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Missionary Apprenticeships Curriculum

First Passion: A Passion for Jesus

• A Passion for Jesus
• Interns learn that Jesus is the best in every conceivable way - His Worth, Words, Wounds and Ways are the best humanity has ever seen!
• Intimate communion with God in the face of Jesus is the soul’s deepest delight and satisfaction.
• Jesus is the smartest person that ever lived so we study his life daily to learn His Words and Ways.
• We TREASURE Jesus supremely.
• Interns develop a lifestyle of Learning, Thinking, Living and Speaking Jesus 24/7.
• Daily inductive study of the Gospels keep Jesus fresh on our minds, every day, all day.
• Learning a Jesus Story each week allows us to ‘soak’ in the life and teachings of Jesus, and equips us to share Him with Cousins.
• Interns learn to talk passionately and confidently about Jesus:
• with fellow interns (discussions about Jesus stories and daily readings become normative),
• with not-yet-believers (interns learn at least 15 stories of Jesus which we tell often, increasing our passion for Jesus while sharing our Treasure with others).
• Interns develop a life-time habit of inductive study of the Bible, giving priority to the Gospels:
• Interns learn a simple inductive Bible study method (e.g. color-coding),
• Interns inductively study the four Gospels,
• Interns begin an inductive study of the whole Bible (encouraged to complete before heading overseas).
• Interns digest the writings of men like John Piper (Desiring God) or E. Stanley Jones (The Christ of the Indian Road) to help them comprehend how much joy we are capable of experiencing with Jesus.
• As a result, interns do not ‘witness about Jesus’ out of duty but ‘gossip about Jesus’ from a heart overflowing with passion for Him and His other lost sheep.
• Interns discover that the more we treasure Jesus, the more passionate we talk about Jesus, the more we treasure Jesus, etc.

• Becoming like Jesus
• Interns develop a deep seated conviction that Jesus is the best in every possible way and therefore the smartest thing we can do is to become LIKE HIM.
• Interns develop a lifetime habit of apprenticing ourselves to Jesus. We discover creative ways and develop individualized curriculum which we follow in our attempt to become like Jesus:
• We focus on all ways possible to enflame the heart with more love for Jesus,
• We practice spiritual disciplines/activities we deem will help us break the hold of sinful lifestyle patterns,
• We experience a growing freedom from the old sin-habits that might have felt controlling in the past.
• Interns develop a lifetime habit of accountability for apprenticing ourselves to Jesus

Small accountability groups hold interns accountable for all that is required in Missionary Apprenticeships.

• Interns study authors like Dallas Willard (Divine Conspiracy)  and John Ortberg (The Life You’ve Always Wanted):
• Interns learn to believe it possible to grow in Christlikeness and begin to become more like Him,
• Interns learn how spiritual disciplines help us do what we cannot do by mere direct effort.

Second Passion: A Passion for His Kingdom

• Prayer
• Jesus’ Prayer: Interns learn to pray according to the 5 categories of the Lord’s Model Prayer.
• Frequent Prayer: Interns learn to practice abundant prayer.
• Listening Prayer: Interns learn to practice “listening prayer.”
• Corporate Prayer: Interns meet weekly to pray for each other, their local Cousin friends and the World.

• Gospel of the Kingdom of God
• Interns come to understand that Jesus and His disciples taught the Gospel of the Kingdom, Jesus’ offer of an entirely new, rich life lived from the resources of and according to the nature of another realm, an invisible but real realm of the Spirit. We become justified through the work of Jesus on the Cross so that we can be united to Him and learn to live His new life, a life that will be ours forever. Treasuring, Trusting & Yoked to Jesus.
• Interns embrace and share this Gospel of the Kingdom in contrast with the common Gospel of Sin Management (gaining forgiveness and escaping hell).
• Interns understand the goal of the Gospel: a heart that treasures JESUS, not just His gift of forgiveness/heaven.
• Interns learn to communicate the whole message of “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified” (1 Cor 2:2).
• Interns digest the writings of men like Dallas Willard (Divine Conspiracy) and J. P. Moreland (Jesus and the Gospel of the Kingdom of God) to help them grasp the nature of the Gospel of the Kingdom.

• Learning to live life in the Kingdom of God
• Interns understand the nature of the Kingdom, citizenship in the Kingdom, and the impact of the Kingdom.
• Interns understand that life in the Kingdom is good news, good news for daily life now as well as for eternity.
• Interns learn that life in the Kingdom includes suffering, joyfully, for the King.
• Interns interact with writers such as Dallas Willard (Divine Conspiracy) and J. P. Moreland (Kingdom Triangle).
• Apprenticeship to Kingdom Living - See B) above

 

Third Passion: A Passion for Going Strategic

• Contextualized Gospel Proclamation
• Interns learn to value continual learning of fruitful practices in reaching Unreached People with the Gospel.
• Interns learn to promote the Kingdom of God, not the religion of Christianity:
• We learn the significant difference between Christianity and Following Jesus.
• We learn tools such as the “Kingdom Circles” to engage focus people in a fruitful discussion of the Kingdom of God without inciting resistance to “the religion of Christianity.”
• We learn our goal is to “disciple people into the Kingdom” rather than “evangelize people to make decisions”
• We learn to “gather and save people” rather than “save people and then gather them.”
• Interns receive special training in building bridges of trust that can bear the weight of truth. We discover and use mutually shared truths as bridges to share the Gospel of the Kingdom. E.g. for Cousin focused Missionary Apprenticeshipss, we learn:
• To “become all things to Cousins that by all means we might win some.” (1 Cor 9:22)
• Cousin-friendly but truthful ways to speak of Mohammad and the Qur’an without nuking the relationship.
• To comprehend our Cousins’ source of Truth as a possible bridge to Biblical truth. We use the “candle” of light God sovereignty preserved in the Qur’an to bridge Cousins to the Light of the Bible.
• How to lead/facilitate progressive discussions (Halaqa) about God’s Truth and the Kingdom of Heaven, starting with “bridges” from the Qur’an (e.g. “The 7 Signs Study”).
• That discipling Cousins into the Kingdom can be a lengthy process as they progress in their view of Jesus: unknown, prophet, healer, great(est) prophet, Word and Spirit of Allah, Savior, Son of Allah, etc.
• To alleviate mutual concern that we will try “convert” each other; our quest becomes the Kingdom of God.

• Understanding and Reproducing Jesus Communities

• Interns learn to “think” and “be” a Missional Church (NT Jesus Communities):
• Interns grasp the difference between the 1st Century missional church and the 21st Century Institutional church.
• Interns appreciate the impact of Christ on “Jesus Communities” and of Constantine on “Christendom.”
• Interns learn to introduce and safeguard the essential components of Reproducing Jesus Communities.
• Interns digest the writings of men like Alan Hirsch (The Forgotten Ways), Wolfgang Simson (Houses that Change the World) and David Garrison (CPMs) to help us understand and live as Jesus Communities.
• Interns make a paradigm shift: we learn to “think” and “act” Church Planting Movements by starting with the end in mind (end-visioning) and asking the crucial question, “What’s it going to take? (WIGTake)

• Ten Universal Elements of a CPM
• Extraordinary Prayer
• Abundant Gospel Sowing (which includes instantaneous personal witness and seeking Persons of Peace)
• Intentional Church Planting
• Scripture is the Authority (which includes independence of foreign money and control and obedience to Scripture with accountability)
• Local Leadership
• Lay Leadership (MAWL: Model, Assist, Watch, Leave)
• House Churches
• Churches Planting Churches
• Rapid Reproduction
• Healthy Churches

• Ten Common Characteristics of a CPM
• Worship in Heart Language
• Family Conversions - Gospel flows through friends and relatives
• Rapid Involvement of Converts
• Price to Pay for Following Jesus
• Bold Response to Persecution
• Divine Intervention in Lives
• On the Job Training for New Leaders
• Decentralized Authority
• Low Profile for Outsiders
• Missionaries Suffer
• Interns become inspired by success stories of effective Church Planting:
• E.g. Wolfgang Simson, Jamie Winship, Carl Medearis,
• Visiting emissaries who have stories to tell of effective CPM work.
• Interns inductively learn from the book of Acts how to proclaim the Gospel and effectively plant churches.

 

• Life shared in missional community - Jesus Community & Communitas

• Interns generally live within walking distance of each other and a number of Cousins.
• For 6 months, interns take a sabbatical from other church structures and “do life together” as a simple, reproducible, organic church.
• Interns are together often, always devoted to mission and holiness (“the Kingdom and His righteousness”).
• Time together includes at least the following:
• Prayer, discussion/application around the Word, celebrating the Lord’s supper and food,
• Accountability to personal Curriculum for Christlikeness, other Missionary Apprenticeships goals and developing Spiritual Gifts,
• Discussion, planning and strategy regarding ministry among our Unreached neighbors,
• Participation in Focus People Outreach together,
• Learning assignments (when asked),
• Communitas – where we practice “being the church” in the company of Focus People,
• Study of Scripture using Participative Bible Study.

 

• Intentional, Abundant, Fearless and Effective Gospel Sowing
• Interns learn to be intentional in reaching out to Unreached neighbors in ways that lead to fruitfulness.
• Interns invest at least 2 hours each week with Focus People, sharing our Treasure fearlessly.
• Interns move through Outreach modules typical of life on the field.
• Interns learn to encourage, mentor and hold each other accountable for the noble work of evangelism.
• Interns learn to use our spiritual gifts and use the gifts of others in teams to be most effective.

• Know Yourself
• your personality, strengths and spiritual gifts and how to use them within the community
• your wounds and inner healing needed to find God in the wounds

 

• Orality and Storytelling
• Interns learn that 70% of the world’s remaining unreached peoples are oral learners.
• Interns learn to practice storytelling throughout the year.
• Interns learn Jesus stories and learn to appreciate the way our master, Jesus, shared stories.

 

• Experience Missionary Apprenticeships in an Overseas Practicum among Focus People
• Interns practice broad-based sowing using all we have learned in Missionary Apprenticeships.
• Interns are exposed to the rigors and fears of real-life evangelism among Focus People.
• Interns learn to take risks, to “push the envelope” in terms of evangelism among Focus People.
• Interns taste something of the potential suffering that may come while launching CPMs among Focus People.

Field Realities (not one of Missionary Apprenticeships’s core passions, but select components are often added at end of Missionary Apprenticeships)
Note that not all these topics are required parts of Missionary Apprenticeships. Since Missionary Apprenticeships internships vary in length from 9-12 months, some Missionary Apprenticeships internships will include a selection from these topics. Most of these topics are covered in a single week.

• Spiritual Warfare (included in all Missionary Apprenticeshipss)
• Interns develop a Biblical worldview on spiritual realities (as opposed to a Western secular worldview that separates spiritual realities from actual, real life).
• Interns learn that engaging spiritual realities is a field reality they will certainly encounter.
• Interns discover their position and strength in Christ to engage spiritual realities.

 

• Influence of Affluence on the Global Workforce (included in all Missionary Apprenticeshipss)
• Interns discover the powerful and often negative influence that comfort and affluence have on us.
• Interns wrestle with the adverse impact on gospel transmission and reproducible discipleship when Western workers live at vastly higher standards than nationals.
• Interns wrestle with the negative impact our affluence has on our disciples who become more concerned about their material position than the advancement of the Kingdom.
• Interns digest the writings of men like Jonathan Bonk (Missions and Money).

 

• Suffering  (included in all Missionary Apprenticeshipss)   
• Interns learn the reality and likelihood of suffering in service for the King and his Kingdom.
• Interns wrestle with our willingness to suffer for the King and His Kingdom.

 

• Cultural Incarnation (optional-included in some Missionary Apprenticeshipss)
• Interns learn the importance of incarnating our lives and lifestyles among those we serve.
• Interns learn that nationals often reject our Western culture and lifestyle more than our gospel.
• Interns learn to live like Jesus and Paul, culturally incarnating ourselves among those we serve.

 

• Career Options (optional-included in some Missionary Apprenticeshipss)

Approved Resources supporting this core value: Missionary Apprenticeships homework on Career Options, Missionary Apprenticeships requirement that you go to school or work full time during Missionary Apprenticeships, Meg Crossman’s list of Certificate Study Programs in the US

Interns learn about creative entry strategies/skills, often required to gain residence among Unreached People.

• Language Acquisition (optional-included in some Missionary Apprenticeships)
• Interns learn the importance of mastering the local language spoken by those we go to serve.
• Interns learn some of the complexities of learning a language and some helpful ideas that make it possible.
• Interns primarily learn the importance of completing language acquisition training before heading overseas.

 

• Male/Female Challenges (optional-included in some Missionary Apprenticeshipss)
• Interns meet separately as males and females to discuss unique gender challenges each may face on the field.

 

• Emotional Cycles of Crossing-Cultures (optional-included in some Missionary Apprenticeshipss)
• Interns learn about the Honeymoon, Culture Shock, Adjustment, and Settlement phases of adapting to a new culture, and the unique effects that each phase can have on our being, thinking, feeling and decision making.

• Support Raising and/or Team Building (optional-included in some Missionary Apprenticeships)
• Interns learn to share our vision and passion for the nations so as to develop supporters or attract additional team members.
• Interns learn the importance of prayer in developing both the field team and home support team.

 

• Team Building and Peacemaking/Reconciliation (a much needed addition to Missionary Apprenticeships)