Why Leadership Training is Necessary in the Mission Field by Clifton McDowell

I am writing this blog in response to many questions we have endeavored to address over the years about the purpose of training supportive ministries in under-developed areas of the world.

Good people who want to help in these nations, see the starving children, orphans, aids problem, evangelism, and many other needs worthy of help. We are concerned and do care about all of these.

The problem we have seen over the 16 years of ministering in Africa and other areas of the world is that there is a lot of worthy causes, but not a lot of trained natives to take positions in these places of ministry. Many are not qualified nor having the character to operate them effectively.
We have seen so much money misused and wasted for lack of trained management and leaders. It is heart breaking to see people with a loving desire to give to the needs of the peoples of the world only to have no results because of poor management or worse, ripped off at the hands of deceivers and con men.

This brings us to the question at hand about the need for training indigenous people to go into these positions equipped to handle the task and make a difference with lasting results. What most people do not understand is that in training people to go to work in the orphanages, ministries, evangelism, and all kinds of positions in society it helps to fill those needs to accomplish the goals of care-taking, feeding, winning soles and overall making a better society in which to live.
We are convinced more than ever before that the need for practical training of people (not necessarily for the five-fold ministry), but as supportive ministries, leadership in the church and other facets of life and livelihood is vital to excellence and accountability in the Kingdom of God.

God spoke to my wife and me in January of 1999 in a prophetic word as we were praying about our ministry. He gave us the vision that has brought us to where we are today. He said we would be training people to go out to the places of their ministry; encouraged, established, equipped and empowered to serve in that place. (If anyone if interested in seeing this vision in its entirety we would be glad to post it.)
God referred to it as a training station compared to “Grand Central Station”, like the trains coming in and going out. We were to be like the station masters overseeing the training. So we know that God is very interested in training His people to go out into those places that we are all so concerned about.

Many times since this profound vision was given God has reconfirmed it over and over again, so we know it is still and always will be the heart of God to have such training.

In 2004 we moved to Mbale, Kenya, Africa to begin the vision God has called us to fulfill. God told us to call it World Witness Training Center. In the beginning when the the Kenyans couldn’t even pronounce it, we wondered if we had missed it. Then He took us to Mat. 24:14 and it all became clear to us. There we found the words ‘world’ and ‘witness’ together in the context of our purpose.
Training people makes sense and it makes a big difference in their lives so they can make a difference in someone else’s life.