Our DNA
Our Beliefs
The following is our DNA (or philosophy of ministry):
Majority World
We will focus on training pastors and leaders in Majority World. Our first priority will be to equip leaders in under-resourced parts of the world.
Training Trainers
We train the trainers. Our heart is to invest in pastors and leaders who have existing networks or have the potential to train other leaders.
Whole-Life
We are committed to whole-life training. Our teaching is biblically-based and Christ-centered. It will also be intensely practical and emphasizes life-on-life interaction. Our goal is to participate with God as he, by his Spirit transforms the leaders.
Theology in Culture
The BSL process could be described as doing theology in culture. While you will be introduced to sound principles of leadership, our primary aim is to find out what the Scriptures teach on servant-leadership and apply that to your situation. Each of our modules and courses is grounded in a passage or book of the Bible. You will study biblical passages in-depth and then ask, “How does this relate to our culture or our church, and how does that inform how we should lead?”
Partnerships
We will pursue partnerships with churches, ministries, Seminaries and Bible Colleges that also desire to train leaders and pastors in Developing Nations, rather than a belief that we have discovered a superior way to train pastors. We wish to have a large view of what Christ is doing in building his church and training leaders, and a realistic view of what the Lord of the Church may wish to do through us.
Servants
We treasure high-trust relationships that are slowly built over time. We consider ourselves as servants of the pastor-trainers in the countries that God leads us to.
Sustainability
While BSL originated in New Zealand, our desire is to transfer the leadership of this ministry to leaders in the countries God calls us to work in.
We recognize that we will work with a variety of churches and networks and believe that God will ultimately hold the leadership of local churches and ministries responsible for what the Bible calls sound doctrine. Our heart is to unify the Body of Christ, not divide it. We subscribe to the spirit of the classic statement: “In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things love.”
The Bible
We believe the Scriptures, to be the infallible, divinely inspired Word of God, without error in the original writings, and our final authority for all matters of Christian faith and practice to which it speaks.
The Trinity
We believe in one God, who exists eternally as three Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and that each Person is fully God.
The Father
We believe that the Father is fully God and that his Fatherhood is eternal and personal and that he is the Father of our Lord Jesus and of all who believe in Christ.
The Son
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, the only eternal Son of God. He became incarnate, being conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, and lived a sinless life. He died on the cross as a perfect sacrifice for sin, rose bodily from the dead, and ascended into heaven, where he is now our High Priest and Advocate. We keenly anticipate his return as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is fully God; that at conversion he dwells in every believer, baptizing them into the Body of Christ. The Spirit gives gifts to each believer, as he determines, for the edifying of the Church and progressively transforms believers to become more like Jesus.
Humanity
We believe that men and women were created in the image of God and that Adam and Eve sinned and so brought death and separation from God to all humanity. We believe that all people are sinners by nature and practice and that apart from God’s salvation, humanity stands condemned before God.
Salvation and the Great Commission
We believe that salvation is initiated by the grace of God, purchased by the blood of Christ, appropriated by faith apart from good works and that all people who put their faith in Christ are declared righteous (justified) by God and become God’s children. We believe that the Great Commission, given by the Lord Jesus, to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey all that Christ commanded, is the joyful privilege of the Church to the end of the age.
The Church
We believe that the Church, also known as the Body of Christ, is made up of all people whose trust is in the Lord Jesus and that local churches are the visible expression of Christ’s Body here on earth.
The Future
We believe that the Lord Jesus will return personally and visibly to consummate his kingdom and reign on earth as King of Kings. We believe in the bodily resurrection of the unjust and the just, the former to eternal punishment and the latter to enjoy eternal life. The reign of Christ will see the defeat of all evil and will usher in the New Heavens and the New Earth, where God will dwell with his people forever.
PRAYER RAFT
An esteemed mentor-friend, John Mallison of Sydney, Australia once said that his mentoring ministry “floated on a raft of prayer.” It is our desire to see God develop BSL in a way that can only be explained by the work of the Holy Spirit in answer to believing prayer. If you would like to join this “prayer-raft” and receive concise monthly emails, please complete the form below. Your details and emails will not be shared with others