ABOUT THE
EQUIP MISSIONARY
TRAINING PROGRAM

Experience is the best teacher

Our 10-month Equip Missionary Training Program will teach you the principles of reproducible church-planting and give you the invaluable experience of ministering among unreached people groups in New York City.

New York City Mission

Where you receive your training matters

Nowhere in America will prepare you for church planting among unreached people groups like New York City. 

Relying on public transportation, reduced personal space, fatigue, and enduring the entire spectrum of weather are elements of cross-cultural ministry New York City can help you get used to, before you leave for the field.

And where else can you immediately put your church-planting training into practice among so many unreached people groups? New York City has 52 of them!

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What you get trained in matters

Many missionaries pursue church-planting strategies limited to only one church being planted. In the Equip Missionary Training Program, we draw from extensive studies done on over 80 church-planting movements around the world right now – using that research and years of practical experience, we train you to plant the kind of church that will reproduce itself many generations deep.

Who trains you matters

You will get trained by, and work alongside, church-planters and cross-cultural missionaries who have decades of missions experience. 

How you get trained matters

Many Bible schools and missionary training programs front-loaded you with teaching without giving much opportunity to put your education into practice. 

At International Project, we believe experience is the best teacher, so we designed the Equip Missionary Training Program with a “just-in-time” training approach.

New York City Mission at Equip 10 month missionary training program

This means that as soon as you are trained in a church-planting principle, you put it into practice.

Some highlights of the Equip Missionary Training experience will include:

  • Developing a ministry plan with your team to engage an unreached people group in New York City and spending 10 months putting it into practice.

  • Facilitating at least one Discovery Bible Study with influential international students on prestigious New York City university campuses.

  • Learning to “live out loud” by sharing the gospel numerous times throughout the year.

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GO PROCESS

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EQUIP FAQ

Equip begins July 15; however, participants, especially families, are encouraged to move to NYC by July 1.  Large group trainings start August 1. Equip ends May 28.

The focus of Equip is reproducible church planting. Each participant will work on a team that will become  his/her house church in NYC. This is a cross-cultural church planting training program with a mission to  plant churches among the many dispersed unreached people groups here in the city. There will be a high  focus on evangelism and discipleship.

The following are five major aspects of Equip. All things taught or experienced in training, on a UPG team, and/or in the community will fall under them. 

  1. Reproducible church planting  
  2. Cross-cultural engagement  
  3. Skills for the field 
  4. Gospel-centered character 
  5. Team development and assessment

Equip will help you develop a philosophy of evangelism, discipleship, and church planting that is highly  reproducible. The goal is that you leave with the DNA and skills of church planting that lead to church  planting movements. Equip will also help you view life and ministry from a gospel perspective and learn  how to live it out on a team and community.

Equip is for anyone who seeks to reach the lost, start biblical communities of believers, and disciple new  believers to do the same. This training is very valuable for those involved in ministry with unreached people  groups (UPG) in the U.S. who want UPG believers to have a reproducible ministry in their home countries.  In addition, this training is highly recommended for anyone who wants to go overseas to plant churches among UPGs. Many go overseas without an understanding or experience of church planting. They assume  they will become focused on training when they arrive, only to find that their teammates are busy with  ministry and they are busy learning the language. Since many missionaries come from traditional  churches, they do not understand the DNA for simple church planting and struggle in many mission  contexts. This training will provide the philosophy and experience of church planting before arriving on the  field.

The minimum age requirement for this program is 21 years.

Getting a job will be considered case-by-case but not likely approved. Each participant’s weekly schedule  and responsibilities will require 40-50 hours per week. This must be discussed first with Equip leadership.

Each program year, we will do our best to offer Old Testament, New Testament, Systematic Theology, and  Hermeneutics. These classes will only be offered if we have at least 3 participants for each class. If we cannot provide them, we will notify you in advance so that you might be able to find other Bible class  options. These classes are optional and only mandatory for those participants whose organization requires  them to take them. 

  1. You will be trained in the principles of starting and leading Discovery Bible Studies (DBSs) and will  potentially have the opportunity to lead DBSs among unreached people groups. 
  2. You will be trained to disciple new believers and make reproducing disciples. 
  3. You will complete the “Filling the Earth” seminar, learning the theological underpinnings and practical  applications of house churches and church planting movements. 
  4. You will be trained in the healthy elements of effective teams. 
  5. You will be trained in the contextualization of church planting. 
  6. You will be mentored and coached by a church planter in the context of ministry. g. You will be saturated in the gospel and its application for life and ministry. 
  7. You will engage 3-5 new individuals weekly for personal evangelism. 
  8. You will become a member of an existing house church and identify and use your spiritual gifts in  ministry. 

For single participants, the monthly cost (including all housing, living, and ministry expenses) will be  approximately $2,500+ per month. The cost will be roughly $4,500+ per month for couples and families.  For more information, contact IP Mobilization at go@internationalproject.org. If you have questions  during Equip, please contact the Equip Director or IP HR at hr@internationalproject.org.

This may be possible in special circumstances. However, some major expenses, like rent, are  expensive in NYC and cannot be reduced. If this concerns you, please contact the Equip Director to  discuss further. 

A non-refundable $500 deposit for individuals and $1,000 for couples/families is due by April 12 and will be applied to your Equip program fee. This fee covers trainers, training materials, training room rentals,  and other expenses (Equip staff are volunteers).  

If you have special circumstances that will not allow you to stay for the entire program, please talk to us about your concerns. Keep in mind, the training happens throughout the entire program and builds upon itself. You will only receive the full benefit of the training and ministry by staying for the entire time.

The ideal Equip participant is highly teachable, passionately desires to reach and disciple unreached  people groups, and is willing to challenge their fears and paradigms in ministry methods. 

There is no “typical” day. Our ministry is very relational and self-initiated. This means there is no program schedule that everybody follows daily together. We will not set anyone’s schedule or tell them  who to meet with or when. People must be self-motivated and able to initiate and maintain their  schedules. However, we do have expectations for the number of internationals that participants engage with weekly. 

Participants will develop a strategic plan for how to reach a specific unreached people group community. They will spend significant time in a particular neighborhood and develop a plan to  implement to reach this community later. 

In addition to this, participants will also be part of a house church community within our network of house churches. This is where they will worship and fellowship for the entire time they are in NYC.  These house churches meet at various times throughout the week, not just on Sundays. Participants  will also be mentored through bi-weekly meetings to discuss their growth and adjustment to the  team/field and philosophy of ministry. 

Members of Equip will meet with their teams at least weekly and have team interactions within their  house churches and throughout the week as they initiate and develop relationships within the  community.

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