Overseas Ministry

In partnership with the Diocese of Kindu, Anglican Aid is helping to prepare men and women to be equipped for gospel ministry.

Berea Bible College is the main training centre for full time ministry workers, both clergy and lay, in the Diocese of Kindu. Situated in one of the most isolated cities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the College has been operating since 2006.

The College trains students in preaching, evangelism, and pastoral care as well as how to understand the bible. It seeks to raise the level of theological education and to ensure that future clergy and church workers are well equipped to lead the church.

The school runs a three year course that provides students with practical ministry skills and enables them to become proficient in handling God’s word. Students also leave the school equipped with the ability to earn a living by working in a trade such as sewing or building.

One of the students studying at Berea Bible College is Saleh Kandolo. Saleh has been a lay leader in his Church for a number of years. Saleh says, “I came to Bible School so that I could know God’s word better and be able to explain it to others.”

Anglican Aid and the Diocese of Aru are training Church leaders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to help Christians grow deeply in their faith.

Aru is situated in the North-East corner of the DRC and is primarily a rural area with a variety of different tribes, mostly involved with agriculture and raising animals. The majority of Church leaders in the area have not completed secondary school and few have done any biblical studies. The Christians love Jesus and are committed to serve him, however their knowledge of Christ is very superficial because the leaders themselves are not adequately trained. Leadership training was identified as a top priority for the Church.

The local bible school has been transformed into a Theological Institute that provides a higher level of training. The three year course equips students to be leaders in the Church. Students are grounded in good biblical theology to help prepare them for ministry. Through their training they will be able to provide other Christians with good biblical and theological knowledge to help them grow in their spiritual maturity.

Of the nine students (two women and seven men) who completed their studies in 2010, five of them are on placement in parishes and will be ordained as deacons, and then as priests in order to lead parishes. Other students have been involved in leading chapels.

The Diocese of Bukavu in partnership with Anglican Aid is training pastors and evangelists with the knowledge and skills they need to lead their Churches.

Due to war and political instability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), there has been a lack of training for new pastors and evangelists. Many of the pastors and evangelists do not have enough knowledge or experience to deal with the challenges facing the Church in the DRC.

In response to this need, the Diocese of Bukavu is seeking to develop the capacities of the pastors and evangelists to perform their roles in their respective Churches. They are running training courses for 45 students at Bible Schools in Bangwe, Bukavu and Rutshuru in Eastern DRC. These training courses involve intensive one month studies on topics such as preaching the Gospel, evangelism, and pastoral care. This is followed by three months practical training in parishes. The training takes place over two years.

Through this training, pastors and evangelists are being equipped to preach the Gospel and to effectively lead their Churches.

Anglican Aid and the Alexandria School of Theology (AST) are working together to train Christian leaders, clergy and lay people to serve Christ and His church in the Middle East, North Africa and beyond.

The church in Egypt has a tremendous need for trained and equipped Christian leaders. Many churches in the country do not have a pastor and desperately need Christian workers. AST is seeking to provide students with the necessary skills for gospel ministry in this context.

AST has a focus on practical discipleship, mission and Church ministry. Students are able to combine theory with practice, academic study with personal reflection and application. Around 135 Egyptian and Sudanese men and women are enrolled in the two campuses in Alexandria and Cairo. Anglican Aid funds a number of scholarships at the school.

Marian Girgis is one of the Anglican Aid funded students. She is 39 and is married with two children. Marian is an active member of her Church and has been a youth leader, ran ALPHA courses, and organised weekly discipleship and fellowship meetings. She has completed her third year of study at AST. Marian says, “The course has enabled me to develop friendship with people from different backgrounds and denominations, and it has empowered my life and ministry.”

In partnership with Carlile College, Centre for Urban Mission, Anglican Aid is enabling the training of pastors and evangelists from the informal settlements of Kenya to help transform their communities through the ministry of the local Church.

Nairobi is a city of over three million people, and over half the population live in informal settlements. The largest of these informal settlements, with a population well in excess of half a million people, is Kibera. The Centre for Urban Mission, a ministry of Carlile College, is situated in the heart of this community.

The Centre for Urban Mission seeks to provide a contextually relevant form of theological education and training to equip pastors and evangelists for mission and ministry in some of the most marginalised areas of the city. Currently around 60 students are being trained in urban ministry at the Centre. The aim is to strengthen the work of the Church within the informal settlements by training locals to minister within the local churches. Anglican Aid is providing scholarships for some of the students to train for full time ministry within these communities.

Silas lives in Kibera, and is studying at the Centre for Urban Mission. He has been actively involved in the youth ministry program that the Centre for Urban for Mission has been developing. Silas says, “Until this far I want to thank God for this wonderful opportunity he has granted me to school here. I know that it is not by might or power but by grace that I am achieving this dream. I want to thank all who work tirelessly for my scholarship and upkeep. May God bless your hands in whatever you do and bless your families.”

In partnership with Anglican Aid, Carlile College is helping to equip the church in Southern Sudan by training Sudanese Christian leaders.

One of the greatest challenges facing the rapidly growing Church in Southern Sudan is the lack of trained Church leadership. The Sudanese Pastor Training Program at Carlile College started in 2006 with the objective of training Christian leaders in order that they may provide effective service and leadership for the church in Sudan.

Sudanese students complete a three year Higher Diploma in Theology over a period of four years at Carlile College in Nairobi, Kenya. They are provided with extra language and academic support, they learn how to teach and how to translate materials into over eight different languages. Each year the students spend three to four months in Sudan reconnecting with their families, running workshops, and putting what they have learnt into practice. Once the students finish their studies at Carlile College they return to their Churches in Sudan better equipped to continue their ministry.

Currently Anglican Aid is helping to train and equip 22 Clergy and Christian leaders from six dioceses (Rumbek, Lainya, Maridi, Malakal, Mundri and Kajo-Keji) of the Episcopal Church of Southern Sudan. These students will become ‘trainers of trainers’ and help to bring transformation and holistic discipleship to the church in Sudan.

One Sudanese Student, Rev. Eli Loku Namaya from Lainya Diocese says, “I am in my final year of studies at Carlile College. I came with no education but now I thank God I have received the training that I needed most. I could never have imagined the importance of this training. It is very gratifying and humbling to know that as an individual I can also contribute to the ministry of the word of God to my people in Sudan. I have been involved in running training workshops in my Diocese of Lainya every year during the three months holidays. This has tremendously changed my preaching, pastoral work, family and personal life. I really would like to thank all those who have made this possible for me.” 

Anglican Aid and the Diocese of Katakwa are partnering to provide theological training to both ordained clergy and lay preachers at a grass roots level.

In rural areas of Kenya there are few opportunities for formal theological training due to poverty and poor infrastructure. In this context the Theological Education by Extension has been very effective as large numbers of people are able to participate, and what the students learn they are able to pass on to others as they minister to them in their local congregations.

The program is designed to mentor and train Christian men and women on biblical knowledge, practical life, ministry skills and personal character development so that they can become informed and effective teachers and preachers of the word of God. It is an effective way to equip and empower the clergy and laity to provide spiritual and ministry leadership for their local churches.

Washington Imoleit, a student doing the Diploma level of training, says, “The program has been a turning point in my life and ministry. The training has given me an opportunity to get better illumination of the word of God. It is indispensable for those who want to be disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

An exciting partnership has formed between the Diocese of Mauritius, Anglican Aid, and Moore College External Studies to reach the Province of the Indian Ocean with the gospel.

The French speaking Anglican Diocese of Mauritius, under the leadership of Bishop Ian Ernest, identified a need to establish and grow a training centre where lay leadership can be trained by being given greater opportunities for formalised biblical/theological study. As demand for the Moore College Preliminary Theological Certificate (PTC) courses as the chosen core curriculum grows, a need was identified to train a couple at Moore College for a year who would be able to develop their training centre in Mauritius.

In 2010 Rev. Eric and Mrs Jacqueline Ma Fat came to Sydney from Mauritius at Archbishop Jensen’s invitation. They studied at Moore College (Bible and Ministry Course) and undertook intensive orientation of the Moore College External Studies (PTC) curriculum.

As the Ma Fat’s return to Mauritius they will develop and consolidate the training centre in the Diocese of Mauritius using the Moore College PTC subjects as its core curriculum for the training of lay leaders throughout the Diocese and into the Province of the Indian Ocean (including the Seychelles, Reunion Island and Madagascar). 

Anglican Aid is supporting ministry training in Myanmar to help women in their personal Christian journey, as well as giving them the skills to encourage and teach other women in their congregations and the wider church community in general.

For many years, the Christian Church in Myanmar (formerly Burma) has not been tolerated. The government has not allowed the church to evangelize or build new churches. Only recently have Christians been able to meet together free from persecution. 

A group of Sydney Anglican women have faithfully travelled to Myanmar each year for the past four years to provide bible teaching for lay women, clergy wives and women leaders. They aim to increase the bible knowledge of the women they are ministering to and to help them in their reading and studying of the bible. The goal is that as the women increase in their knowledge of God's word and in the strength of their faith that they will strengthen, teach and encourage other women in their congregations. 

The Diocese of Zululand, in partnership with Anglican Aid, is providing quality theological training for future clergy to equip them for leadership in the Diocese.

The Diocese of Zululand is mainly rural and is rated among the poorest areas in South Africa. The area has been ravaged by HIV/AIDS, resulting in large numbers of orphans who need to be cared for. The Diocese is striving to meet the physical needs of the people. The Diocese is also seeking to meet the spiritual needs of the people through sound and quality leadership of the clergy.

Anglican Aid is helping fund four students from the Diocese of Zululand to attend the Evangelical Seminary of Southern Africa (ESSA) in Pietermaritzburg. The students are undertaking a three year Diploma course. As well as learning sound biblical principles, the students will be better equipped to respond to the many needs of the people in the Diocese including poverty, HIVAIDS and the growing number of orphans. 

Anglican Aid and the Diocese of Mara are working alongside Christians to encourage them in discipleship and assist them to design and implement their own development activities in their communities.

The project starts by providing 20 days of Bible-based training on discipleship and development in each parish. The training encourages discipleship by helping Christians to see the relevance of their faith to their daily lives and to the development of their communities.

After the initial period of training, the project works alongside parishes to support the discipleship groups and the implementation of their development projects. One of the strengths of the project is the training in team building skills and the way people have worked together to plan and run their own the development projects. Parishes are given seed-funding to start projects, and are encouraged to use their own resources such as local materials and labour.

At Manga Parish there were 22 participants in the training. They decided to build a Church building. Funds were also used to buy tree seedlings, and some were used to buy 30 bibles and provide them to people half price. The Church members have undertaken fundraising activities to raise further funds. Church accountant, Gabriel, says, “It is a big thing for us to work together, to respect each other and to love each other and love God. We were trained how to make bricks, and we have been fed spiritually. We have been able to build a Church, and our children and our grandchildren will worship here.” 

Anglican Aid and the Ugandan Christian University (UCU) are partnering to help recruit and train the next generation of gospel ministers in Uganda.

There is an urgent need for theological training in Uganda. The future leaders of the Ugandan Church need to be equipped theologically to proclaim the Gospel, lead Churches and Dioceses, and provide theological leadership at UCU and other theological institutions.

Anglican Aid is funding scholarships for students to undertake a three year theological course at UCU. These scholarships are equipping students with sound Biblically-based teaching to enable them to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout their country.

Geoffrey Kagoye, who is completing a Bachelor of Divinity at UCU, says, “This course has helped me to gain more skills of interpreting scripture which has in turn helped me to preach well. It has also helped to gain leadership and management skills. I thank you very much for supporting me in this course. May God richly reward you.”