09 Aug Humble Beginnings
Humble Beginnings, Faithful Service
By
Dr. Clay Nuttall
It has been a blessing to be part of this ministry from the beginning. My first trip to teach was in the year 2000 and the nationals whom we met stole my heart. These marvelous people had a zeal I had never seen before…but had very little knowledge of a theology that was Biblical. They knew about the Bible, but knew very little of the Bible.
During the next two years there were active discussions about how to create a model that could be used for teaching what the Bible clearly says. Those discussions held among the future leaders led to the formation of Baptist Equipping Nationals (BEN). We were convinced that formal academic training was the only way to change the flawed theology that was present in that part of the world. BEN was a missions that had no academic standing – so it was determined that we would partner with an educational institution. BEN would be the facilitator…and the academic and theological training would be provided by a college.
As a result, a new school was born! The National Theological College and Graduate School (NTCGS) grew rapidly and is in the process of providing training from institute to post-graduate theological training in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon.
The rest of this beautiful story is the effective ministry of many of the graduates. A theology that is Biblical is almost foreign to the Middle East, with a few bright spots in its history. Those national men and women who have come to understand that the Bible text speaks for itself have done what no foreign missionary could ever do. From large cities to desert villages, more churches have been planted than we could ever document! This is the cutting edge of missions! It is the vision that the original leaders saw. Training nationals as outlined in 2 Timothy 2:2 is God’s plan and God always blesses what He orders.
You will note that we have not mentioned the names of those many servants of God who have partnered in this. That is because the credit goes to a Holy God. All of us are just servants – thankful for the part that God has allowed us to share. None of this would have been possible if it were not for those of you who prayed, sacrificed, and stood by the stuff. The future will depend on others servants God will send our way and upon your faithful gifts and prayers.