T.E.E.-ing Up Students for Success

The very first class of T.E.E. students in Zambia (L-R): Emanuel Mhlanga, Benford Kawiliza, Gideon Mbwisa, Timothy Tonga, Joshua Tonga, Missionary E H Wendland. Benford Kawiliza graduated from the first class of Seminary students 50 years ago

Do your
best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to
be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 2 Tim. 2:15

In many places, the pastors of the LCCA are the most educated men in
their locales. People living in rural communities attend primary school but
most leave secondary school before receiving their diploma. Churches offer
Sunday School for children and Confirmation Instruction for Adults who want to
become members, but it is difficult for pastors to conduct advanced Bible
Classes because each pastor is responsible for 3-6 congregations.



How do we bridge the gap in Biblical knowledge of an LCCA
member who wants to enroll in our Worker Training program but barely
understands what it means to be a Lutheran? In Malawi and Zambia we do not have
Lutheran Elementary and Preparatory/Area Lutheran High Schools. Instead, the
Worker Training System of the LCCA Malawi and Zambia relies heavily on a
program called “Theological Education by Extension” or T.E.E. for short. 

The T.E.E. program was initially set up by Missionary Ernst
H. Wendland in 1963 in Zambia. He recognized that men coming from a rural
setting needed to receive additional preparation before they began their formal
studies for the ministry. Instead of sending these men far away from their
families and villages, the T.E.E. program is administered locally by the
pastors who are serving in the field. 

Three T.E.E. students are studying with Pastor Riphat Matope in Luchenza, Malawi

Under the guidance of their pastor, candidates for the
ministry work through four in-depth courses on Lutheran doctrine and Bible
history. The students study at their own pace, meeting occasionally with their
pastor who reviews the material with them. This system works well in remote
areas, where the pastor only makes visits 2-3 times a year.

Pastor Bright Pembeleka is the vacancy pastor for Katunga Lutheran Church, about a 3 hour drive from his home in Blantyre

Under our current Worker Training system, every three years
there is an intake of new students. Men who have completed the T.E.E.
coursework present themselves for a test and an interview with the faculties of
our Worker Training schools in Malawi or Zambia. Out of about 40 men who
applied during the last intake in 2017, only 12 were accepted. In spite of
this, there is some attrition of students during the six years of formal study
due to academic or personal reasons.

The door is wide open for ministry, but the workers are few

Overall, the T.E.E. program has served the needs of the LCCA
Worker Training Program well over the years.  Currently there are 8 students enrolled at the
Lutheran Seminary in Lusaka, and 16 students enrolled at the Lutheran Bible
Institute in Lilongwe. We ask God that every one of these men completes their
studies and receives a call into the ministry. 

Missionary John Roebke
serves in Malawi

Please
pray for those working in fields that are ripe for harvest. Share their story,
engage with future news and receive updates. Go to this link to learn more
about our mission fields in Africa and how the Holy Spirit is working faith in
people’s hearts  https://wels.net/serving-others/missions/africa