Across the developing world, 3.2 million pastors are untrained or under equipped. In Africa, it is estimated that 90% of church leaders may never have received even one day of formal training. This is especially true in East Africa, where poverty, drought, disease, conflict and religious persecution are wreaking misery and chaos.

While some training is available to the privileged, training is needed for front-line Christian ministry workers who are giving their lives in service of the excluded and under-reached.

As you may know, we have developed a training program that helps grass-roots ministry workers of all ages develop core competencies in skills such as leading Bible studies, teaching, emotional and physical healing, advocacy, gifts of the Spirit, conflict resolution, addiction-recovery approaches, prison ministry and sustainable agriculture. This program offers a “Certificate in Transformational Ministry at the Margins,” which can be taken in three, four-day intensive seminars or through a distance learning program over 12-18 months. We have completed CTMM cohorts in Burlington, London, Glasgow and Seoul.

If you live in the UK, consider enrolling in one of our CTMMs in Glasgow (March 14-17, 2018) or Bristol (April 18-21, 2018). See www.tierranueva-europe.org for more information and applications.

To respond to the acute need for training in East Africa, we currently have four different four-day trainings planned to equip 500 leaders in: Western Kenya (Jan 10-13), Mbeya, Tanzania (Jan 17-20), Gueru, Zimbabwe (Jan 23-26), and Ethiopia (April). Normally I do not send out fund raising appeals through these updates. But funds are needed now to purchase airline tickets and make other arrangements, and we have initiated an unprecedented GoFundMe campaign. We would love your help to promote it.

The cost for one African leader to receive this four-day training course is $55.00, which includes meals and accommodation for participants from remote areas, travel expenses for African trainers who help teach and minister, airfare (from Europe) and accommodation for us, the translation and printing of training manuals and certificates, along with other incidental expenses. This must be heavily subsidized due to people’s limited resources. We are trying to raise $27,500.00, which will allow us to offer a four-day CTMM to about 500 people in four countries.

Please inform people you know about our campaign, which is live here. If you personally feel called to give you can do so directly to Tierra Nueva in one of the following ways:

1) Online E-giving to The People’s Seminary through the Tierra Nueva website:

2) Sending checks earmarked “CTMM training” to Tierra Nueva, PO Box 410, Burlington, WA 98233

3) Donating via PayPal through: http://give.fivetwo.org/give.tierra-nueva.org

4) Contact Tierra Nueva Europe at

info AT tierranueva-europe DOT org

Thank you for your support and prayers.

Peace and joy to you this Christmas!

Bob and Gracie Ekblad

Tierra Nueva & The People’s Seminary