Called to Shepherd God's People

Rarely has so wide a door existed for the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the countries of Africa and Asia, nor has there been so tremendous a response. Statistics amassed in church growth studies uniformly attest that the Church of Jesus Christ has made remarkable numerical gains throughout those countries in the latter half of this century. Though that is a reason for great rejoicing, it should not mask the fact that the task is far from completion. In many newly evangelized areas converts are left without nurture because on one has responded to the Shepherd's command to "feed My lambs". And thousands of villages are still with no voice to proclaim God's Word from the pulpit, no congregational life, no under-shepherd to care for the flock. To help meet this need the Portable School Movement was designed and pioneered in Zaire. The plan is simple: a team of evangelists visits an area of largely unchurched villages and, at the end of the ministry in each village, asks the believers to name one of their group to attend an eight-week course of preparation for the ministry. The school will be held in a central area and students will be able to return to their villages each weekend for food and supplies. At the end of the two-month term they will become lay pastors in their own villages. In the first six years following the introduction of portable schools in Zaire, more than 11,000 completed this training to become representatives of Jesus Christ and lay leaders of the congregation of His Church in their village. This book has been prepared specifically for the eight-week course of study of the portable schools, but it can also be used for the home study of God's Word, for help in the preparation of sermons, for the basis of family devotions and for Bible study groups. - Back cover.