Equipping the Global Church to Reach the Nations

a mature church

is a Sending Church

TMAI anticipates that the most strategic period of missions history will be carried out in our own generation.

Our Savior’s command to make disciples of all the nations stands as firm and urgent in 2024 as it was two millennia ago. A biblical church recognizes this—that to be missions-minded is to obey God’s word. The result is that mature churches will not only equip their own people in Scripture but will also train and send qualified missionaries to other cultures and people.

A fundamental Christian reality is seen: a mature church is a sending church.

The West has been sending missionaries for decades, but the truth is, we do not have a monopoly on the Great Commission. Mature churches in any country can fulfill the Great Commission by sending out approved and qualified cross-cultural missionaries—in many cases, they are even more effective at reaching neighboring cultures.

The question becomes: how will indigenous churches mature in order to send out faithful evangelists and missionaries? The answer is: in order to mature, churches around the world desperately need biblical leaders.

This is precisely why TMAI exists.

As TMAI trains indigenous leaders, these leaders strengthen and mature their local church. Sound preaching, leading to the implementation of a biblical philosophy of ministry, results in believers being sanctified in the truth. When this is the case, the local witness of a church is effective which means disciples are made and churches are planted.

A mature church can be expected to follow the New Testament model and send its own members to fulfill our Lord’s commission. Fueled by biblical convictions, these missionaries go to nearby villages and minority language groups, and often restricted access contexts. Countries that may be closed to westerners are often open and accessible to believers from other nations.

Our Lord’s command to the apostles to make disciples of all nations is a commission to all nations. Local churches in all nations join together in this call.

In the following stories, you will see the cycle of sending exemplified by TMAI training centers and graduates. We pray together that for God’s glory, the Church will be strengthened, equipping the nations to reach the nations.

Until they all hear,

Mark Tatlock President

COVER An Enn woman is baptized. The Enn people are an ethnic group in Myanmar PHOTO Faculty member teaches a class at Berea Seminary in Spain

Who We Are

TMAI is committed to ful lling the Great Commission by training indigenous church leaders to be approved pastor-teachers, able to equip their churches to make biblically sound disciples.

core values

Authority of Scripture

The inerrant and sufficient word of God is our ultimate authority in all areas of life and ministry (2 Tim 3:16).

Centrality of the Local Church

The goal of training is to strengthen His Church, the pillar and support of the truth (1 Tim 3:15).

Priority of the Gospel

We train men to accurately proclaim the true gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation to all who believe (Rom 1:16).

Value of Respect

We train with the goal of entrusting the training ministries into the capable hands of our colaborers in other countries (2 Tim 2:2).

Importance of Integrity

We uphold God’s high standard of holiness and integrity for spiritual leaders (1 Tim 3) through doctrinal, financial, and academic accountability.

distinctives

PHOTO Students at Central African Preaching Academy in Malawi attend a class on Biblical Covenants

Longevity

TMAI’s commitment to indigenous leadership positions us for long-term ministry without the interruptions that plague foreign missionaries (like visa issues and diplomatic volatility).

Multiplication

Following the model of 2 Timothy 2:2, gospel witnesses are being multiplied exponentially. The training of one man touches countless lives as he shepherds his own congregation or even sends more men to be trained like he was.

Impact

Since TMAI graduates already know the local language, customs, culture, and people to whom they’ll be ministering, they’re often more effective at planting and pastoring churches than foreign missionaries.

Stewardship

With the same amount of money it would take to send one man to the United States to be trained, TMAI is able to provide high quality education to dozens of students, right in their home countries.

Presence

Faculty members live in the area where they minister, making it possible to disciple and invest in their students, both in the classroom and in the context of their local church ministries. Full-time presence means full-time discipleship.

Maturity

TMAI is committed to equipping pastorteachers to accurately handle the word of truth according to the biblical requirements for pastors (2 Tim 2:15).

Frontier Missions Work in Myanmar

How can the training of one indigenous pastor result in the salvation of numerous souls in multiple unreached people groups?

To many, this may seem like an unlikely connection.

However, for TMAI graduates around the world, this is a reality.

R eaching the unreached has traditionally been thought of as the task of Western missions. But, as global churches are strengthened with godly, biblical leaders, they become the launch point for new missionary endeavors.

One place we are seeing the fruit of this process is in the mountains of Myanmar.

In 1996, a young man named Kan* lived in western Myanmar. His home bordered the countries of India and Bangladesh—and it was here that Kan was saved by the grace of God. Nearly ten years of serving his church later, he was called to ministry.

training center that his mind and heart began to change. Before he enrolled, Kan did not have a vision or desire to reach unreached people groups. But while in seminary, he was particularly shaped by three classes: Expository Preaching, the Glories of Salvation, and the Book of Acts.

The more he learned, the more he had a passion to share.

Once he graduated, Kan returned to Myanmar to be an assistant pastor. But after his education, he felt a burden to take the gospel to the unreached villages throughout the state. “I was gripped by a quote I read in a book,” he shares. “It read: ‘Christians talk a lot about the second coming of Christ, but most haven’t even heard about His first coming.’”

*names changed for security purposes

In 2008, Kan began classes at a TMAI training center in a neighboring country. It was at this

In 2018, Kan spoke at a local missions conference on the need to evangelize indigenous people groups. There, he connected with Thuta*, another TMAI graduate

who shared his passion. The two men eventually planted a church and prayed for God to raise up a generation of missionaries who would reach the unreached in their country.

Western missionaries have tried and failed to reach the many tribes who live in these mountains.

Today, Kan and Thuta pastor a church—appropriately named Antioch—which in turn has planted multiple churches in indigenous villages.

“Do I know Jesus? No, he doesn’t live in this village.” This is the common answer the tribes give when asked.

These two TMAI graduates now live and minister in the eastern part of Myanmar—the Shan State. Here, there are over thirty different indigenous people groups—all with their own unique languages, and most who have never heard the gospel.

The Shan State is the largest region of Myanmar, bordering China, Laos, and Thailand. Though full of indigenous people groups and tribes, it is also overrun with armed

soldiers as the state is the epicenter of meth and opium production globally. And in most of its villages, there are no schools or plumbing of any kind.

The villagers never accept strangers.

Western missionaries have tried and failed to reach the many remote tribes who live in these mountains. Yet, the missionaries that have been trained and sent from Antioch church—missionaries who are themselves indigenous Burmese, who know the customs and can find a common language with

PHOTO A group of Enn people in Myanmar

some of the villagers—have been welcomed.

A mix of Buddhism and animism, the villagers aren’t amiable to foreigners or other religions, but the missionaries found that they are open to medicine and medical training, as well as schooling for the children. As they lived among the people and built relationships, the missionaries began to translate the Bible and share the gospel, giving these villagers their first understanding of who Jesus is.

As a result, many have come to saving faith.

But following Christ does not come without a cost.

“Converts lose a lot when they choose to be baptized,” Kan explains. “They lose inheritance and family, and even get kicked out of their homes.”

Kan and Thuta’s love for their Savior, the Church, and the minority groups of Myanmar drives them. They are not motivated by numbers or pragmatics. Kan affirms, “The church is our focus and purpose.”

Following the example of Acts 13:1-3, Kan and Thuta were approved, sent, and are training local men to likewise take the gospel to the nations— starting in their nation.

The cycle from maturing to sending is not quick. In some places, it takes generations for churches to be able to raise up biblically sound missionaries. But like in Myanmar, sound missions movements are sparked by sound churches and the sound churches are those which are led by godly leaders.

One trained leader can be used by God in amazing ways.

Thus, it should not surprise us that through the training of pastors worldwide we are beginning to see a worldwide missions movement—a movement in which the nations are reaching the nations.

PHOTO An Enn village in Myanmar RIGHT Medical outreach to the Enn people

19 Training Centers

80+ Training Locations

75% Indigenous Faculty

2,985 Current Students

45 Languages Spoken by Student Body

8,050 Graduates tmai Stats

1,200+ Churches with TMAI Graduates

PHOTO European Bible Training Center in Germany hosts classes to equip both pastors and laypeople

The Cycle of Sending

A Mature Church Becomes a Sending Church

MISSIONARIES

SENT 1

In fulfilment of the Great Commission, missionaries are sent to evangelize, plant, and strengthen churches in collaboration with national leaders, bringing the gospel to the nations.

MATT 28:18-20

2

INDIGENOUS MEN TRAINED

TMAI training centers are established in partnership with local churches. The goal is to train and equip indigenous pastors to lead their churches biblically and in accordance with the qualifications for spiritual leaders.

2 TIM 2:2, 1 TIM 3:1-7, TITUS 1:5-9

TMAI’s work is focused here

TMAI GRADUATES STRENGTHEN CHURCHES

Once trained and approved, TMAI graduates strengthen their local churches through faithful and biblical preaching, teaching, and shepherding.

EPH 4:11-16, ACTS 14:21-23

INDIGENOUS CHURCHES SEND MISSIONARIES

As the local congregation is built up and strengthened, the next generation of leaders is raised up. The church sends out some of these leaders as missionaries to other cultures in fulfillment of the Great Commission. Thus, the sending cycle comes full circle.

MATT 28:18-20

a

tale of

Two Training Centers

e

reality of maturity leading to sending is not limited to churches. is truth is shared by all—a family, organization, or training center that is biblically grounded will be missions focused.

Such is the case with an established seminary and a developing school.

News of TMAI was spreading. The longstanding TMAI training center, Berea Seminary in Leon, Spain, had been training men in expository preaching for over a decade—to an extent that the surrounding nations were witnessing the fruit of faithful shepherds and teachers. And they saw the need for it too.

Mario, a pastor in Portugal, was driven to action.

Determined, Mario flew to Shepherds’ Conference in California. He sought out David Robles, the president of Berea Seminary, eager to multiply the training happening in Leon in his country. David, struck by this man’s passion, invited him to enroll at Berea and began

to pray about what God had in store for them in Portugal.

Mario started classes that next semester—and he brought other men with him.

This past Fall—after three years of prayer and preparation—an extension of Berea began in Portugal. The Portuguese graduates of Berea are in turn not only training their countrymen but men from Cape Verde, a former Portuguese colony off the West African coast. TMAI’s prayer is that the Lord will use these men to spread the Gospel throughout Portugal, Cape Verde, and other Portuguesespeaking countries.

To be biblically minded is to be missions minded.

Just as mature churches multiply themselves, so too do mature training centers.

Sending and multiplication are observed in TMAI Training Centers. As TMAI trains men who effectively reach across national borders, new training centers are created by local pastors who seek proper training in their country. Just as mature churches multiply themselves, so too do mature training centers.

From Spain to Portugal to Africa—a continued cycle of training, sending, and reaping a harvest of many.

PHOTO Students in Berea Seminary’s Expository Preaching Program in Spain and Portugal

Writing For All to Hear

The Role of Publishing in Global Missions

TMAI focuses on training indigenous church leaders—yet the local church is not the only bene ciary of this training.

ese

trained pastors not only shepherd the local ock through their church ministry, but some also strengthen the Church throughout their country through writing books.

In many cases, books authored by these trained indigenous leaders connect with the local readers much better than English translations, especially since many Western references and customs (i.e. golf and baseball metaphors) do not always translate effectively.

In God’s marvelous providence, not only are indigenous authors reaching their own culture, but because of shared cultural similarities, their books are easily adapted into neighboring cultures and languages.

One example of this is the book Precious Christ, authored by Alexey Kolomiytsev.

Alexey was trained at The Master’s Seminary and currently leads TMAI’s Russian language training ministry in Battle Ground, WA. His preaching

ministry is global, and he is one of the most listened-to preachers among Russian speakers worldwide. Yet his written work extends even further than his personal ministry.

rough these translations, closed access countries have sound doctrine in their language.

Alexey originally wrote the book Precious Christ in Russian. As it spread around the world, it eventually extended into nonRussian regions where many people speak both Russian and the local language. Wanting to translate it into the local language, Russian speakers in Serbia, Ukraine, and most recently Tajikistan (in the Farsi language) have now translated the book into their indigenous language. The book is

also slated to be translated into Lithuanian, German, and has been completed in English.

Through these translations, closed access countries have sound doctrine in their language.

As missionaries take the gospel to the ends of the earth, the greatest book they possess is the Bible. However, sound books and resources written for a local culture effectively help to ground the church in sound doctrine and awaken hearts to the truth throughout the nations.

94 Book Projects Completed by Training Centers IN 2023

102 Book Projects In Progress IN 2024

Completed IN 2023

The Freedom and Power of Forgiveness by John MacArthur UKRAINIAN

Old Testament Speaks: Old Testament Survey by Alexey Prokopenko RUSSIAN

The Rapture and Beyond by John Whitcomb ALBANIAN

Hermeneutics: Understanding the Word of God by J. Scott Duvall & J. Daniel Hayes

PORTUGUESE

In-Progress IN 2024

Biblical Doctrine by John MacArthur & Richard Mayhue

ALBANIAN, AMHARIC, CROATIAN, HEBREW, JAPANESE, UKRAINIAN

Fundamentals of the Faith by Grace Community Church CHICHEWA

Dangerous Calling by Paul David Tripp JAPANESE

EsraBibel (New Bible Translation)

GERMAN

Impact Projects

Your generous gifts help strengthen the global Church by providing support for these projects that are an integral part of TMAI’s mission to train indigenous pastors.

Scholarships

Resourcing for Church Planting

New Training Sites and Programs

Translation, Writing, and Publishing

Construction Projects

Conferences

Library Expansions

Technology Upgrades

Technology Upgrades

PHOTO Student in the Expository Preaching Program at Evangelical Ministries of the Americas in Honduras

LEFT Students attend class held by Word of Grace Bible Institute in Southeast Asia

RIGHT A graduate of Christ Seminary preaches at a local church in South Africa

BOTTOM Expository Preaching Workshop held in Peru by the Expositor’s Institute in Argentina

Partner with Us

Intercede

Jesus, after telling His disciples that the fields are ripe for harvest, told them to “beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers.” Prayer is still the greatest need today. We invite individuals and organizations to join us in praying for the Lord’s work through TMAI around the world. Sign up for prayer updates at TMAI.ORG /SUBSCRIBE.

Invest

Our ministry would not be possible without the generosity of our donors. For every pastor trained, resource translated, and conference held around the world, there are multiple supporters whose gifts have enabled that ministry. If you are interested in financially supporting this exciting global work, visit TMAI.O RG/DONATE .

Introduce

You can play a significant role in TMAI’s ministry by introducing us to others who share a passion to see Christ’s name exalted among the nations. Please contact the TMAI Home Office at INFO@TMAI.ORG or call 818.909.5570 , and we will be happy to work with you to connect with any individuals or organizations you recommend.

LEFT Faculty member speaks at Czech Bible Institute in Czech Republic BOTTOM Faculty member teaches class at Grace Bible Seminary in Ukraine RIGHT Graduation for TMAI Europe’s Master of Divinity program

ConfErEnCE fEES/ intErESt/otHEr $874K

CHUrCHES $807K

foUnDationS/ organiZationS $2.3M

$4.2M

miSSion aCtiVitiES $6.1M REVENUE $8.2M inDiViDUaLS

gEnEraL & aDminiStratiVE $934K fUnDraiSing $1.2M