What is the Traverse Cross-Cultural Ministry Training Program?
Traverse is a 2 year full-time, locally-based cross-cultural ministry internship designed to give practical training and experience in cross-cultural ministry. Traverse provides training by experienced cross-cultural mission practitioners while living in a multicultural context and part of a missional, ideally, multicultural learning community.
There are 4 essential elements for training mission workers. These elements are; Experience God, Use the Bible, Engage with Culture and Relate to People. Each element has training units that are modular and can be completed at a time during the apprenticeship that is appropriate for the specific mission context and the opportunities available. Units include; Spiritual Disciplines and Maturity, Emotion, Mental and Physical Health, Bible Storytelling, Inductive Bible Study Leading, Spiritual Warfare, Mission Theology, Cross-cultural Research and Experience, Multicultural Teams, and Cross-Cultural Discipling and Church Planting. All units are adapted from the Journey Program designed by Richard & Evelyn Hibbert.
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CROSS-CULTURAL
MINISTRY
LEARNING
COMMUNITY
Adapted from: "Training Missionaries: Principles and Possibilities by Evelyn and Richard Hibbert
Experience God
Growing apprentices in their love for, knowledge of, and obedience to God (Matt 22:37; Eph 1:17; Php 2:12) is the focus of this central element of learning. Around this central element the other three elements revolve. As Christ's ambassadors, mission workers are not only to proclaim Christ but model Christ-likeness to those who don't know him. Mission workers who continue being transformed into Christ's likeness, who bear spiritual fruit in their lives (John 15:1-17; Gal 5:22; Col 1:9-10), and who are confident before God through Jesus Christ will be able to cope with the challenges of ministering across cultures and be competent in ministry (2 Cor 3:4-6).
In the units under this element apprentices will learn spiritual habits that promote transformation into Christ's likeness. These habits include regular reading of God's word and seeking His will through prayer. Apprentices will be encouraged to actively reflect on what God is saying to them and what He is doing both in and through them as they use the Bible, engage with culture and relate to people during their training. Apprentices will also learn in relationship with God and with others how to care for their emotional, mental and physical well-being.
Use the Bible
Training apprentices in their teaching of God's profitable and powerful word (2 Timothy 3:16-17, Hebrews 4:12-13) to people of the other cultures is the focus of this element. Like all ministers of the gospel, mission workers are to faithfully teach and model the Christian life for the salvation of others (1 Tim 4:16), but what they do must be reproducible for people of other cultures if it's to be effectively passed on. This requires the mission worker to understand cultural differences so as not to impede the passing on of the gospel message to others.
In the modules under this element apprentices will learn to use God's word in ways that are both reproducible and applicable for people of other cultures. These ways include storytelling, inductive bible study leading
Engage with Culture
Acts 17:16-34
Relate to People
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