The Centre for Global Mission (CGM) is part of the mission heart of Moore College. CGM is a department of Moore College that supports Christian organisations around the world in the preparation of their leaders by providing theological training materials.
CGM does not run courses and does not have students. By providing Moore College resources to our partner organisations to train their students, we allow thousands of our partners’ students to have access to good quality Bible-based courses. The resources are provided free of charge to 35 partners working in around 50 countries, and these partners give their own certificates when students complete subjects.
The main resource that CGM shares with its partner organisations is 20 of the courses that make up the Moore College ‘Preliminary Theological Certificate’. These courses are well known around the world—simply referred to as PTC.
Moore College still runs PTC courses itself through another department called ‘Moore PTC’. Anyone can study PTC courses through Moore PTC and receive a Moore College Certificate for their studies. CGM extends the reach of Moore College by giving access to these same trusted courses around the world.
When a church or partner organisation approaches CGM about the use of PTC, the CGM team helps them assess their needs in terms of what language is spoken and how the subjects will be delivered to their students. CGM has PTC, or some subjects of PTC, in a large number of languages and currently has around 15 active translation projects. The CGM technical team also works on different technologies which help our partners deliver courses to their students.
What are CGM partner organisations like? There is no typical partner. A partner might be a local church, an Anglican diocese, a denomination, a Bible School or Theological College. Courses might be taught in English or another language. There is only room in this article to introduce you to two of CGM’s many partner organisations; we will meet MOCLAM in the Spanish-speaking world and a French-speaking partner in New Caledonia, The Evangelical Free Church.
MOCLAM
MOCLAM is the Spanish language CGM partner. Students studying with MOCLAM come from a range of countries including Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, UK, USA, and Spain itself.
On the MOCLAM website its ministry is described in this way: ‘The goal of MOCLAM is to make accessible yet high quality theological education available to Spanish speakers throughout Ibero‑America. We offer an undergraduate program consisting of 21 subjects, which have a focus in biblical studies.’
MOCLAM has a close relationship with Moore College, with all MOCLAM course material being made available by Moore College through CGM. This means that the subjects that MOCLAM offers are Spanish translations of Moore College’s PTC subjects. All the current MOCLAM workers are, with one exception, Moore College graduates.
MOCLAM also has a strong relationship with CMS. All the current MOCLAM workers are CMS missionaries, including the International Director of MOCLAM, Adrian Lovell, who serves with his wife Anita in Bolivia.
2024 is a consolidation year for MOCLAM after the Covid years. Prior to Covid, enrolments were strong, but Covid lockdowns in Latin America and also in Spain were long and many ministries suffered, including MOCLAM. However, 2024 is looking bright, with MOCLAM intensives already being run in Mexico and Argentina in January.
Most of the current active MOCLAM groups are in Chile, Argentina, Mexico and Peru, now with increases in Spain and Bolivia. Cuba has seen huge numbers of students in the past studying PTC courses with MOCLAM. After some difficulties with the program there, made worse by Covid, enrolments in Cuba have now pleasingly again begun to increase.
The leaders of MOCLAM see some great potential in relationships which are currently being explored in Bolivia through local partnerships. MOCLAM is also developing strong partnerships in Chile with the Anglican Church and with the GBU (IFES groups) in Chile and Argentina. Work is also slowly progressing in Spain, with MOCLAM groups functioning in churches in the Canary Islands and through continuing opportunities in the GBU.
“It is a great joy to me to see brothers and sisters persevering in their studies over many years (often in difficult personal circumstances) . . . not because they want to earn a certificate but because they want to know our God and his word more deeply, and be therefore better able to teach others the same.”
Adrian Lovell, Director International, MOCLAM
Prayer for MOCLAM
- Pray for the groups running in various Anglican dioceses in South America, particularly the new initiatives that have only just started up in Argentina and Bolivia. Ask that students would see the subject through to the end, even if their initial enthusiasm might wane.
- Pray for the ‘rebooting’ of the ministry in Cuba, that a shift to a new decentralised model will be sustainable and provide the opportunity for many to study.
- Pray for the many IFES students and staff workers who are studying across Latin America and Spain, that the movement as a whole would retain a gospel focus and that MOCLAM will be a positive influence in that regard.
EGLISE EVANGÉLIQUE LIBRE DE NOUVELLE CALÉDONIE (The Evangelical Free Church of New Caledonia)
While the Gospel is firmly planted in much of English-speaking Melanesia, French-speaking Melanesia is relatively gospel poor. Like the rest of France, New Caledonia has few Bible-based churches. The Evangelical Free Church is the second largest protestant church in New Caledonia. This denomination approached CGM a number of years ago asking permission to use PTC in French as the basis for their pastor training in their Pastoral Institute (Institut de l’Eglise Evangélique Libre). Currently CGM has 12 subjects in French, but will soon have all 20 PTC subjects available for our French-speaking partners.
The relationship with the Eglise Libre came about through a Moore College graduate, Peter Hynes, who is the pastor in Noumea (New Caledonia) of an independent evangelical church that has historical links to this larger denomination. Until recently, Peter has been the main teacher at the Pastoral Institute, but he plans to change roles. He has been slowly training a group of pastors in the denomination to take over the teaching responsibilities.
As the handover to local teachers is under way, Peter continues to teach the students in the latter years of the course. At the same time, he is also training the teachers by going through each new subject with them before they are asked to teach it. In 2024 there are 3 first-year students in the Pastoral Institute who will be taught by local teachers.
“One of the greatest joys is to realise that the Lord was at work answering prayers long before the needs were made known.”
Peter Hynes, Pastor of the Evangelical Church of New Caledonia
Prayer for The Evangelical Free Church of New Caledonia.
- Give thanks for the joy of seeing the Lord work, meet the needs of the church and answer the prayers of many over the last few years.
- Pray too for the students, the main teacher at the Institute, Pastor Beinon, and for Peter Hynes as he teaches and mentors the teachers.
- Pray for safety and opportunity to witness and care for God’s people during this time of civil unrest.
- Give thanks for the PTC material being translated into French to be used to train local pastors.
