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A Church begins… The early leaders of the Christian movement were everyday people. Paul had a rabbinic education, and most of the early disciples like Peter and John were fishermen. The education they received was on the road with Jesus but they went on to profoundly shape the emerging Church.

The Protestant movement in East Timor was founded by two evangelists called Vincente and Marcelo. After the Indonesian invasion of 1975-78, people responded in large numbers and they trained a small group of new believers as evangelists in their own right.

These new evangelists, with little formal education, significantly shaped the Protestant Church in East Timor (IPTL). They preached the message and exercised pastoral responsibilities in a manner reflective of the spirit of the early apostles.

Ministry training for future East Timorese church leaders has previously taken place in seminiaries in Asia and Indonesia that required high level of education and funds. The Onwards in Ministry: East Timor appeal seeks to prepare future church leaders in their own context to lead their people. “I thank the Uniting Church in Australia for your support of us through this course. We are finding a new methodology for leading the Church from the Indonesia time to this time.” (Alberta da Costa Ximenes (participant)

Click here to read more about the project that this appeal supports.

Click here to download a brochure about the Onwards in Ministry appeal.

Click here to make a donation to this appeal.