By Steven Loots

Paperless Discipleship Project

Thirty Hub Leaders were recently invited to Zambia to join in the International Outreach in the Copperbelt. After the outreach they stayed for a special training course in Discipleship called "The Gift and The Prize".

Each Hub Leqader, on his return home, had to choose ten members from his church and then take them through the course. The goal of the course is to teach individual Christians how to read and understand the Bible for themselves. The content of the course deals with salvation though Grace as the free Gift of God, and that our good works cannot save us, but that they do determine the Prize that awaits us. Africans in general are very unsure of their Salvation and live in constant fear that they will lose their salvation. It is important to teach them about Grace.

Each of these Hub Leaders was visited by staff of HIM six weeks after the training and again after a further six weeks. Each of the 300 members that were trained were also visited to see what effect the discipleship method had on their lives.

First Follow Up Visit Tuesday 6th September 2005

Hannes Enslin (HIM's Training and Discipleship Director) and Herbie Venter (a full time volunteer) travelled through Malawi and Zambia to visit part of the 30 leaders that were trained in the new Discipleship Model. (Jonathan Hart (HIM's Evangelism Director) and Danny Krumbholtz (a Volunteer from the USA) had just completed a visit to the remaining pastors in Mozambique.)

The idea was to be with each Hub Leader AND the ten people he had to train. Overall the results were very satisfying. Most who had gone back and implemented the course saw wonderful results.

At each church the Him staff asked questions like: “how can I be saved?” And what would happen if after accepting Christ as Lord and Saviour, I happened to sin and then died before I could confess that sin?” Many of those trained could for the first time differentiate between salvation and good works. They could use the Bible to lead someone to the Lord and they understood grace.

This is significant because in many cases churches manipulate their members through fear and few Christians experience the freedom we have in Christ. Assurance of salvation is foreign to most.

The Hub Leaders were also very positive. For many of them this was the first time that they had sat and done Bible study with their people where the people had an input and where their members were learning how to use and understand the Bible for themselves.

Next Step

In 2006-7 HIM hopes to train 260 pastors in the same method. The Hub Leaders trained in the pilot project will become involved in the training and the follow-up of these 260 churches.

We are extremely excited that we can be part of breaking the cycle of shallowness that holds African churches in its grip. Imagine churches everywherein Africa with believers owning their own Bible, even more, being able to read and understand and apply it for themselves!

One great need that has emerged through this excersize has been the need for Bibles. As a result Bibles for Believers was born.

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