More than 10 years ago, two Christians, living in West London, and attending a Baptist Church in Southall, London, began the ForMission (then called Together in Mission) MA in Missional Leadership. Vicky and Merly were involved in local church leadership and found the MA challenging but helpful.
As they came near the end of their course they came to me and said, “We have an idea.” It was actually more of a dream or a vision than an idea. Originally from Columbia, they could see that thousands of pastors in smaller churches had no access to training of any significant kind.
Vicky and Merly believed that the MA in Missional Leadership would be ideal for the pastors and church leaders they knew. Their dream was to take the basic material to Columbia, but also to four other nearby South American nations, to train hundreds and eventually thousands of leaders.
They asked me if they could use the material under license and we agreed a process where that would be possible. Then they worked to translate the material into Portuguese and Spanish. Finally they identified those who could communicate the material with a little help from their friends at ForMission.
So, in a few days time, I will be launching the ForMission version of the ForMission Leadership Course in Cartagena., Columbia. It won’t be accredited by a British University but it will be essentially the same material taught on our original MA in Missional Leadership.
I am looking forward to being with Vicky and Merly and seeing how their dream unfolds. This is how missional movements are born and grown.
Martin Robinson