What if we could equip and empower church-planting leaders to raise up and mentor the next generation of church planters? That would ensure that churches would continue being planted for decades to come! 

This is exactly what Encompass teammates Frank and Paul had in mind when they started a Master’s program in Missional Leadership at our School of Missiology in Africa.

The program’s first group of students just completed year two of the four-year program. 

The first year was an adjustment for the students and professors alike. The students had more reading than they had ever faced, while the professors had to adapt their teaching methods for primarily oral learners. This second year has shown how the professors and students are both growing, because final exams and projects showed marked progress.

The cohort is composed of eight confirmed church-planting leaders from Chad, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, and Nigeria. Together, these eight students lead about 175 church planters, with three of them serving as presidents of African Unions of Charis Churches. 

One student from the CAR expressed his appreciation of the professor’s efforts to adapt to oral learners, saying, “We have had some Western professors that are really difficult to understand. But you really understand us!” Another student, from Chad, expressed, “This course has us as ravenous as hunting dogs to go out and put these things into practice!”

We celebrate all the hard work that these students and professors dedicated to the program these past two years. May God continue equipping these students to reach even more communities throughout Africa. 

Thanks for partnering with us in what God is doing. We can’t wait to hear stories about what He does in year three!