The 7 Factors of Effectiveness
What is distinctive about the Timothy Institute's Program?
Training Seminars are common in Kenya and in other parts of Africa where this project was developed. Many pastors attend several each year. The participating pastors and the leaders of this program have tried to identify those features of this program which make it different and which have been factors in its proven effectiveness. These are our best hunches:
- Each seminar requires an action plan. (more)
Every seminar requires each pastor to formulate a back-home plan for ministry related to the subjects of that seminar. These plans are carefully formulated during the workshops so that they are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound (SMART). In his plan the pastor identifies the goal: that is, those changes which he hopes to see in the life of the congregation. He also identifies what activities will be necessary to achieve those goals, what resources are needed, and sets time lines. Finally he is asked to make a commitment to “work the plan”. A copy of the plan is found in each training manual.
- Each seminar provides for accountability, encouragement and problem-solving. (more)
Every seminar requires each pastor to formulate a back-home plan for ministry related to the subjects of that seminar. These plans are carefully formulated during the workshops so that they are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound (SMART). In his plan the pastor identifies the goal: that is, those changes which he hopes to see in the life of the congregation. He also identifies what activities will be necessary to achieve those goals, what resources are needed, and sets time lines. Finally he is asked to make a commitment to “work the plan”. A copy of the plan is found in each training manual.
- Each seminar builds on the previous seminars with the same group of pastors. (more)
Each ministry subject -- stewardship, pastoral care, preaching, or Christian education -- is taught several times over a period of four seminars. At every seminar, the pastor reports on his action plan for ministry and formulates a new one. Such repeated seminars provide growth in knowledge and growth in skills. Concrete, identifiable changes in the life of the congregation become powerful motivators for continued participation. Two mottos emerge: "Plan your work and work your plan" and "No pain, no gain."
- Each manual begins with scriptural teaching and builds a theology of ministry. (more)
Each manual begins with what scripture has to say about the ministry being addressed. A significant amount of this study is inductive. For example, pastors are asked to study certain passages about preaching. They do this corporately and come to common conclusions. Other Bible study is deductive, led by the speaker. For the churches of Africa and many other parts of the world, the authority of scripture plays a significant role in their readiness to embrace new teaching. Therefore, each pastor is provided, whenever possible, with a study Bible as a resource for ministry. This study of Scripture continues throughout each manual and builds a pastoral theology of preaching, of stewardship, of pastoral care, and of Christian education.
- The program builds an integration of all four ministries. (more)
Each seminar addresses at least two of the four ministries. For example, the lessons on stewardship and pastoral care are interspersed within the first seminar. The action plan of each pastor will include goals for each or a goal that will involve activities of each ministry. It is important that no minstry subject be handled once and then dropped. Action plans demand ongoing teaching in each of the subjects.
- The entire program is designed to become self-sustaining and self-propagating within four years. (more)
Seminars are held in churches, not conference centers, and all participants and leaders are lodged with the church members. Travel costs are paid by the congregations of the pastors. After the first year the pastors begin training others. The multiple aspects of sustainability are addressed in the seminars. At the end of four years the initial trainers withdraw from the program entirely and the program becomes that of the participants.
- The manuals can be used to train leaders who have had little or no formal education. (more)
These manuals have been translated into French for use in West Africa and into Spanish for use in Mexico. Subsequent to Kenya they have been field-tested for six years in Uganda, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, South Africa, Burkino Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Mali, and Sierra Leone. Lay pastors and evangelists with little formal education, sometimes semi-literate, have been trained for ministry with significant success.
