Multiplying Laborers for the Urban Harvest

M u l t i p l y i n g L a b o r e r s f o r t h e U r b a n H a r v e s t

1. “Our church or organization does not have the expertise to train leaders like this. We should leave it to the professionals and experts at our Bible schools and seminaries.” Candidly, not enough seminaries, Christian liberal arts schools, or Bible Institutes exist to meet the needs of all the leaders among the urban poor who need solid, biblical mentoring and education. If we leave the training of leaders among the urban poor to our traditional schools, many thousands will go without any kind of preparation for ministry. God has given gifts among his people everywhere to train others so that they might make a difference in their communities for Christ (Eph. 4.12). 2. “Our church or organization does not have the resources, the money, or the facilities to adequately run a leadership training Institute.” While starting a leadership training center involves some expense, it is not that difficult to resource. Traditional seminaries are so high-priced because of the heavy expenses they incur due to faculty salaries, facilities, and all the other items needed to run them. With a limited amount of money, resources, and personnel to ensure a proper learning environment, virtually any church or Christian organization can initiate their own center for lay and pastoral ministry training. 3. “Our training will never be as helpful and solid as that of traditional seminary training. How can we compete with them? They all have access to the finest minds, libraries, and facilities in Christian academic studies today.” Leadership development is not about competition, but cooperation for the advance of the Kingdom. Although we should readily admit that we will not be able to match the facilities and faculties available to our finest Christian seminaries and graduate programs, we should not be intimidated. With fine curricula available through distance education and other technologies, we can bring the best teaching available to almost anyone, anywhere, for a fraction of the cost. Furthermore, many Christian educators are more than willing to donate some of their time to teach courses at an Institute for the benefit of students who cannot afford a traditional seminary. Common Objections and Misconceptions about Starting an Institute in Your Community

Undoubtedly, as you consider starting an Institute in your church or community, objections will arise causing you to doubt the wisdom of such an endeavor. These are some of the common misconceptions regarding leadership development in the urban church, and our answers to such objections.

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