"We need to train missionaries and send them to rural areas," urges a leader of a ministry in Sri Lanka, "those called to reach the unreached with the gospel of Christ."
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The old building
The roof and ceilings of the old dilapidated building that Christian Aid helped to renovate was about to cave in, and the walls were crusty and cracked. |
In the beginning an accredited teacher went from village to village preaching the gospel, as well as teaching and discipling new believers. In time, others who shared his vision joined him. Together, they traveled about presenting teaching seminars and conferences for rural pastors.
While these methods are very effective, they are somewhat limited. "Church growth could be much more effective if pastors were able to get more intensive training," he stated. "We also need to train missionaries to go into the unreached areas and plant new churches."
In 2007 Sarla Mahara, South Asia Field Director for Christian Aid, visited the ministry to further assess their needs. She found that they owned a piece of land with an older building on it. The building looked as though it might accommodate the needs for a training base. "While it was structurally sound, it was in very poor condition – unsuitable for habitation due to years of neglect," Sarla reported. "Besides the renovations needed, it would also have to have additional structures added on."
The ministry workers were willing to tackle the job of cleaning and renovating this building to be used as a training center. Although there were several cracks in the outer layers of stucco, the building itself was structurally sound.
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The new renovated building
Separate classrooms were created using a thin but solid hardboard. A new wing underway, August 2009. |
By the grace of God,
Christian Aid supporters responded to this project and funds were sent to begin the work. In 2008 the leader wrote, "We were able to renovate half of the training center with your help. Besides the necessary cleaning and repairs, we also put in two toilets, two bathrooms, two bedrooms and one attached bathroom with a toilet. Best of all, we were able to start our first training session for rural leaders, with seven attending! This is the same place you visited in 2007! You may not recognize it without the old mud walls that were cracked and peeling."
Early in 2009, Christian Aid sent additional funds for building a new wing to the training center. In August the leader wrote to tell us that the ground floor was almost finished. They were able to divide the building into three separate classrooms using hard board partitions.