Program

Doctor of Ministry

Year Approved

2016

First Advisor

Klem, Herb

Abstract

The researcher spent a year in rural Tanzania and found that the volunteer lay leaders had little training. These lay leaders had a love for Jesus and for his people, but the obstacles these men faced in order to get further training were overwhelming. Attending seminary meant paying tuition, leaving families, leaving farms, taking classes in English, and following a Western style of education. There were economic, emotional, and educational barriers these lay leaders faced. This caused this researcher to seek a new method to train people in God’s Word. This search led to the oral training method that was used through the Old Testament period and the parable training style that Jesus used with his disciples. The modern application of this oral training is the International Orality Network. This is a network of ministries that have joined together in order to meet the needs of primary oral learners. The rural Africans need a training that is portable and adjustable. The training must not depend on expensive buildings or specific locations. It must be reproducible so that it can spread across Africa. It had to be simple enough to be taught by a variety of teachers and so that anyone could learn and lead it. It had to be deep enough so that the students would gain knowledge of the Bible that matched that of other theological training centers. This project was a study of the use of oral training in Uganda to develop biblically trained leaders. This project evaluated the biblical oral traditions and the parables of Jesus in a Ugandan training setting. The goal was to develop disciples who knew the Bible personally, were changed by it, and put it into practice in their lives.

Degree Name

Doctor of Ministry

Document Type

Doctoral thesis

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