GROWING GODLY LEADERS
INVESTING TODAY TO IMPACT TOMORROW
Your support will raise up skilled and spirit-led leaders for the university, the church, and the world of tomorrow. But it’s needed today.
You only need turn on the news to realise: The world needs good and godly leaders. The church needs competent and Christlike leaders. Praise God that many such leaders do exist today – and that many of them have been shaped by IFES ministry.
We want that legacy of blessing to continue – especially in regions where national movements are still relatively young and financially fragile, and the church is growing fast. So, throughout December, we are spotlighting three specific leadership development projects that need your support.
Movements have been making plans for 2024. But to realize them, they need your support this month.
Would you prayerfully consider donating?
Our shared longing to see more godly leaders in society and the church can be turned into reality. In this season of gift-giving, give a gift that will have a lasting impact for years to come.
COMMON MINIMUM (FRANCOPHONE AFRICA)
“The training helped me better serve in my leadership, seek excellence in my studies, and be a model for others.”
Emmanuel, Common Minimum Program Participant
Political instability, poverty, and corruption are common in Francophone Africa. In this context, study and student ministry are challenging. But in 2014 the national movements there committed to a special leadership program that aims to ensure every student leader will receive a ‘common minimum’ in discipleship and evangelism training.
As part of the program, nine experienced local evangelists lead training sessions over one year, giving more than 220 students and 40 graduates across 18 countries a solid foundation – for both student ministry and life after graduation.
Since 2021, several countries, including Burundi, Rwanda, Niger, Mauritius, and Madagascar, have benefited from training provided for the program’s facilitators.
Ezéchiel Baroum Kongdi became General Secretary of GBU Chad in April 2023. He says one of the key factors that prepared him for the role was leadership training he received as a student and staff worker.
NEW LEADERSHIP INITIATIVE IN SOUTH ASIA
“We’re seeking to invest in 40 young, highly motivated national movement staff workers – to nurture in them a godly tenacity that will lead to resilience in their person, perspectives, and calling.”
Savithri, Regional Secretary for South Asia
Developing leaders in South Asia can be fragile. National movements are ministering in a complex environment that is multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, and multi-lingual. Yet this diversity can also be a blessing: as staff have shared experiences and ideas across the region, they have better understood deep divides in their societies and engaged well with students who come from very different backgrounds.
Savithri, Regional Secretary for South Asia, and her team are now seeking to make these cross-cultural connections more intentional. Inspired by the IFES Global Leadership Initiative, they are launching a similar training network at the regional scale.
Over eighteen months, participants will meet four times for training (online or in-person) and be mentored by experienced leaders from the regional team and national movements.
However, access to such regional training is constrained by financial resources – especially in pioneering and younger movements. Travel costs are also high because there are few countries in the region that all delegates are permitted to enter.
Will you give to ensure that delegates can be a part of this formative program?
CARIFES ACADEMY (CARIBBEAN)
“Many people do not see the Caribbean as a mission field; they see it as a place for vacation, for cruises. But the Caribbean is a place for mission. Reaching students is very strategic.”
Marc Pulvar, Regional Secretary for IFES Caribbean (CARIFES)
One way that CARIFES wants to equip students and staff for that mission is through a comprehensive leadership training program: CARIFES Academy. Starting in 2024, the Academy will identify, train, and mentor staff and Christian student leaders to be godly transformational agents of change in their respective spheres of influence.
Online sessions from April-July will be followed by an in-person conference in August, after which participants receive mentoring September-November 2024.
Last month, CARIFES ran a Gift Day in the region and beyond, hoping to raise enough funds to cover the conference costs for 100 students and staff. So far, they have received enough for 20 participants.
For more information about the initiative and Gift Day campaign see this webpage.
To see why CARIFES Academy matters to this student, watch this Facebook post.
By giving today, you will be a part of raising up skilled and Spirit-led leaders for tomorrow, today.
Organisers of these strategic initiatives will enter 2024 knowing that they have your support – and you will start a new year knowing that you are investing in leaders for Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean.
Your concern for good, godly, competent and Christlike leaders will be felt locally, nationally, regionally, and globally. Thank you.
