When looking at a Dutch city such as Eindhoven, everyone who understands the gospel of Jesus Christ is able to share it. Sure, experience and knowledge of the Word will help. But when it comes to evangelism, one needs only a sprinkling of courage, and then go. With reaching out to remote jungle areas however, it is wise to start with some training.

Bible School

Lord willing, I will go to North Cotes College (NCC) starting in September 2021. NCC is a Bible school that is connected to Ethnos360, and focuses on equipping people to go to remote people groups. The full program there consists of three years.

The first year at NCC is called Biblical Studies. As the name suggests the curriculum goes through every book in the Bible in chronological order, as well as all theological concepts. The first year is open to anyone who wishes to deepen their understanding of the Word, so you can participate even if you do not plan to work full-time in ministry.

The second year is when we really start to focus on missions. Named Cross-Cultural Communications, it is designed to equip believers practically and spiritually for the task of evangelisation and church planting amongst unreached people groups.

Finally, for those that have a special aptitude for language, there is the advanced linguistics course. This is designed to study the techniques needed to study unwritten languages. This is necessary in order to translate the Bible for each ethnic language group.

Time

Once the Bible school is completed, there will still be some time required for final preparations. This is in order to assemble a team, find a specific tribe, and get everything ready in order to emigrate. Having a team is absolutely necessary, after all, we shouldn’t allow an entire mission to come to an end just because one person became sick. Finding a specific tribe can also take some time. It is important to come by means of invitation. So that you are not seen as an intruder that has come to take away land and women, but rather as a welcome guest, amongst a people that is willing to learn about Jesus.

There will also be some time spend abroad in order to learn the culture and trade language of the mission region.

Mission

Finally, after a few years of preparation, we will be equipped for living with an unreached people group. Once there, we will strive to learn their language, teach them to read, translate the New Testament into their language, teach them about God, and plant a self-sufficient church. Teaching in their own language means that they will be able to understand from the heart what is being said. Having their own Bibles is essential, as faith comes from hearing, and hearing from the word of Christ.