Equipping the saints
The first and most important focus of the Mission is planting churches that are deeply rooted in the orthodox faith through liturgical services, Sunday schools, youth meetings, adult ministry, servants meetings, pre-servant class, deacon classes, and catechism classes, in addition to spiritual days and conferences.
Coptic Mission has in place a number of services dedicated to equipping new church servants, and providing them with the resources they need to bear much fruit within their ministry.
The theme for this particular service comes from 1 John 2:6, “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” The church incorporates this theme into every project and ministry in order to emphasize that the world is in dire need of Christ-like examples, and not more preachers.
St. Athanasius Theological School
During the early years of the Coptic Church in Africa, a number of deacons were selected to travel to Egypt and trained in theology in order to attain a deeper level of Orthodox spirituality.
Today, by God’s grace, the number of churches and deacons has grown significantly so it is a need to establish a Theological school in every country of Africa.
The main purpose of the school is to build future leaders with strong Christian Orthodox character, equip them with deep spiritual foundations, a profound knowledge of the Bible and a thorough understanding of church doctrine and theology.
The two-year program is broken down into three sessions per year, of three months each. Every fourth month the students return to their home churches where they spend their time off serving. During the two years of study, the church provides the students with accommodation and an allowance for their families so that they can focus solely on their studies.
Discipleship Meetings
Church servants are required to attend weekly discipleship meetings. These meetings are based on a well-developed curriculum, which helps them gain a deeper understanding of the Bible, of church teachings and of contemporary issues. The program aims to ensure continual spiritual and psychological growth and encourage creativity in each servant so that he/she can effectively contribute to the church. Periodically, the servants will also go on a retreat, which includes an all-night prayer service and liturgy.
Monthly Women’s Leaders Meeting
Once a month, the women (as the older women in the community are affectionately known) will gather together for a spiritual leadership meeting. They begin their meetings by praising the Lord through songs and prayers, followed by the sharing of a spiritual topic (usually a female role model from the Bible) and then end by having lunch together. The meeting gives the women a chance to fellowship with each other, draw strength from the Lord and from one another, and to frankly discuss the challenges that face them as they strive to live according to God’s Word.
Quarterly Servants Conferences
The church holds three or four servant conferences every year designed to create a learning environment to build up its leaders. The conferences run for three days and are attended by approximately 150 servants from several countries, as well as guest speakers from abroad.