AIMS Commissions Seventy Trainers of Trainers

By: Dr. Howard Foltz
AIMS News: Posted 9/1/2003

Whenever I travel overseas, I stand in awe of the power of God's word and Spirit. That power was evident in our recent training, evangelism, and humanitarian aid trip to Tanzania in June.

Tanzania is a former British colony in East Africa that is bordered by the Indian Ocean on the east. With a population of around 34 million, there are 162 ethno-linguistic people groups in Tanzania including at least 38 unreached groups. This country represents one of Satan's battle zones as he uses Islam to fight against Christianity. But God is prevailing! Muslims are coming to Christ, even Imams and Mullahs! Praise the Lord!

Fuel International recruited 43 short-term workers to work with AIMS in evangelism, childrenís ministry, and humanitarian aid. A member of our Board of Trustees also joined us.

Training in Tanzania

AIMS held the Equipping for the Harvest training in the city, Tanga. The Fuel International director had chosen participants with a vision to train the top leaders to multiply the AIMS training throughout Tanzania. The strategy worked! Beginning on Tuesday morning, the Tanzanians accepted and began to apply the teaching. After hearing about "Faith Promise Giving," they responded generously. Church leaders were amazed to learn that they could send one Tanzanian missionary for every three or four churches.

The national leadership also adopted five unreached people groups: the Rangi, the Nygatwa, the Maraba, the Zaramo, and the Somalis, each ranging in population from 10,000 to 750,000. I have never witnessed a more effective effort. All of the trainees eagerly participated in the process and are now prepared to mobilize their churches, raise up a strategic prayer ministry, begin Faith Promise giving, and ask God for Tanzanian missionaries to go to these groups.

At the close of the conference, I had the opportunity to train seventy "trainers of trainers," who will present what they learned to multiple churches throughout their denominations and networks. This is the highest percentage of trainers I have had at any Equipping for the Harvest conference. Fuel International plans to offer a follow-up training for them and meet with the partnerships again in November or December. Additionally, we will follow-up with another major multi-training event next July. This training was a great break through. As I left, I felt that Tanzania could be another model, like Ethiopia, which has produced over 960 churches among unreached people groups to date. Let's pray for similar results in Tanzania.

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