Core Courses

Interpersonal Relationships Skills Workshop

Surveys among missionaries have consistently shown that one of the most serious problems they deal with is getting along with their missionary colleagues. In the setting of a missionary team, this is potentially an even more serious problem.

The purpose of the "Interpersonal Relationships Skills Workshop" is to allow members of a missionary team to become better acquainted with each other, (personality types, work style preferences, values and priorities, etc.) and to learn more about and enhance their own interpersonal skills, (open yet sensitive communication, stress management, conflict resolution, etc.) so that relationships among team members will be as effective and harmonious as possible. It is our conviction that these types of interpersonal relationships on the mission team will have a direct and positive effect on the team’s ability to establish a successful, dynamic church.

Dr. Steve Allison, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology at Abilene Christian University, teaches this workshop for us. The workshop is held in two-day segments throughout the length of the Missionary Team Internship. By spreading the workshop sessions from the beginning to the end of the Internship Dr. Allison is able to tailor the presentation of his materials to meet the evolving needs of the mission team. He is also able to address emerging and even "hidden" team issues that are best dealt with in the presence of a experienced outside moderator.

Team Missions

Continent of Great Cities defines a mission team as three or more families who go to the field together, work in an organized effort, staying together as long as necessary to establish one or more congregations. One of the key phrases in the definition is "working together in an organized effort." Missionary teams trained by Continent of Great Cities are not simply several missionary families who happen to be living and working in the same city. They are genuine missionary teams that fit the description above.

The purpose of the "Team Missions" course is to help the missionary team learn to work in an organized and efficient manner. In order to do so it is important that team members understand that their mission team, like any living organism, has its own distinctive life cycle. The "Team Missions" course examines the missionary team life cycle from recruitment to reentry to life in the U.S. The purpose of this examination is to understand the complex factors at work in the life of a mission team and to learn how to deal with them in a productive way.

The "Team Missions" course is co-taught by Bryan Gibbs and Scott Reynolds. Between them are degrees in Bible, Missiology and Counseling. Perhaps their greatest qualification for teaching this course, however, are the 24 years of combined experience they bring to the table having served on different mission teams in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Drawing on their academic training, as well as their extensive experience as mission team members, Gibbs and Reynolds are able to make the course both informative and practical.

In this course team members learn to make decisions as a team, to conduct team meetings, to deal with conflicts on the team, to cope with the complex interrelationship between the mission team and the national church the team is establishing, and many other practical matters that will contribute to team effectiveness. One of the most important outgrowths of this course is the production by team members of their own "Team Strategy Document." Portions of this document deal with how the team will work together, defining procedures and expectations that will govern the team’s working relationships. This document functions as a team "constitution" that will allow them to work cooperatively and efficiently.

Above all, team members learn that the mission team is only a means to an end. The ultimate goal is to establish a dynamic national church. In order to accomplish this, like John the Baptist in relation to Jesus Christ, the mission team must "become less" so that the national church may "become greater."

Urban Evangelism and Church Establishment

The goal of all missionary teams trained by Continent of Great Cities is to establish a dynamic new church in their target city that will in turn establish other churches. The purpose of the "Urban Evangelism and Church Establishment" course is to examine and become familiar with strategies and methodologies that have been used by others to successfully establish dynamic churches in urban settings. A special emphasis is placed on examining successful strategies and methodologies that have been utilized in South American urban centers.

Continent of Great Cities’ Associate Director, Ron Freitas, teaches the "Urban Evangelism and Church Establishment" course. Freitas is a graduate of the Bear Valley School of Biblical Studies. More importantly, he spent 15 years working as part of a church-planting missionary team in Curitiba, Brazil. In addition, Freitas has served for over 10 years in stateside congregations in various ministry roles.

As a result of their research and studies in this course, team members will conclude the writing of their own "Team Strategy Document." In this portion of the document, they will define and describe the strategies and methodologies the team will use to establish the new congregation in their target city. Although the document will probably need to be modified as the work progresses, it is a tremendous help to arrive on the field with a previously defined and agreed upon approach to the work.

History and Culture of the Target City and Country

Continent of Great Cities believes that in order to be an effective missionary in a foreign country it is essential to be familiar with the history and culture of the host country. The purpose of the "History and Culture" course is to familiarize team members with the political, economic, artistic and sporting history of their new home. Key cultural issues and how to recognize and address them are also discussed. Team members will begin to understand and wrestle with the complex interaction between their own culture, their soon-to-be adoptive culture and their understanding of scriptural teachings and values.

This course is taught by an adjunct professor. For the past four years, when the country in focus has been Brazil, Dr. Howard Norton, Ph.D. in Philosophy, with an emphasis on Latin American History from the University of Sao Paulo, has been the guest professor. Dr. Norton also served as a missionary to Sao Paulo, Brazil for 17 years.

When the country in focus has been a Spanish-speaking country, the guest professor has been Dr. Dan Coker, Ph.D. in Intercultural Communications from the University of Florida. Dr. Coker has served for more than 30 years as a missionary in five different Spanish-speaking countries in both Central and South America.

A key element of the "History and Culture" course is a study of the religious history of the target country. Special attention is paid to the dominant religions, as well as to the history of the works of Churches of Christ in the country. Understanding and learning from what has been done in missions by previous missionary teams and individuals is a tremendous help for missionary team members as they consider their own approach to the work before them.

Family and Women’s Issues

Women have historically played a vital role in the missionary task. Often too little attention has been given to the effective preparation of these missionary women. The "Family and Women’s Issues" course was created to meet this need. This course helps women prepare for daily life and ministry on the mission field and addresses concerns and questions that are sometimes unique to women.

The course is taught by Georgia Freitas and other experienced missionary women who she invites to take part. Georgia is the Director of the Center for Missionary Team Women. She is a graduate of the Women’s Program of the Bear Valley Biblical Studies Institute. She was the first graduate of the Institute’s "Missionary Women’s Track." Georgia also has extensive experience in ministry, having served for 15 years as a missionary in Curitiba, Brazil, and for more than 10 years in ministry in the U.S.

This course addresses not only the roles missionary women face in general, but also addresses those specific issues she will face as a wife and possibly a mother. The course also deals with the unique challenges faced by a single woman on the field. The course helps missionary women deal with all stages of missionary life.

In addition to the three-week workshop, Freitas conducts weekly mentoring sessions with the missionary women. Continent provides resources for solving problems and helps women get in touch with those on the field or in the U.S. who can provide solutions to the problems they will face in their future ministry.

Personal Evangelism

"Job One" for newly arrived missionaries is evangelism. When they arrive on the field, if missionaries do not evangelize there will be no church established. This is the primary task given to each team trained by Continent of Great Cities – to seek and save the lost. The purpose of the "Personal Evangelism" course is to familiarize team members with effective principles and strategies for personal evangelism and to introduce them to a set of evangelistic Bible studies that they can adapt and utilize in their future work.

This course is co-taught by Stan and Ron Freitas. Ron is a member of the Continent of Great Cities staff and former missionary to Brazil. Stan, Ron’s brother, has more than 25 years of experience in evangelism and church establishment here in the U.S. Stan, like his brother Ron, is a graduate of the Bear Valley School of Biblical Studies.

Beyond teaching principles and strategies of evangelism, the Freitas brothers teach in an inspirational manner about the reasons and motivation for evangelism. They emphasize that Christians evangelize because God Himself is, at heart, an evangelist. He desires that all men be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. Team members learn that it is out of a profound love for God, and out of a deep sense of gratitude for His unmerited grace, that they are to teach the Good News to those who have not yet made the decision to name Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.