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Open Missionary Training College

Training, especially in the developing world, was part of Phil Mohabir's big vision for the worldwide Kingdom of God.  It used to be said that you should never go into Phil's office with your hands empty, because you could be sure to come out with them full.  And that was how in 1997 this vision was thrust upon the team.  All forms of training programmes fell within the scope of Phil's vision, from the mundane correspondence course, via the expensive residential, to the exotic video conferencing style.  All these formats had to be examined, reported to him, and then discarded in favour of the final solution which he thought fulfilled the vision, would be workable, and would cost next to nothing!

That was the basis of the Open Missionary Training College, a name chosen by him and with much of the original material written by him.  But over the following years a team of writers in the UK has continued to prepare material in a distance learning format aimed at training church workers and pastors in the developing world.  The strengths of the OMTC material remain those prescribed by Phil at the outset,

  • Breadth of the course
  • No charge for the material
  • Modest educational level for entry
  • Choice of question-and-answer coursework

The Foundation Course is complete, along with a Prospectus.  This Course is intended as a foundation for those wishing to train as pastors, who might then transfer to a residential course, but is also ideal for use in local churches as a training programme, for instructing a wider range of church leadership. In the local church situation the programme operates under the direction of a local tutor, usually the church leader.

The material is also used in local Bible Schools, at the discretion of the local team, supplementary to their existing instruction method.  The modules are written in English, so where the teaching medium is the local language, the local tutor is translating either in written form, so that each of their students can have a copy, or verbally, using the modules as notes to teach from. 

The Foundation Course consists of the following modules.

  • Study to be a Workman (an introductory module)
  • New Testament Survey
  • Old Testament Survey
  • Character and Calling
  • Christian Foundations
  • Homiletics
  • Evangelism
  • Studies in John's Gospel (option)
  • Pastoral Ministry (option)
  • The Christian Worker (option)

At the end of each lesson there are some suggestions for group discussion, to be used where a local tutor has a group of students.  There are also question sheets for completion (Certificate level), or essay titles (Diploma level), which the students answer, and which the local tutors are marking.  Methods of assessment are flexible, and how the students' progress is assessed is being decided locally.

The level is quite basic, assuming that the students have only a little Bible knowledge.  Many of the churches receiving the modules are using them to train up many of their people who are in leadership within their church, e.g. Youth work/Children's work leaders.  There are church based and college based groups in Guyana, Malawi, Kenya, Uganda, Cameroon, India and the Philippines.

Some centres move more quickly than do others, depending on the literacy and work-rate of the students, and how often they meet together.  Some of the local tutors keep us in touch with how their students are progressing, and send us their test results, so that formal Certificates of Completion can be given.  Others control student assessment locally.

Many of the local Bible Colleges already have excellent material that they currently use to great effect with their students and churches.  However, they also find this OMTC material a useful supplement.  It is intended as a resource to be used to suit local needs.