Congolese students add to record intake for CMS pioneer training

The number of students entering the Church Mission Society (CMS) Pioneer Mission Training programme has this year risen to record levels, enhanced by the enrolment of a cohort of students from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

At a time when many Christian training colleges are struggling to attract new students, a total of 45 students have enrolled for the CMS Pioneer Mission Training programme for the new academic year, spread over its undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral research courses.

CMS Pioneer Mission Training is now in its 14th year of helping prepare students for mission at the edges of society, with innovative and creative initiatives designed to engage people who fall outside the scope of traditional church programmes.

Bishop Martin Gordon, a CMS mission partner and the Bishop of Goma in Eastern Congo, said the group of Congolese men and women, who are aged between 27 and 45, are expected to become senior leaders in the diocese. The group will remain in DRC but will have an onsite tutor/mentor to assist them with their studies as they study for an MA in Theology, Ministry and Mission (African Christianity route).

One of the new students, Judith Kahindo Mwengenindi, a mother of four and health and community programme leader, said: “I support ministers in the war-torn regions of the DRC, providing pastoral care and assistance. I am eager to deepen my understanding of theology and ministry to better serve the pastors and leaders I minister to in the conflict areas.”

James Nzanzu Muvunga, an IT graduate and student ministry leader, said: “As a trainer and programme coordinator at the Centre for Intercultural Mission, I seek to equip student leaders in the DRC with the skills to effectively engage in evangelism and bridge the perceived divide between faith and science in academic settings.”

The course will include diverse subjects such as Church History, Christianity and Indigenous Religions and Global Pentecostalism and is incorporated within the African Christianity route through the Certificate and MA courses. The course combines CMS’s experience of pioneering mission and ministry with partner Missio Africanus’ experience of resourcing non-western missionaries involved in mission work in the West (and in Africa). St Augustine’s Foundation, a body which enables ministry training, will support the Congolese students’ studies through its innovation fund.

Joseph Ola, African Christianity MA lecturer at CMS, said: “The Congolese cohort come with a burning desire to acquire practical knowledge that directly addresses the unique challenges they face, coming from a war-torn region. We are thrilled to welcome them and we are confident that this training will equip them to develop meaningful and transformative mission strategies for their communities.”

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