IBL partners with American churches for Great Commission impact among national church leaders in the majority (developing) world.

The majority world consists of those countries where most of the world’s people live and labor.  They do so in conditions of rampant poverty and limited opportunities never experienced by most Americans.

IBL invests in national pastors and church leaders using a curriculum specifically developed for the majority world, so national leaders can effectively oversee their churches and lovingly shepherd their people.

Through specialized mentoring, we prepare key leaders in each region to train alongside us as our colleagues, with a goal of entrusting to them the work of developing leaders in their own culture and context, resulting in a sustainable, self-reproducing program and an enduring impact for Christ.

Program Elements

Church leaders in the majority world face a set of debilitating challenges not typically experienced by Christian leaders in the developed world.

Theological Essentials

First, with little access to formal Bible training, most majority world leaders rely on “catch-as-catch-can” learning from whatever sources are available, resulting in a confused collection of opposing concepts and doctrines.

Our focus: Clarify the practical, essential doctrines of the Christian faith, presented in a manner and at a level easily grasped by the student, and with an emphasis on local contextualization.

Biblical Leadership

Second, in the majority world there is minimal understanding of the leadership principles found in God’s Word. Instead, leaders rely on common cultural norms which equate leadership with position, power, title and money, resulting in a flesh-driven form of leadership.

Our focus: Instill God-honoring leadership practices and personal spiritual disciplines, as distilled from our EML leadership development curriculum, and specialized to the local context.

Pastoral Skills

Last, cultural norms, not biblical principles and precepts, too often drive personal morality and relationships within the Body of Christ. This tendency is reinforced by culturally-driven practices in which leaders mandate behavioral conformance by fiat, resulting in a system of legalistic behavior among Christians rather than Spirit-led growth.

Our focus:  Encourage effective, Spirit-led pastoral ministry in majority world settings.

Our Colleagues

Effective, accurate contextualization in each region we serve is critically important.  We address this challenge by partnering with established national leaders of proven integrity, unblemished reputation, and demonstrated faithfulness.  These leaders-of-leaders know their own cultures well and assist us in contextualizing the eternal truths of scripture to their particular regions and situations.  We’re grateful for these Brothers in Christ who enable our international reach, effectiveness and impact.

Through a specialized program of on-site and distance mentoring, we develop these men as our colleagues, to train alongside us, and to be entrusted with the continuing work of raising up the next generation of pastors and church leaders.

Current Fields of Ministry

We currently have more than ten open doors in East Africa, South Central and Southeast Asia, and South America.  Click on the link below to learn more about training leaders in each of these contexts.

learn about where we train

Interested in partnering with majority-world Christian leaders
to further Kingdom growth?