The 3-5 Plan
The 3-5 Plan is a
program designed to support Christians and churches in Uganda. The church in
Uganda- particularly the United Methodist Church- has the opportunity to expand
and grow in monumental ways, but there are many issues holding it back. One of
those issues- perhaps the most important one- is a lack of trained and
qualified pastors and leaders in local congregations. To that end this program
will seek to disciple Christian believers in the basic tenets of the Christian
faith, from a United Methodist perspective. There will be a special emphasis on
training pastors and church leaders. In this way we will see that the local
church will be built up to the glory of God.
The 3-5 Plan consists
of three levels of training and involvement that will cover a time of
approximately three years.
Level
I. Intensive Discipleship
In the first year of
the 3-5 Plan there will be an 'intensive' training component. The Intensive
component of the 3-5 Plan will consist of a 'retreat setting' in which the
leader and participants of the program will spend three days together at one
location covering the basics of church leadership and discipleship. There will
be an emphasis on face to face interaction between and among the leader and
participants, relationship building and establishing accountability. Topics
included in the Level I Intensive will include:
·
Basics of Bible Study.
◦
Old Testament.
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New Testament.
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How to study the Bible.
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How to lead others in Bible study.
·
Prayer Ministry.
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How to pray for the sick.
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Praying for the lost.
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Leading in prayer ministry.
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Public prayers and praying.
·
Preaching.
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Sermon preparation.
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Sermon planning.
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Lectionary.
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Sermon series'.
·
Discipleship.
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Church planting.
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Spiritual formation.
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Spiritual disciplines.
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Tools for spiritual growth.
·
Worship.
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Theology of worship.
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Worship practices.
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Baptism and Communion.
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Leading worship.
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The importance of music.
·
Evangelism.
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Faith-Sharing.
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Missions.
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Outreach.
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Giving a testimony.
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Relationship building.
The second component of
Level I could be called “Discipleship.” This aspect of Level I is focused on
follow-up after the intensive. A sincere effort will be made to continue
accountability and relationships in a 'long-distance' setting. The objective is
to motivate all participants to maintain consistency in training, study and
application.
There will be some
follow-up materials provided for Ugandan participants of the 3-5 Plan. There
are many resources that will be included, but among them will be resources on
Bible Study methods and suggestions, Bible reading and small group resources
and booklets and tracts that can be used on an individual basis as well as in a
group setting. Most importantly, at
least to begin with, will be this book and the resources included in the
Appendix.
Additionally, there
will be monthly video teachings via a dedicated YouTube channel. These will be
coordinated with the printed materials.
Topics of these teachings will vary according to needs in the Ugandan
church and the expertise of those creating the videos, but may include:
◦
Youth ministry
◦
Developing a financial base for your congregation
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Ministry to the hurting and oppressed
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Issues in contextual ministry
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Suffering in ministry
◦
United Methodist Doctrine, History and Practice
Ugandan pastors and
church leaders involved in the 3-5 Plan will also receive weekly emails, or
have access to regular internet, facebook or blog posts. These weekly posts
will be coordinated with the YouTube teachings and other printed materials. The
specifics of these teachings will be based on the needs of the church, the
strengths and weaknesses of the Ugandan leaders and current issues in church
leadership. Each weekly contact will be original and unique, but will focus on
a monthly theme.
All of these materials
will serve to increase accountability and evaluation. Local participants in
this program will be expected to participate fully at each of these levels.
Although we anticipate that there will be difficulties in some ares with
internet access and communication in general, there is a hope (and an
expectation) that each of these components will serve to move each pastor to a
more full and focused ministry.
The final component of
the first level is prayer. The 3-5 Plan group will serve as a prayer and
accountability group. Each member will covenant together to pray for one
another and support all members in the Christian faith and the journey to
effective and faithful discipleship. This aspect of the 3-5 Plan will continue
throughout the three year program, and hopefully beyond it. The intensive will
be bathed in prayer before it begins and prayer will be a hallmark of the
retreat. Each piece of the follow-up procedure will be thoroughly prayed over.
Video teachings and email correspondences will include times of prayer. There
will always be opportunities for prayer at every turn.
There will also be a
part of the entire program that allows for and encourages prayer requests and
needs from Ugandan participants to US leaders and their congregations and
supporters. This program will only succeed as leaders and participants pray
together and for one another. We must not take this for granted. Perhaps the
most important element of prayer is that the participants will be praying for
one another. Meetings among participants throughout the three year program are
focused on encouragement, accountability, sharing of needs and resources and
prayer.
In Level I participants
will be recognized for for completion of the intensive. There will be a
concluding evaluation that will focus on participation and involvement in all
aspects of the program. During the discipleship phase there will be check-in
requirements for online assignments and regular written work that will be
graded.
Leaders who complete
Level I will receive a certificate.
Level
II. Replication
In the second year of
the 3-5 Plan each of the original five leader/ participants in Level I will
find five more leaders to mentor and disciple. This means that Level I is
duplicated five times over. Each leader is responsible for finding, discipling
and training five others. In fact, each leader can (and is encouraged) to begin
more than one group of five. The 3-5 Plan can quickly move from addition to
multiplication in its impact. All of this activity should happen right away.
Within one month of the original intensive there should be five Level I groups
in addition to the original group that is now considered to be Level II.
Each leader is expected
to recruit and disciple others. This expectation will be a part of an annual
evaluation of every 3-5 Plan participant. There are no shortcuts and very few
exceptions. Christians are called to make disciples and the 3-5 Plan makes this
an imperative.
It could be that this
aspect of the plan will manifest itself in the planting of new churches or
'faith teams.' Each 3-5 leader is expected to recruit, train and 'pastor' at
least one new group.
Leaders who complete
the faith team requirement will receive a recognition certificate.
Level II leadership can
manifest itself in local churches, schools, workplaces, community or small
group settings. Although the “intensive” three day retreat experience is not
necessarily repeated at this level, there is plenty of room, opportunity and
material for these groups to cover. The
focus is for each leader to begin the work of fulfilling the Great Commission
right away. Each believer in Christ is responsible to share the message of the
gospel with others. Leaders in the 3-5 Plan will do this by building up other
believers and by recruiting new Christians within the church and alongside the
church. It will be no surprise then, if new churches are started wherever 3-5
Plan participants live and work.
As a part of this
replication, each student will translate one lesson (or resource) into his/her
native language for use by all future leaders. Care will be taken to ensure
that material is translated accurately and in a balanced way. The process of
translation will have multiple benefits:
·
Access to the material will be easier for all people
regardless of their ability to read and understand English.
·
Those who are involved in the translation of material
will necessarily be more familiar with it and therefore have greater benefit in
terms of personal discipleship.
·
Creating resources in Luganda will have a long term
effect as the material will be available and used in perpetuity by those who
long to grow in faith.
·
This newly translated lesson is then taught to the five
leaders that follow the original participant as part of Level II.
·
Participants in Level II groups can join in and
participate in the follow-up activities of Level I. There is no limit on
reading on-line materials, participating in video lessons or other supplementary
activities. Level II participants have access to all the resources of Level I
participants. And since the material will be archived, and because new material
will be consistently added, the library of available resources will quickly
become significant. All of these materials will eventually be translated for
use in Uganda.
·
This replication should take place among both church
leaders and church members. The 3-5 Plan works to train leaders for ministry as
well as leading all Christians in discipleship activities. Therefore, a leader
of pastors/leaders could easily lead a group of pastors at the same time that
he leads a group of his local congregational members. This will build up the
church on two fronts.
Leaders who complete
Level II will receive a certificate.
Level
III. Instruction
The goal of all this
activity is for pastors to gain the experience, knowledge and competence to
plan and lead their own groups, churches and studies. In Levels I and II
leaders are given the tools and experience to begin to lead of their own
volition and planning. In Level III a pastor begins to take the initiative in
the work of ministry with the safety net of supervision from Level I and II
leaders. This will be accomplished in the third year of the 3-5 Plan.
Each leader will select
one topic of local significance in his/her community. S/he will develop a lesson plan and write resources appropriate
to their setting. These resources will be used in leadership forum and training
settings, as well as local church and ministry settings.
Some topics might
include:
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Evangelism in a Muslim community
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Christianity and local religions
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Leading worship in the local setting
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Issues in local church ministry
◦
History of the church in Uganda
◦
Methodism in Uganda
The ultimate goal of
the 3-5 Plan is that local pastors and church leaders will be able to take full
responsibility for every aspect of the local church ministry. To that end,
Levels I and II will seek to prepare participants to assume the reins of
responsibility in Level III. Accountability, training, support and
encouragement will continue, but ultimately in Level III Ugandan leaders will
take charge.
Leaders who complete
Level III will receive a diploma.
Those leaders who
complete all requirements and courses at every level will receive a
“ministerial certification.”
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