Our main goal as AFM missionaries is evangelism. We make friends, introduce them to Christ and start a small group of believers. As the group grows and church planting progresses, leadership development becomes essential to our work. Besides teaching them how to approach and evangelize their own people, one part of this training is helping the new leaders develop the necessary skills to run a church. This task should not be neglected since the Adventist church is a well-organized body and each department reports regularly to the higher level.

I am an administrator by profession, and as boring as these skills may seem, they are quite valuable for the mission field. I serve as the district treasurer, and over the years, I have trained several people as treasurers, some very gifted and quickly learning, others with much difficulty. Recently, I spent an afternoon on chat explaining to the new secretary of our church how to use Excel, how to create a spreadsheet, how to put a list in alphabetical order, how to change the size of a cell and so forth. Since he has his own laptop and is eager to learn how to use it well, he rapidly understood and applied what I told him.

Occasionally, the district pastor and the district elder set up training programs to teach the department leaders what they need to know to fulfill their responsibilities. But their schedule is more than full. So, I am happy to come alongside and individually help some of the new leaders. I am thankful that my rather mundane skills are useful for building God’s kingdom.

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