“GO” EAST AFRICA
BASED IN MOMBASA, KENYA and facilitated by experienced missionaries and national leaders, “GO” is a 6-week discipleship and mission training program that seeks to develop Christ-like character and instill basic skills for outreach among unreached people groups. A new GO team launches every summer.
phase 1
1 week / Discipleship and Skills training
phase 2
~ 4 weeks / Mentorship living and working in an outreach location
phase 3
1 week / Team Debrief and personal reflection
Beginning with a one-week discipleship program, you and your team will a focus on learning some of the necessary skills for outreach. A four-week placement follows, where you will be placed with one or more of your teammates in a location where experienced missionaries are currently serving. The program is rounded off with a one-week debrief to evaluate lessons learned, prepare for returning home, and a prayerful consideration of next steps in ministry.
GO East Africa is designed for young men and women (think 20’s) who sense that God is calling them to missions and are seeking to dig deeper and learn what that may look like in an African context.
How much support will I raise?
About $8,000, but the actual cost will vary depending on airfare and other factors year to year.
GO Participants live and learn together as a team, engaging in daily group class time. The 1 week of training revolves around CHARACTER and SKILL development.
Developing Christ-like character and embracing basic spiritual principles is critical for life on the mission field. Areas of focus include: Spiritual Disciplines, Spiritual Warfare, Spiritual Gifts, and Serving Well in any season of life – as a single, as a married couple, or as parents.
Doing life and ministry in an outreach location also requires a good foundation in some necessary skills. These include: A basic understanding of Islam, Language Acquisition tools, Insights into Cross Cultural living, Understanding the Biblical and Historical Foundations for missions, Learning good Communication Techniques, working on healthy Team Dynamics and Relationships, and learning about different Discipleship Strategies.
What you learn in the classroom will be put into practice in the next four weeks of on-site ministry.
For the four weeks of hands-on, practical ministry, you’ll be placed with one or more of your teammates in a location where experienced missionaries are currently serving. Your host missionaries will model how ministry is done in their location, find practical ways for you to get involved, and share the realities of missionary life and work with you. You’ll also become a student of language and culture while you immerse yourself in a new place and build relationships with those you are working among.
While on-site, you’ll continue to work on your personal and spiritual growth through reading and reflection, continuing to sharpen the principles learned during your initial training. Each participant will read a daily devotional that focuses on unreached people groups and select supplemental reading material that will encourage personal reflection on life and ministry. You’ll also study additional mission training materials that can be regularly discussed with your mentor.
The things you learn through real-life situations, personal study, reflection, and rich interactions with your missionary hosts will all be unpacked in your debrief.
During your last week, the whole team will converge again in the city and gather for a debrief. You’ll get to share your varied experiences with each other, and talk about the lessons learned: from the practical to the personal and spiritual insights God showed you. The debrief is also a time to slow the pace, get some rest and recreation, and engage in quiet reflection.
As you prepare for your return home, we’ll also talk about how to share your experiences with friends and family, how to avoid spiritual regression, and how to gracefully navigate “re-entry” into your home country and communities.
Lastly, you’ll be challenged to consider what your future involvement in missions might be. We’ll dig deeper into the many opportunities to serve; both at home, or overseas, through going, sending, or supporting the work.
We hope your experience as part of a GO team will forever leave you changed, with a heart more in tune with God’s, and a greater understanding of the needs and opportunities in global missions.
Interested in joining a “GO – East Africa” Team? Talk to us.
Participants can arrange to serve through GO as a foundation for a longer short-term ministry, serving in any of AIM’s ministry regions for up to eight months after completing their GO training.
