Learn It. Use It. Teach It.

Over the last several years, ITEC teams have traveled to a specific area in East Africa multiple times. Each trip brings new opportunities to train and build relationships, but some of the most encouraging moments happen after we leave—when we hear a story about how someone is using what they learned.

Recently, we heard one of those stories from a former film trainee. During an ITEC training, he learned how to use his basic smartphone to record and share stories through video. Since then, he has been recording the testimonies of believers in his community. They are stories of lives changed by Christ: freedom from alcoholism and addiction, deliverance from spiritual bondage, and other deeply personal experiences.

He sometimes travels into areas where openly sharing Christian testimonies could put both him and the people in the videos at significant risk. So instead of uploading the stories to social media platforms, he carries them with him on his phone. When he meets someone who doesn’t follow Christ and hears a struggle that sounds familiar, he can pull out his phone and share the testimony of someone who has walked through something similar and how God delivered them. He knows his community. He understands the culture. He knows where it is safe to go, what conversations can be had, and how to share these stories in ways an outside team simply could not. We provided training and tools, but he is the one using them to reach the people around him with the Gospel.

Our team will be returning to the same area later in October to equip previous trainees to become the trainers. Last year, we trained a group of indigenous Christ followers in farm and dental skills. This time, some of those same farm trainees will continue learning, but they will also take another important step. They will learn how to become trainers themselves. Then, we get to step back and watch them train.

Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 2:2, “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.” There is multiplication built into that verse. One person teaches another. That person takes what they have learned and passes it on. Then someone else is equipped to do the same.

When a short-term team simply comes and does the work, the impact can be meaningful. Needs can be met, relationships can be built, and people can be served. But eventually, that team gets on an airplane and goes home. The film trainee in east Africa doesn’t need an ITEC team standing beside him to pull out his phone and share a testimony. And as farm trainees become trainers, they won’t need to wait for another team to arrive before someone else can learn those skills. They can teach others. And skills can continue opening doors for the Gospel long after a short-term trip ends.

If you or your church would like to learn more about what it means to have a sustainable long-term impact on your next short-term trip, we’d love to share more with you! Visit itecusa.org today!