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The Mission Society held its annual H.T. and Alice Maclin Mission Training Institute on July 9-21, 2015 in India.

Mission Society staff, new missionaries, and Indian Christians from all over the country came together for 13 days of training and fellowship. The attendees included 18 Mission Society missionaries and 41 Christian ministers from India, Kenya, and the Netherlands.

“We choose to do training in India because we learn so much about our own worldview related to cross-cultural ministry when we study with people from other cultures. It helps all of us step back from our traditional mindsets and explore new ways to introduce people to Jesus,” said the Rev. Frank Decker, vice president for mission training and development. “This year we had representatives from 18 different states within India. India is a country in which one fifth of the world resides, so there are literally thousands of cultures within that one country, and cross-cultural awareness in mission is essential.”

The sessions were taught by Mission Society staff members and missionaries, as well as Indian missiologists and church leaders. Lessons included cross-cultural challenges, discipleship, spiritual conflict, core ministry strategies, preparedness, the Insider movement, cell group ministry, mission shock, the theology of mission, spiritual warfare, and prayer.

The attendees also watched several movies that dealt with cross-cultural communication and visited nearby communities to practice the cultural observation skills they were learning.

“While the training in content had similarities to previous years, what stood out to me this year was how much was taught that was not specifically in the content. From responses of the Indian participants, we heard how The Mission Society staff modeled the involvement of women in leadership and showing respect for women. We ‘taught’ about service in that, when our president arrived, he didn’t automatically have a full day to be in the front, speaking. We modeled community in how we worked together. We ‘taught’ about following the guidance of the Holy Spirit when we sensed and addressed spiritual issues outside of the scripted schedule. It was such a reminder to me that, as missionaries, most of what we teach is taught by our lives and behaviors as much as or more than by our words,” said Jim Ramsay, vice president for mission ministries.

One participant stated, “I am not here by accident. I’ve been unwell for several years and have not had the opportunity to be away this long. It definitely is God-enabled that I could sit this long for two weeks. I’ve been blessed much more than I thought I would be. What is quite different from other trainings is that we had time to discuss and share our own views. I take back to my field a greater understanding of ministry because I learned so much from the other participants who have different worldviews from my own.”

Another attendee said, “Our organization has targets—we have to perform so many baptisms; have so many souls won. But we are losing them because we do not emphasize discipleship. I want to start discipling people so they will walk in the faith.”

One missionary said, “It’s been a life transforming experience. The Lord has transformed my thoughts and my strategies.”

“Many of the Indian trainees had 10, 20, even 30 years of experience. Many serve in very difficult areas under extreme pressure. One attendee told of how he had just been hiding in the jungle the week prior due to a wave of persecution. Much of the learning came not from the content we taught, but from the engagement with that content by the community that was assembled as they processed their experiences in the light of the topics we were covering,” said Ramsay.

“It was evident that many of the Indian nationals who attended our training had been schooled into a mindset of revivalism, in which obtaining decisions for Christ, planting a church, and moving on was a common practice. Many of these dear brothers and sisters expressed appreciation for the fact that they were challenged to take a more incarnational approach to ministry that is steeped in entering the host culture as a learner, presenting Christ appropriately, and emphasizing discipleship in their ministries,” said Decker.