Youth Leadership Training
This picture was taken in May in IMI’s Kurdistan, Iraq office with our summer Bible Classes Team Teachers. Mryana, front left, is the Child Sponsorship Coordinator for Kurdistan.
Training Teens for Ministry and Leadership in the Middle East
Indigenous Ministries teams are actively training teens throughout the Middle East in our Child Sponsorship Program for their futures, offering several exciting paths of growth and service.
Bible Training for Teaching and Discipleship
Each year, many of our teens participate in a month of preparation and instruction. They learn how to teach Bible lessons to younger children, lead crafts, and help their students memorize Scripture.
Middle East Theological College
Some teens enroll in IM’s fully accredited Bible college, Middle East Theological College, located at our Ministry Center in Northern Iraq. This provides deep biblical education and prepares them for future ministry leadership.
Visitation and Outreach
Throughout the year, older teens join our teams in visiting families in refugee camps and villages. These experiences help train them in relational ministry and compassionate service.
Serving in Churches
Our pastors depend on these teens to assist with Sunday school, lead music during services, and help distribute food to the poor. For some, this hands-on ministry offers a taste of full-time pastoral work they may pursue in the future.
Camps and Vocational Training
During summer camps, teens help lead younger children, gaining valuable leadership skills. Additionally, we help some begin vocational training to prepare them for trades. Soon, we plan to offer more vocational classes at our ministry center in Erbil.
Higher Education Opportunities
Top students who qualify for entry into college or university may receive scholarships. Many times, these scholarships are provided by sponsors who want to help their sponsored child pursue higher education.
Every one of these teens has come through significant hardship—whether they were traumatized by ISIS in the Nineveh Plain or Syria, or raised by single mothers living in poverty in Egypt. Today, these teens are becoming strong, confident young men and women who love the Lord, are growing in Christ, and are proud to serve as part of the Indigenous Ministries team.
Would you like to invest in the future of these teens? Click here to explore sponsorship opportunities.
Meet a few of our other youth in leadership training: Far left photo: Warshan (stripes) from Iraq and Louis from Syria. Middle photo: Keroles from Egypt, and right photo: Marena, Hannah, Ereny and Ayda, all from Upper Nile, Egypt.
Thank you, Lord, thank you, Indigenous Ministries teams, thank you, sponsors! We are all VERY proud of each of them and all the others who are not on this page but are also striving for excellence!
*Often sponsors are eager to help pay for this training and we welcome their involvement!