by Laurie Lind
Thozamile Mofu’s weekends and Wednesday evenings are devoted to evangelism. He distributes flyers and converses with young people at an area near a squatter camp every Saturday and Sunday, along with his mentor. He spends his Wednesdays at the gold mines, again along with his mentor, engaging workers in spiritual conversations.
Sibonelo Nyawo serves with Word of Life South Africa in its discipleship ministry. He’s passionate about discipling young Christians, helping them grow deep in their walks with Jesus. He, too, has a mentor.
Why are these men, already committed to the Lord and involved in ministry, studying at the International College of Bible and Missions?
Because, says Sibonelo, “it’s not right for me to train people if I’m not fully equipped.”
Thozamile agrees. “I want to have in-depth knowledge of the Scriptures so that, one day, if I become a pastor, I’ll be able to teach what I know and teach it accurately.”
Accurate teaching is often in short supply in Southern Africa.
Both men lament the harmful and unethical practices — immorality, exploitation, breaches of confidentiality and lack of accountability — they see in some African churches. Too often, they say, someone from a church simply decides he wants to be a pastor and leaves the church, not only splitting that church but launching into his own ministry without training or anyone holding him accountable.
Another major issue facing Christian churches is ancestor worship.
“Many will say, ‘We can pray to God, but we don’t have to forget our ancestors, because they are the ones who know the future,’” Sibonelo says. “You’ll find them mixing God and ancestor worship.”
Courses like Christian Ethics and Hermeneutics address these issues from both a biblical and a practical standpoint. Application is reinforced through classroom teaching and through each student’s required mentor.
Sibonelo appreciates that emphasis on application. He’s seen schools produce people who are “so puffed up by knowledge, but they’re not using it. If they’re not living it out,” he wonders, “what’s the point of teaching it?”
A recent unexpected accreditation implementation inspection demonstrated how people at ICBM live what they learn. The government official conducting the inspection was surprised not only at the great level of organization she found, but at the love she saw demonstrated between the staff members as they worked with her. She could see this was truly a Christian place. (They passed the inspection with flying colors!)
Meeting real needs in real time in a place where biblical teaching is in short supply. That’s Entrust’s ministry partner, ICBM.
International College of Bible and Missions
Southern Africa’s Christian population is growing. New churches are planted weekly.
Sadly, many of those churches have no pastor or are led by people lacking theological training and accountability.
Christian colleges and seminaries are training new generations of church leaders in the region. However, some of those institutions are too expensive, or too far away from, the men and women desiring and needing the education they offer.
Thus: International College of Bible and Missions in Johannesburg, South Africa!
Established to provide affordable, biblically based, formal theological education in sub-Saharan Africa, ICBM welcomes students from varied countries and ethnicities. The school works to keep costs down, to make it accessible to some of the best and brightest leaders in Southern Africa, many already serving in key leadership and ministry roles.
Entrust’s Dr. Arthur Alard is ICBM’s principal, Dr. Steven Briix is the academic dean and Dr. Olga Alard is on the faculty.
ICBM. An Entrust partner in meeting the world’s need of well-trained Christian leaders.
Learn more about ICBM at www.icbm.ac.za.