Regions
God is at work through Entrust, multiplying leaders for multiplying churches. Starting in Eastern Europe and Russia during the Cold War, and now expanded in the rest of Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, North America, Entrust, by God’s grace, is equipping new generations of Christians to serve well in the local church.
AFRICA
Entrust is honored to serve in sub-Saharan Africa through our indigenous ministry partner, More than a Mile Deep (MMD). MMD brings African-designed, non-formal, church-based training to thousands. In addition, Entrust staff serve in formal ministry education settings and in grassroots leadership training and development initiatives. These other initiatives include Global Mentorship Network and International College of Bible and Missions (ICBM).
Life was good
Life was good for young Bradley Ramsamy.
He lived with his parents and older sister in Lenasia, a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. “We were neither rich nor poor,” he recalls. “My mum and dad earned enough to feed and clothe us. We had a humble home and car.”
ICBM Virtual Vision Trip
Take a virtual vision trip to International College of Bible and Missions, an Entrust ministry partner in Johannesburg, where local pastors with limited means are studying Bible and theology.
Diligent equippers
Meet Beatrice and Sandra. Diligent followers of Jesus, eager to equip other women like themselves. They are just two of those who took part in Entrust Equipping Women’s Facilitating Relational Learning module in Zambia in April 2022.
Global Mentorship Network
Global Mentorship Network aims to impact not only current leaders, but future generations of leaders – mentor leaders who mentor leaders for professional excellence and spiritual formation.
A pastor took a walk
It all started with a walk.
It was 2017. Liberian pastor Andrew Gombay was studying at a small Bible college in Pennsylvania. One day, he took a walk.
Two new churches are born
Planting and Nurturing Enduring Churches. Who’s ever heard of, let alone taken, let alone successfully completed, a course with a title like that? Two students taking part in More than a Mile Deep* training in Zimbabwe took this course and not only successfully completed it, but actually planted two churches in the process.
Virtual vision trips are win-win-win
At the International College of Bible and Missions, we equip pastors, providing them with accredited theological college degrees. We strive to help not only the wealthy students but also the students who come from extremely poor communities that were deeply affected by Apartheid. We train men and women to study, live and preach God's word in their communities as they strengthen the church in all its ministries.
Deep learning, wide applications
More than a Mile Deep (MMD) in Moçambique celebrated the greatest milestone of its existence on October 5, 2019. Ten students graduated from a discipleship program with a fully accredited bachelor’s in theology (B.Th.) degree.
ASIA
Asia is the world’s largest continent both in terms of geography and population. Entrust’s emphasis on equipping Christians within the context of the local church, using adult learning methods, informal training modules and a strategy of multiplication (each group of learners in turn training a new group of students), is well-suited to the need for effective ministry training for over 4 billion people, many in countries where the gospel is restricted.
God, Google, Gratia and Growth
Growing up in a fatherless home with eight siblings, Gratia felt bitter toward her father. An Entrust training module not only led her to understand the miracle of completely forgiving him but equipped her with increased effectiveness and courage in her many ministries.
Graduation in the Philippines
Pomp and Circumstance played in the background while, one by one, 13 women stepped up to receive their certificates of completion. Three pastors attended to present these certificates to the women from their respective churches. It was November 2021.
From chaos to joy
Chaos. Misery. Suicide. Hope. Sisterhood. Music. Johannesburg. Joy.
All these disparate elements come together in Rose’s life journey. A journey of only 21 years.
Mentoring and training from Asia to the world
Al and Mary serve with Entrust in Asia, where, as in the rest of the world, they have had to modify much of their ministry work due to the pandemic. Following is a sample of their ministry highlights from the second half of 2021.
God’s transformational gardening
Some seeds take time to germinate. That was true in Teresa’s life. She grew up in a small barrio in the Philippines, in a fractured and hurting family.
Sofia: one in many millions
A one-in-several-million-chance. A blessed accident. An astounding coincidence? Or God’s perfect plan. Sofia could be one of those first options, but we believe she is the latter — God’s perfect plan and gift to our ministry and to her country.
Little sister, huge impact
Sofia is leaving Entrust for her next ministry. She’s ready to step into some new things God is leading her to, in faith.
Peter and Sarah*, Asia
Rural pastors with few resources and no time to leave home for ministry training. These are the people Peter and Sarah are preparing to serve. The goal is to bring contextualized pastoral and theological education to spiritually hungry but untrained Christian leaders in a difficult region.
EUROPE
Once the center of Christianity, now many church buildings sit empty, are being re-purposed as condos, museums or office buildings, or are being torn down. A top priority in the world is the re-evangelization of Europe, but this can only be done with a renewed generation of European leaders. Entrust started in Europe back in 1979 and we are still here training and challenging church leaders to leave religion behind and train and lead people into a relationship with Christ. Great progress is being made.
Countries where we currently serve and train leaders include: Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain
God changed everything
Vlada, Tanja and little Filip. This is their story.
It could have been a very sad one, with all the pre-dispositions for being such — dysfunctional families of origin, husband a drug addict, difficult financial situation — but God changed it all.
Serving Ukrainians
Ukraine is on almost everyone’s mind, not just because of the news, but because there are so many Ukrainians in the Czech Republic who are concerned for their loved ones back home and are trying to ensure their safety. Over 236,000 Ukrainian refugees have come here since the start of the war.
Slow and small leads to widely transferable
Livija Godina knew. Mo Blackmon knew. Now Agnese and Karina and many more Latvian women know. Entrust Equipping Women discipleship and ministry training really works. It changes lives.
Realizing potential across France
Entrust Equipping Women is known in France as Potenti'Elles, a phrase combining the French words for “potential” and “her.” Through Potenti'Elles, women are discovering their potential and applying their new-found skills as Christ-like leaders in their local churches.
Spreading hope in southern Spain
Land of Hope/Tierra de Esperanza is being used by the Lord in ways we honestly did not expect or imagine.
The most joyful no
Passing leadership training into the hands of our brothers and sisters in Christ worldwide is one of our top goals at Entrust. Mo Blackmon celebrated that milestone in March, having said a “no” full of rich meaning.
A Paul and Timothy story
Brimming with zeal for the God he recently came to know, a young man attends a Christian finance conference. He walks into the auditorium and takes the first open seat he sees, finding himself next to a man about his father’s age. The older man greets the younger man.
Sixteen Hungarian women
Let me share with you the story of my Developing a Discerning Heart groups in Hungary. I was talking to a woman after a spiritual disciplines group, about how few Christian resources are available in Hungarian.
MIDDLE EAST
By God’s grace and to his glory, Entrust is serving local churches, refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) in this volatile region of the world. Entrust is honored to provide ministry training to people in local churches and humanitarian aid to thousands of people from all backgrounds. Spiritually, it is a historic time in the regions we are serving. God is doing amazing things!
Middle Eastern Bible Institute: emphasis on doctrine and discipleship
In a mid-sized town in a mid-sized Middle Eastern nation, a Bible Institute operated by Entrust is quietly and unobtrusively equipping men and women with seminary-level Bible courses and practical ministry training.
A minority within a minority
My people were a minority within a minority, living with a belief system we could not change if we wanted to, all of life pre-determined by an impersonal god. This is the worldview into which I was born in the Middle East...
Well worth the time and energy
My recent trip to the Middle East brought a lot of joy. It was a very long way to go to teach a Bible course to a classroom full of refugees, but I believe it was well worth the time and energy and expense!
I fell in love with God’s word … because of the teachers
Matthew came to faith in Christ as a young adult while a foreigner in a country not his own. He was a refugee, having fled his home country, not realizing God had vast spiritual plans for him in his new place of residence, Greece. There he encountered and accepted God’s gift of salvation through Jesus Christ and began to attend a Christian school.
Roaming blackouts
Lights appeared below, outlining the city as our plane approached, on our way in to help at an Entrust family camp. Suddenly the shape of the city changed as large sections below us went dark and smaller sections of light appeared.
NORTH AMERICA
In a place awash in Bible schools and seminaries, seminars and workshops, printed literature and websites, Entrust’s ministry training modules are catching on and creating demand in the United States and Canada.
Thus, we have established ministry training hubs in the U.S. and Canada to offer concentrated, intensive ministry training opportunities to greater numbers of people. We offer local ministry training in local churches upon request. Our North American-based staff facilitate Entrust modules in local churches and other settings as they are able. Many churches have implemented our ministry training into the foundational structure of their churches – particularly in the area of small group leader training.
I had no idea
In 2017, after years of growth as a Christian and involvement in ministry, I discovered something almost completely new to me. Here’s how I got there.
STEP internship: opportunity to learn and contribute
Kristin Anderson’s 2-month Entrust STEP internship at our home office in Colorado was a time of learning for her, and a time making valuable and lasting contributions to our ministry.
Two years waiting
Two years ago, facilitators were putting final touches on their lesson plans; participants were busy finishing their prep work, packing their suitcases, readying to get on a plane when COVID hit, and at the last minute, the Colorado Springs Facilitating Relational Learning module had to be cancelled.
Teenagers and God’s goodness
Editor’s note. Entrust’s core modules provide principles to learn, practice and apply in all types of small groups. Entrust’s Deborah Covert used concepts from Facilitating Relational Learning with her church’s youth group (see previous article) and then, put ideas from Discovery Bible Study to work with that same group. Read on and be inspired.
Why I love my job
The world is facing a famine of Christian leadership. 3.2 million pastors and leaders lack adequate training. Imagine attending a church where the pastor is chosen simply because he is the oldest person in the congregation. Or maybe the only one with a Bible. Or the only one who can read.
Not just mentorship … friendship
Sarah and Seth Martens are active members of St. Pierre Bible Fellowship in St. Pierre-Jolys, Manitoba. They participated in Entrust’s ministry training module Facilitating Relational Learning in Manitoba in November 2020.
Leadership workshop
develops a teen into a bold leader
I led Entrust’s Guiding Transformational Small Groups workshop for the small group leaders at my church in the fall of 2021. Among the attendees was one of the high school seniors from our youth group, Bri.
FRL in action
I’ve watched the youth at our church go glassy-eyed during lectures. Lecture-based learning has been our church’s primary approach to teaching our young people.