Missionary Training
MTS = OM’s missionary training school in central Europe
“Throw them in at the deep end and let them learn to swim” may have been OM’s working philosophy from the early days. Many have become strong “swimmers” but others have been gone under in the process.
In the early 1990s, Terry Jarvis, an OM field leader based in Vienna, proposed a training program that would help new workers learn some of the basics about “swimming” on the mission field before they were thrown in at the deep end. So the Missionary Training School (MTS) was born in September 1990.
Ever since, many new workers as well as country and team leaders, also home leaders, have given an enthusiastic thumbs-up response to what God has been doing through this ministry of equipping our new workers for a more effective ministry in Central & Eastern Europe.
So what is this MTS? Good question! It’s a “place” for learning and growing, it’s an “experience”, and it’s also a “bridge” between the familiar environment of “home” and all those scary experiences that await missionaries on the field!
Okay, it’s a “school” -- of sorts, if in your minds school means a classroom and assignments. Yes, there is a classroom and there are lessons and some practical assignments. (However, of the more than 230 who’ve been through MTS since 1990, nobody’s failed yet because they couldn’t handle the lessons and the assignments!)
But if a school in your thinking is associated with “academia” where the intellects of supposedly intelligent students are teased and tested by learned scholars on dull theoretical, abstract stuff, then MTS is NOT a school! MTS is a learning environment with a strong focus on the practical, related directly to the ministry ahead in some place like Budapest, Hungary or Durres, Albania or Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic.
Thus all the subjects taught and studied are designed to prepare God’s servants to stay alive spiritually and serve effectively as members of an OM team, with strong C. & E. European flavour.
Consequently some of the themes chosen for classroom teaching and discussion include knowing and experiencing God’s character, understanding how to serve in partnership with local Central European churches, confronting and solving real-life team problems, learning new skills in sharing the Gospel creatively, and grappling with some of the tough issues of contextualising the Gospel in modern-day Central Europe.
However, many significant lessons are also learned outside the classroom. Like ....
- through sharing a room with several “foreigners” (!) whose odours in the heat of the day or noises in the dead of night are slightly “strange” or “different”; or
- through learning to deal with an overly developed competitive spirit in the afternoon sports event; or
- through learning to be quiet in God’s presence on a day of prayer and fasting; or
- through leading a church ministry team, even when one may feel someone else is better qualified to lead such a team; or
- through learning the value of sharing openly in small groups and praying for each other’s struggles and needs
And all the other unexpected lessons!
And what does MTS accomplish? Let’s ask this question to the new workers themselves...
“The MTS was a gift for me. It was a time of being ‘Mary’ instead of ‘Martha’ and listening to the Lord.”
“When I came to MTS, I heard people say that this would really be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I was hesitant to believe this, but as the months have passed I have realized that in many ways it is true. I can’t think of another situation in my life when I would have been or will be as free to grow in such an atmosphere of encouragement and peace, with seeking God clearly built into my everyday schedule. Is this not really the place to begin? God has used this time to confront me and to draw close, but also to pull away, be silent, and let me go through trials. This may be the first time in my life when I have realized that I can thank God for a trial -- and for making my faith strong through it.”
“God has really used this time at MTS to increase my security in Him. From almost the first day I arrived here God started bringing to the surface past hurts and deep insecurities in my life. Facing these at times was very painful as I had to again live through things that hurt me very badly which I had kept buried for years. However God has worked real healing in my life. He has shown me that he loves me unconditionally and accepts me.”
Some might say that such responses are predictable at the end of such an intense time of training, fellowship and ministry. So does it really make a difference in the nitty-gritty situations once they’re on the field? Another very good question. Once again we can find the answers from our workers who have written unsolicited comments from the field...
“I realise more & more each day how important MTS was for me. I’ve been going & still am going through a time of moulding. It’s so funny. I somehow thought that everything is going to be so easy ‘cause I’ve been with OM for a while, & thought that culture shock & frustration is all behind me. I think that God often has to teach us the same lessons.”
“For me, MTS was my peak spiritual experience and really one of the most enjoyable times of my life....For me, MTS was a time I could soak, a time to know God more intimately and to think and meditate on good teaching. It was a time with limited distraction, a lot of focus on worship, and plenty of time to think.”
But just in case you may be thinking that the MTS leadership team think we’ve “arrived”.... We’re learning heaps throughout each new MTS. We continue to go through the throes of learning hard lessons through our imperfections and mistakes. But we praise God for His patience as He perseveres with training the trainers!
Still, God has begun a good work. He has done so much already in the lives of His servants. Every time miracles of grace take place -- as God gives us the privilege to watch Him at work in the lives of these very special people He sends to us.
So the beginning, the continuation and the end results of each MTS can be summed up in one word: GOD, the Almighty and gracious Master who’s in the business of changing lives so that they can more effectively spread the Good News of His kingdom and build up His people in Central and Eastern Europe. And only God knows where else in the longer term.
Graham M. Roberts
Former MTS Director
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