Ministry Seeks to Equip 1 Million Christian Leaders for Global Impact
by Allie Martin
May 16, 2005
(AgapePress) - One ministry has a goal of equipping a million leaders from different cultures and political backgrounds to make an impact on their countries for Christ.EQUIP, the Georgia-based non-profit global mission ministry founded by Dr. John Maxwell, has announced its 2005 global initiative called "Million Leaders Mandate." Throughout this spring, U.S. leaders will help teach training workshops for 35 European countries taking part in the global outreach effort.
EQUIP president John Hull says the three-year program involves a live training session every six months. "What happens," he explains, "is the idea from Paul's message to Timothy of the importance of training faithful people and doing it on a regular basis. We believe leadership is not an event, although events are important; but leadership is a process and this allows leadership development to take place and evolve in an individual's life and in a local church's life over a period of years."
The goal of the Million Leaders Mandate, Hull says, is to provide a million people of faith from various parts of the world with training that will increase their effectiveness for ministry and their spiritual impact in their own countries. What EQUIP is trying to do, the ministry president explains, is "to respond to the cry of leaders in churches around the world who are saying, 'You know, we are having a great harvest of souls, and we're seeing house churches started all around the world. But in order for those house churches to be healthy and for those local churches to grow, we've got to have leaders.'"
Church planting is important, EQUIP's spokesman adds, "but it's even more important that when those churches are planted that there are good leaders in place to lead those congregations in the things of the Lord. So that's our passion, our commitment -- to raise up leaders."
In the past two years more than 750,000 people have gone through EQUIP leadership workshops. More than 100 U.S. leaders will be investing their personal time in the Million Leader Mandate's three-year training program, which will present seminars every six months.
Allie Martin, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
