” a Congolese pastor told me. This pastor represented one of twenty-two denominations present at our seminar (out of fifty-nine students). These key pastors and church leaders had never before worked together on a single mission!
After three weeks of the intensive and interactive Bible Education and Leadership Training (BELT) seminar, it was clear to us–and to them–that there had been many “transformations of the heart.”
We saw a revival among the participants. They repented of sins, got their relationships right with each other, and committed to work together to see a similar transformation in their communities.
The BELT seminar that we conducted was highly interactive and used illustrated posters that were translated into the participants’ mother tongue. The participants enjoyed the teaching style and want to use it when they return to their home congregations. One pastor said, “I have learned a new method of teaching. I call it the ‘active method.’ It is most effective!”
The “final exam” was a practical one. Could these students transform the very community we were in right then and there — the marketplaces, the schools, the families, even the churches?
We sent the students out into the community in small groups. Through stories and interactive teaching, they shared the lessons that had so personally changed them.
“It is amazing to see the way honest reconciliation has been made,” shared Mana, a Congolese YWAM missionary who was part of our BELT team. “During the outreach, thousands of people were reached with the gospel of Christ. An unreached people group were reached in their business places. They asked us to continue sharing the Word of God with them every week.”
Many people of Isiro said, “I’ve never seen pastors of different denominations work together like this. And on top of that, they are coming to us, not making us go to them!”
I’m so excited to see that real changes that happened in the lives of the seminar students. They are already asking us to come back next year with “part two.” Will you join us?