Calvary Students Learn About Tribal Church Planting
Calvary enjoys many great ministry partnerships with like-minded organizations. One of those is Ethnos 360. Ethnos 360 has been planting churches among the least reached people groups of the world since 1942. Initially founded as New Tribes Mission, they focus on reaching some of the most remote tribal people on the planet.
Over Spring Break, six Calvary students along with Burnham Center Director, Joshua Paxton and Ethnos 360 missionary, James Gleaves took part in Ethnos 360’s Wayumi course in Jersey Shore, PA. The course offers a glimpse into tribal church planting.
Students learned in both class time and practical hands on training exercises how to plant a church in a remote tribal location. Beginning with language and culture acquisition and moving on towards translation, teaching the Bible and training indigenous leaders, the students both learned and were challenged to consider making reaching “the next towns” a driving force in their lives.
Some of the more practical aspects included time spent with missionaries experiencing what it is like to learn an unwritten language for the first time and then the challenges of producing a good translation that the people can rely on. Ethnos 360 missionaries with many years of experience shared their personal stories from the field. Students even had the opportunity to butcher a pig and cook it according to the style of a Filipino Mumu.
Through our partnership with Ethnos 360; Wayumi is available for credit at Calvary. In the coming weeks I will share the reflections of one of the students who went with us on the trip.
