मिट्टी से मिशन तक · Mitti se Mission tak

From the soil to the mission.

A leadership programme of The Light of the World Church. It trains and mentors people who already lead and serve in churches in North India, so that the leaders of these churches come from this soil and its culture.

Begin the journey Watch the film

Training church leaders in seven states and territories

Jammu & Kashmir
Himachal Pradesh
Punjab
Haryana
Delhi
Uttarakhand
Uttar Pradesh

W Part one of three

Why

Because the best leaders for these churches are already among them.

01 Why · The soil

It starts in the soil.

Seven states and territories, many languages and cultures.
Churches already here, in towns and villages.
Leaders who have often come from somewhere else.

The pointWhat has been missing is not people. It is a way to train them, and someone to walk alongside them.

God is raising voices from the soil of North India to lead the mission of tomorrow.
From the Mitti se Mission tak presentation

What has been missing

01No local structures

Nothing in place to grow leaders where the churches already are.

02Little mentoring

Few chances for people who are already serving to learn from someone further along.

03No place to learn to lead

No focused institution for learning how to lead.

Four things we kept running into

01Too few trained leaders

for the churches that are already here.

02Cultural relevance

leaders who understand the setting they serve in.

03Generational transition

from the pioneers to the people who come after them.

04A fresh move of the Spirit

time to raise new leaders, not only to maintain.

02 Why · Roots

Rooted in what we believe.

Not brought in. Raised up.
Not only taught. Mentored.
Not pressured. Chosen.

The pointLeaders should come from this soil, and serve the churches they belong to.

Vision

To cultivate a new generation of mission-driven leaders from North India, rooted in their soil, culture and values, and equipped to serve nationally and globally.

Mission

To build a robust, sustainable leadership ecosystem in North India by providing platforms, mentorship, training and exposure to aspiring leaders from diverse backgrounds.

Two things it holds to

Sound doctrine

A biblical model of leadership: what we believe, and how to lead well.

Respect for every faith

Every faith and every scripture is treated with respect.

H Part two of three

How

By training the people who already serve, and mentoring them after.

03 How · The shoot

How it grows.

Built for people already leading a congregation.
Taught close to home, in their own districts.
Followed up, not finished, when the course ends.

The pointEvery course is meant to multiply: the people trained go on to train and mentor others.

Five ways of working, each for people who already serve

01Training

Structured courses at regional, state, district and local centres, covering the Bible, practical ministry skills, and leadership.

02Local leadership

Leaders who understand the language, culture, social setting and needs of the congregations they serve.

03Teaching and care

From attending a course to doing the work: teaching the Bible well, building ministry teams, caring for a congregation.

04Mentoring

Follow-up after every course, in small groups, with someone further along.

05Accountability

Careful records of who was trained, who completed the course and who is serving, reviewed against the plan.

How a training runs

1Master trainers are trained first
at a central training, together, over several days.
2They take the course home
and lead it themselves, in their own state and district.
3The leaders they train are mentored
in small groups afterwards, and some become trainers in turn.

◐ From the presentation

Inside a training day.

Photographs from the church's own presentation. Scroll down or swipe across and they pass by; tap any one to see it full size.

A large group of church leaders standing together in a hall at a training day — 01 Church leaders gathered for a training day.

Church leaders seated in a circle around a table beneath a cross, talking over tea — 02 A circle of leaders, talking over tea.

A training session in progress: church leaders at their tables, facing the speaker at the front of a long hall — 03 A session in a long training hall.

Four scenes from a training day: a session being led, leaders taking notes at a table beneath district maps, the room listening, and a trainer explaining a point — 04 Planning and teaching at a training day.

Leaders standing in prayer at their tables, the room in worship, and a singer and keyboard player leading — 05 Prayer and worship during a training day.

Rows of church leaders seated in a hall, listening during a training session — 06 Leaders listening during a session.

W Part three of three

What

A three-year plan, seven states and territories, and the people leading it.

04 What · Branches

Three years of growth.

Set by the church for itself.
Counted in leaders trained and mentored.
Reviewed each year, and adjusted.

The pointThe aim is not only a number. It is leaders who carry it on after the three years.

The plan in three numbers

15,000: leaders trained by the end of year three
7: states and territories
3: years, in three stages

Goals, not results already reached.

Year by year

Year oneEstablish and strengthen

Build the coordination teams.
Choose the first districts and local partners.
Settle common training material and one way of reporting.
Start training and mentoring, and record the starting point.

Year twoWiden and deepen

Extend the training to all seven states and territories.
Strengthen mentoring at district level.
Trained leaders begin to train and mentor others.
Review progress, and adjust from what has been written down.

Year threeConsolidate and sustain

Complete the planned training.
Strengthen the local leadership teams.
Write down what was learned.
Plan how leadership development carries on after the three years.

05 What · The canopy

Seven states and territories.

From the hills of Jammu & Kashmir to the plains of Uttar Pradesh.
Seven regions, one shared course.
Coordinated from Zirakpur, near Chandigarh.

The pointEvery region has its own coordinator and trainers, so each course is led by people who know the place.

Zirakpur, where it is coordinated from. A diagram, not to scale, and not a map of borders.

The seven

Jammu & Kashmir
Himachal Pradesh
Punjab
Haryana
Delhi
Uttarakhand
Uttar Pradesh

Training centres at regional, state, district and local level, with the same course material in every one.

What it looks like

01Bootcamps

Leadership bootcamps at state, district and grassroots level.

02Mentorship circles

On governance, technology and social innovation.

03An annual summit

The Mitti se Mission tak summit, held once a year.

06 What · Fruit

The people who tend it.

A visionary who has served in ministry since 2005.
A core team of four pastors.
A governing body over the whole of it.

The pointThis is a church training its own, with leaders from other churches who choose to take part.

The core team, from the presentation

VisionaryRev. Dr. Brian Anderson
Core teamPr. Rajesh Baloo
Core teamPr. Jagdish Singh
Core teamPr. Ajay Dass
Core teamPr. Pawan Kumar

Before ministry, Rev. Dr. Brian Anderson worked in IT with Dell and ICICI, and taught science. He is also Regional Leader for North West India with the Indian Mission Association, General Secretary of the TCA Pastors Association for Chandigarh and Punjab, a member of the Empowered21 India Cabinet, and a trainer with Vision India.

How it is run

Executive committee and governing bodyFounderFinanceExecutive directorProgramme directorHR and administrationSeven regional coordinatorsTeams of trainers

▶ The film

Ten minutes on where this is going.

Open the presentation the church uses with partners

✦ Walk with us

Let’s raise a generation that leads from the soil to the mission.

We would like to hear from churches, networks and leadership institutes in North India who share a vision for training indigenous leaders.

Partner with us Message the office

Run by The Light of the World Church, Zirakpur.