Mission Statement
"To train self-supporting, spiritual leaders who are equipped for holistic rural ministry in Central Africa."
Our goal is not to train professional, full-time preachers as ths primarily a western concept and one that few African churches can support. And, because we do not believe that preachers ought to be paid by foreign support, our goal is to train men with the ability to support themselves in ministry. And, since we are training leaders for rural ministry, Daybreak provides extensive training in agriculture (using drip-irrigation and raising chickens). Daybreak is also intently committed to developing and training spiritual leaders, not necessarily church leaders nor preachers. Although most of our graduates are likely to become church leaders and self-supporting preachers, this is not the ultimate goal. Just because one is a preacher or church leader does not mean he is a spiritual leader. Thus, the heart of our training at Daybreak is primarily focused on spiritual transformation and character development.
Ministerial training at Daybreak is very practical, hands-on. Training that is limited to the classroom is insufficient. It must also incorporate practical experience. Students must be given time outside the classroom to put into practice what they learn in the classroom. One area of particular importance is training students how to make disciples (which involves much more than making a convert, baptizing them, and planting a church). Making disciples requires a great deal more time and effort as it requires a total transformation of life. Thus, students are given a great deal of time to engage in actual disciple-making. Likewise, students learn how to succeed as farmers by doing it. After three months of agricultural training, students become self-supporting for the rest of their training at Daybreak (three years). The hope is that our students will become experts in agriculture and will be able to train others how to be sucessful farmers when they return to their home villages.
Students are also trained in many other types of ministry. Besides disciple-making and agriculture, our students are trained in how to be community school techers, village healthcare officers, how to organize their churches and communities to care for orphans and children in need, food preservation, HIV-AIDS prevention, santitation, nutrition, and many other such skills. The goal is to train our students for holistic ministrry (both spiritual and humanitarian) so that when they return to their villages, they will be able to make a significant contribution to the spiritual and physical well-being of the people of their community.
The Mission of God
The Mission of God is first revealed in Gen 12:1-3. It is in this passage that God reveals his plan to salvage and redeem cursed humanity. God tells Abraham that he is going to bless him; but, not just for Abraham's benefit. God has a bigger purpose in mind. He wants to bless Abraham so that through him all peoples of the early might be blessed. In other words, it is here that God reveals to us his plan to work with and through a chosen humanity to redeem all humanity. A careful study of the Bible reveals that God's plan grew to involve Israel (chosen seed of Abraham). Unfortunately, however, Israel failed to be a blessing to the nations. But, then, as we turn to the New Testament, it becomes clear that God's plan was finally realized in Jesus (promised seed of Abraham). It is in Christ and through His body (disciples of Christ who are the spiritual seed of Abraham) that God is now working to bless and redeem a lost and broken world.
But, God's plan to bless humanity through Christ and his church is not limited to spiritual matters alone (e.g. eternal salvation). God's plan is wholistic and all-encompassing. This is most evident in the life and teaching of Jesus, for when he came to establish God's kingdom of earth (return of God's rule on earth), he came telling people the good news (that the kingdom and a new blessed age had arrived) and healing the sick (ministering to people both in body and in spirit). Read Matt 4:23-25 and Mt 9:35. His ministry and teaching sought to make men whole again. Then, in the very next chapter (Mt 10), Jesus sent his disciples out to do the same thing: announce the good news and minister to people's needs.
Hence, it is our belief that the mission of God is wholistic and relevant to all of life. Faith in Christ and discipleship should transform the whole man and make a difference in every facet of his life and his community. To be "lost" is a condition that is evidenced in many ways: spiritually, physically, economically, and relationally (communal). Sin has touched every facet of human existence, causing sickness and death, war and oppression, poverty and injustice, pain and suffering, etc. The mission of God seeks to reverse what sin has produced and restore human life back to God's original intent (state of blessedness in relation to God).
Hence, the mission of God not only seeks to redeem men spiritually for eternity (life after death), but it also seeks to redeem all of human life. To advance the kingdom of God is to advance the age of God's rule which leads to renewal and rebirth (both in this life and beyond). To advance the kingdom of God is to overthrow the powers of evil and to redeem men for God's purposes. It is to bring an end to destructive and oppressive domains of evil throughout the world and to replace them with the rule of God (justice, peace, and righteousness). Not only does this work renew individual human lives, but it also transforms and redeems families and human communities. It is, therefore, the kingdom of God that offers hope to the world (especially the poor and oppressed). To announce the kingdom of God is to announce the end of human suffering and oppression. A new age is dawning in which good will triumph over evil!