Colombian Christian Mission

COLOMBIAN CHRISTIAN MISSION
Dale and Jeanie Meade
In the jungle and prairie of Southeastern Colombia
Volume 16, Issue 3 March, 1988

LEADERSHIP TRAINING SEMINAR

In the States, it is an easy matter to get qualified leaders for our churches. Many people have grown up in the churches and the Bible Colleges are pumping out hundreds of well trained people each year. But in Colombia, it is a different story. The work here is still relatively new and there are very few people who have grown up in the church. There is no Bible college to call on. So that leaves the leadership training up to us.
From the very beginning, we have tried many different methods for training leaders. One that has always worked well here is the week-long seminar. That is short enough that most people can get off work. Yet a tremendous amount of teaching can be crammed into that time.
We just finished one such seminar in Bogota. Normally it would have been held in Villavicencio. But the security situation here, as well as Mark's heart problem, made it seem like a better idea to hold it in Bogota. It began on Monday evening, since most of the men were occupied in Church services on Sunday. Monday was our travel day with the evening service being the convocation. All meals were served on location in an effort to allow more time for study.
Every day began with devotions at 7 a.m., after which we had our breakfast. Then the entire morning was taken up with classes, interspersed with small breaks. The subjects included music, hermeneutics (interpretation of the Bible), the church of the New Testament, and teaching on practical matters such as keeping church records. Lunch was served at mid-day with classes resuming immediately afterwards. By mid-afternoon we recessed for some practical work. This was a time when we broke the participants down into teams and took them calling. Some days we made evangelistic calls. other days were given to teaching calls or encouraging members. The night schedule varied depending on the night. Some nights we again broke them up into teams to attend and participate in home Bible studies. Other nights we attended the services at one of the area churches.
By the time the weekend rolled around, everyone was exhausted by the strenuous schedule we were keeping. But we were not finished yet. Saturday everyone was again sent out to practice what they had learned. On Sunday morning it was an observation time as the leaders from the country churches watched how we were doing things in Bogota. Then in the afternoon we split up into groups and visited the five daughter churches that have been started. Monday morning we had an evaluation time, final exams, and our last devotional.
Everyone headed home, tired but excited about what they had learned. All were anxious to put it into practice. It had been a long, hard week. But each person who had attended went home with more skills and knowledge to put to good use in the Lord's work!


THE SECURITY SITUATION

Again, many of you have noticed that Colombia has been in the news a lot lately. Even then you have not heard the half of what is going on. This public forum is certainly NOT the place to talk about it either! If you read Newsweek, their recent cover story on Colombia was quite good. If you have not kept up in the news, it would be worth your while going to the library and reading the Newsweek magazine from the second week in March. That will save me belaboring the unpleasant situation here. But there are a few things I would like you to keep in your prayers.
Please pray that God give us courage. It would be all too easy to worry so much about out on security that we would neglect to preach the Gospel. I have, perhaps, been guilty of that a couple times during this last year. In the same breath, I would ask you to pray that God give us wisdom. There are times when it is prudent to lay low. But there is a fine line between prudence and cowardice, courage and foolhardiness. We need God's wisdom to know where that line is. We certainly do not want to err in either direction.
Finally, please pray that God protect us in there uncertain times. There is so much to be done. The fields are truly white unto harvest. Workers are indeed few. So it is important that we make the most of our time, for indeed "the days are evil."


FURLOUGH DATE?

Already, we have gotten several requests for speaking dates. Some of you are really on your toes! You are right, this Summer should be our normal furlough date. Were we to stick to our regular schedule, we would return to the States in August.
But at the moment, we are not sure when we will begin our furlough. There are several things that are affecting that decision. First of all, we returned late from our last furlough. That in itself would dictate a later return to the States. Secondly, we made an unscheduled trip back to the States last year because of my father-in-law's death. That cost a lot of money and occupied two months of this already shortened term. That too would encourage us to stay longer. After all, we need to be good stewards of the money you entrust to us for mission work. Finally, the security situation means that our time here might be limited. That also causes us to want to make the most of whatever time we have left here.
But that last topic brings me to one reason why we might be back in the States this summer. If the situation would get too bad, we might feel that we should leave by them. We have also been having difficulty with the kids education. Teaching them ourselves had taken so much of our time that we at times wonder if we are missionaries or teachers. We have pondered how much time we can devote to educating our children and still justify being down here.
So please pray for us and be patient with us. We will try to keep you posted. But in the end, we will have to proceed on a daily basis and then temper even that with an "if the Lord wills."