Local Church Based Training in Missions – Cam Woolford – Servant Leaders International

Podcast
February 21, 2024•3 min read

Cam Woolford serves as the founding Director of Servant Leaders International, a global collective of local church leaders that have come together to fulfill the Great Commission through Mentoring, Mobilizing, and Multiplying the ministry and leadership potential of the local church. SLI partners with Anchor Christian University to resource and facilitate local church based training across (currently) eight countries in Latin America, with over 100 students at any one time pursuing Biblical Foundations, Ministry Leadership, and Biblical Counseling courses and certificates.

More significant is the commitment to raise up and walk alongside emerging leaders and leadership teams rather than embedding American missionaries and infrastructure. This includes strategic internships and Ethnos Missions Academy, alongside church planting and team mobilization.

The conversation lasted over an hour. Rather than editing it down and potentially diluting the key aspects of Cam’s journey, we split it into two parts:

  • Part 1 – Cam’s background, call to missions, and experience as a missionary church planter in Ecuador and Costa Rica.

  • Part 2 – The launch of Servant Leaders International and its mission-driven growth over the last 7 years, including the partnership with Eleven:6 and Anchor Christian U, adding missionary families to the team, and the constant tension of bringing resource and value to the local church globally while deliberately keeping infrastructure lean.

It’s rare that an organization-to-organization partnership carries the level of mission-driven alignment that Eleven:6, Anchor Christian U, and Servant Leaders International share. The Kingdom fruit — the local church strengthened and equipped across Latin America, in particular — is evidence of what God can do through strategic collaboration when we bring what we have and give Him room to work.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/#

Quick Outline

Use the “chapters” at the bottom of the embedded video (links below) to jump to different parts of the conversation.

Part 1

  • 00:00 Introduction and Initial Conversation

  • 06:02 Original Connection With Eleven:6

  • 11:49 Cam’s Background and Journey to Missions

  • 18:33 Transition to Costa Rica and Church Planting

  • 25:30 Transition to Ecuador and Church Planting

Part 2

  • 00:00 Launch of Servant Leaders International

  • 06:48 Expansion and Evolution of Servant Leaders

  • 12:04 The Three M’s: Mentor, Mobilize, Multiply

  • 17:41 Transitioning to a Nonprofit Organization

  • 19:38 Expanding with Online Training and Technology

  • 20:33 Partnering with Anchor Christian University

  • 21:56 Organizing and Remitting Funds Internationally

  • 24:03 Team Composition and Structure

  • 25:25 Training and Equipping for Local Church Ministry

  • 26:35 Empowering Local Leaders and Churches

  • 29:14 Advice for Emerging Leaders

Key Takeaways

  • Empowering local leaders and churches is a core value of Servant Leaders, with a focus on training and equipping for ministry.

  • Transitioning to a nonprofit organization allowed Servant Leaders to have more flexibility and impact in their work.

  • Online training and technology have played a significant role in expanding the reach and impact of Servant Leaders.

  • Partnering with Anchor Christian University has provided Servant Leaders with the infrastructure and resources to train and equip local churches.

  • Organizing and remitting funds internationally can be challenging, but it is necessary for supporting and mobilizing local churches.

  • Handing off leadership and vision to local church leaders is an important part of the growth and sustainability of Servant Leaders.

  • Self-awareness and embracing assignment changes are valuable lessons for personal and ministry growth.

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