The need for intercultural ministry training
Making disciples among people of another culture requires specialized knowledge and skills. These skills include language learning, cross-cultural communication, good interpersonal relationships, evangelism and disciple-making and much more. In order to get residence visas for many countries nowadays, workers need legitimate vocations or skills.
Yet many workers are going into the field with little or no cross-cultural training. They may have Bible training or may even have gone to seminary, but have little understanding of the issues that cross-cultural workers face. This lack of understanding leads to an unacceptably high attrition rate, especially among new workers.
The results of an extensive study (ReMAP II) showed that pre-field training, especially missiological training, contributes significantly to the workers’ ability to persevere and ultimately thrive in the field. Online training not only makes pre-field training possible and accessible, but does the same for on-field training.
Bible schools teach how to be a sheep among sheep. Missions training is about how to be a sheep among wolves - (based on a statement of Nik Ripken).