Curriculum: Training Program
Training Leaders International has developed a flexible, efficient, and reproducible curriculum designed for pastors and church leaders around the world who have limited or no theological training.
Subjects In Our Curriculum
Year 1
Knowing God, Scripture, and Ourselves
Knowing the Bible's Story
Understanding and Communicating Narrative & Law (Genesis-Exodus)
Year 2
Understanding and Communicating Gospels (Mark)
Understanding and Communicating Poetry (Psalms)
Understanding and Communicating Letters (Ephesians)
Year 3
Understanding and Communicating Prophecy (Isaiah)
Understanding and Communicating Apocalyptic Writing (Revelation)
Doing the Ministry of the Word
It is Accessible
Many pastors and church leaders cannot travel to a school for training. So we bring the training to them – wherever they are. Our mobile curriculum allows the Christian leaders to continue serving their churches without interruption.
It is Modular
Our curriculum is built in small, manageable pieces. Church leaders are trained for one-week sessions, three times per year over three years. This way they can be trained without missing a Sunday at their church.
STORIES FROM THE FIELD
One student confessed that his denomination believes that the louder a preacher is the more anointing that person has. Now he understands the church's need to hear God's word conveyed accurately, clearly, and relevantly – regardless of loudness.
One pastor, who leads a church of 500, told us that hermeneutics (our lessons on how to interpret Scripture) opened his eyes to things he did not know were in the Bible.
An associate pastor who works part-time applied what he learned immediately and was surprised at how much it changed his sermon for that Sunday.
It is Structured
The trainees take two foundational courses: "Knowing God, Scripture, and Ourselves" and "Knowing the Bible's Story". These set the agenda and tone for the following courses.
Building on this foundation, the trainees explore and experience how to understand and communicate select passages from books within each major type of writing in Scripture: narrative and law, Gospels, poetry, letters, prophecy, and apocalypse.
The final course ties together the skills and knowledge gained in courses 1–8 and launches the trainees into "Doing the Ministry of the Word".
It is Dynamic
Each course is designed for small groups of 10–15 people. This encourages an engaging atmosphere in which sharing, interaction, and communal concrete practice are essential and regular parts of the learning process.
It Enables Multiplication
The TLI curriculum is designed to equip our trainers to guide our trainees in culturally and educationally effective ways, but it is also geared to be reproducible in the hands of our trainees themselves. Those whom we train not only use these skills and knowledge to fulfill their own pastoral role of equipping the saints for works of service so that Christ's body is built up (Ephesians 4:11–12), but they go on to train other leaders in this material (2 Timothy 2:2).
As the local leaders themselves pass on what they are learning through this curriculum, Christ-centered expository communication of Scripture becomes part of the very fabric of the indigenous churches around the world.
