Multicultural Leadership Education

Leadership training for multicultural groups

It is important for church leaders to have the opportunity to learn leadership skills suitable for their cultural context.

Because of this, Mennonite Church Canada and AMBS collaborate to offer Multicultural Leadership Training in three Canadian conferences. Mennonite church leaders from a variety of cultural and ethnic backgrounds gather to work through an Anabaptist theological education curriculum, one that is designed to require minimal time away from congregational duties.

At trainings, pastors and church leaders come together for an intensive daylong presentation on an issue vital to ministry in a Mennonite congregation. These seminars are led by instructors from the AMBS Pastoral Studies Distance Education (PSDE) program.

The material presented is taken from the PSDE curriculum, a program of theological study involving five units. These units include Church and Ministry; The Biblical Story: Old and New Testament; Anabaptist History and Theology; Salt and Light: Preaching, Worship, Evangelism; and Tending God's Flock: Pastoral Care and Counseling, Administration.

Following the presentation, participants divide into language groups for discussion.

Over the next several months, participants continue to meet with their language group to study PSDE material. After three months of group study, all participants reconvene for another intensive daylong seminar.

Select PSDE books are currently available in Vietnamese, Korean and English.

For more information

Rafael Barahona
Director of Pastoral Connections and Leadership Programs
574-296-6273

Project History

From Canadian Mennonite, March 10, 2003, Vol. 7, Number 5, pp.34-35

On March 1, 2003, 65 persons from Hmong, Laotian, Korean and Chinese congregations in MC Eastern Canada met at Steinmann Mennonite Church to study Anabaptist Mennonite history and thought with instructor Maurice Martin.

This was the first in a series of multicultural leadership training events planned by Pastoral Leadership Training Commission in partnership with Mennonite Church Canada (Formation) and Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS). The curriculum is from the Pastoral Studies Distance Education program of AMBS, usually taught by correspondence.

Martin gave his lectures in English, followed by discussion in the various languages represented, led by persons from within each group. In the succeeding 12 weeks, participants will complete the 10 lessons in their own language groupings. The course will conclude on May 24 with a plenary session.

The program is a response to the desire of these multicultural groups for more leadership training suitable to their situation.