Philosophy of Ministry Training

Did you know that most missionaries last about two years on the field? Statistics show that effective pre-field training greatly increases your chances of being more fruitful and sustainable on the mission field. We are committed to providing the best training possible so that our graduates can serve and bear fruit anywhere in the world.


We take a balanced, holistic approach to missionary preparation. We purposely focus on integral ministry training: head (formal, classroom, theory), heart (informal, community, spiritual), and hands (non-formal, practical, on-the-job). Books like Integral Ministry Training and other research explain that this is the best way to equip long-term laborers for the mission field.

Head (knowledge)

There are people who serve in missions with great intentions and a true love for the Lord but with insufficient knowledge to see much spiritual fruit. First, a strong foundation of Bible knowledge and solid missiology are essential. In MTS, we dig deeply into God’s Word, applying what we learn in Scripture to mission principles. We read books about missions and cross-cultural ministry to understand effective methods to make disciples of all nations. Book learning alone may isolate you from some of your target group, especially with oral cultures, so we learn how to teach God's Word to oral learners. Understanding topics such as worldview differences, world religions, how to learn a language, sharing your faith with a Muslim or Hindu, church planting principles, and how to apply Scripture in a culturally appropriate way will help you serve effectively overseas.

Heart (character)

The disciples were “uneducated, common men . . . that had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13) and were used by the Lord to “turn the world upside down” (Acts 17:6). We know that apart from Him, we can do nothing. Because of this, much of our training focuses on spiritual formation and learning to abide in Christ by becoming better disciples of His. We study the Word and pray together, enjoy corporate times of worship, participate in accountability groups, and provide mentoring and discipleship for our students. Spiritual growth happens best in the context of community, so many of our staff and students live within walking distance of each other and "do life" together. Cultivating a lifestyle of worship is a high priority for us!

Listen to Grant Haynes, GFM Executive Director, sharing about Spiritual Formation.

Hands (skill)

Patrick Lai, in his book, Tentmaking, researched numerous field missionaries and discovered correlations between field fruitfulness and ministry done before deployment. People who had worked with internationals before going overseas, been adequately discipled,  led someone to the Lord, and guided small group Bible studies did better on the mission field than those who had not done these things. Jesus demonstrated that the best way for His disciples to learn to do ministry was modeling it for them before sending them out to do it. Paul trained Timothy by modeling and doing ministry together. During MTS, students spend twelve to fifteen hours per week in outreach options, such as participating in community service, teaching English, learning other languages, doing evangelism, providing discipleship, church planting in apartment complexes, assisting with children’s programs, doing youth ministry, leading Bible studies, and other ministries. "Hands" training takes place as experienced laborers disciple, coach, and mentor students in the skills necessary to become a successful long-term missionary.

As a missional community, we spend as much time DOING missions as we do LEARNING about missions. As we fall more in love with Jesus by individually and corporately praying, worshiping, spending time in His Word, and seeking first His kingdom, He will equip us with everything we need to "go and make disciples of all nations."


A unique aspect of our missionary training is its holistic nature, achieved by linking cross-cultural principles and missions’ strategy received in the classroom with hands-on missionary training in a cross-cultural context as we live among refugees. All of this happens while participating in an authentic and real Christian community, sharing the struggles and blessings of serving in missions.

Missionary Training School is like medical school. We accept students who have received their “pre-med” courses through their local church in basic discipleship, a firm foundation in Christ and the Word, and some involvement in ministry. We then provide specialized training to help people learn to do evangelism, discipleship, and church planting in a cross-cultural setting with people from other religions, which is a special skill set not provided in most local churches. We also can connect you to additional on-the-field training opportunities through our partner agencies.


Missionary Training School is currently offered at our Atlanta location each spring (January-May) and fall (August-December). We also have an online missionary training school for those unable to attend in-person.

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