Sidebar - The Stages of Equipping

This is the sidebar for the magazine's main article, What Makes Us Who We Are?

There are three stages of equipping that all missionaries go through as they are being trained by Ethnos360 in the USA or by any of the other Global Partners around the world. Appropriately enough, those stages are called e1, e2 and e3.

E1: PRE-FIELD EQUIPPING

The Pre-Field Equipping stage begins as the missionary candidate ministers and is mentored in his or her home church. Candidates can apply to one of 10 different training centers within Global Partners. US citizens usually attend the Ethnos360 Training in Camdenton, Missouri.

Once the missionary has completed partnership development and has raised the necessary support, the missionary is able to head to the field of God’s choosing. As soon as the missionary lands, the next stage begins.

E2: HOST COUNTRY CULTURE AND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION (CLA)

This stage is about learning the culture and trade language (or the language of wider communication) and being mentored by people of the missionary’s new host country. This ideally takes place within the setting of the local church of the host country, getting to know pastors and people of the church, some of whom may end up being the missionary’s partners. The goal is to get to a level of fluency in the language and of cultural awareness, allowing them to thrive in the host culture. Culture and language acquisition consultants and field leaders will come alongside to give help and guidance during this important time of adjustment to the new ministry context. Here is a short video about what e2 is like.

At this point, the missionary now has the trade language learned and is comfortable in the host country. Now it is time to see where the Lord has planned for the missionary to begin a church planting ministry. Once there, it is time for stage three.

E3: PEOPLE GROUP CULTURE AND LANGUAGE/CHURCH PLANTING

In this stage, the missionary is once again learning another culture and language. Living among the unreached people group (UPG) they desire to reach with the gospel, they are not merely learning the culture and language. They are cultivating and developing relationships with future brothers and sisters in Christ, with a future new church. Again, consultants and leaders are available as needed to guide the missionary in learning what may be an unwritten language and an unknown culture. The missionary will need to lean on the consultants as they go from step to step with language, literacy, Bible translation, lesson preparation and so many other areas as the Lord builds His Church among the people group to which He has sent the missionary.