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GUIDELINES FOR APPLICANT’S ESSAY
“How to Present Jesus Christ Relevantly to my People”
Note
The essay is required and is a vital part of your preparation for training at HI. It is an opportunity for you to analyze your own realities and to begin to search for possible answers during your training. It is a gauge that we use to begin to see that you are truly committed to putting your best effort into the training that you will receive, as well as your passion for what the Lord has called you to do.
The essay is an important part of organizing your thoughts, expectations and vision, and of preparing your heart and mind for all that you will receive during the training.
INSTRUCTIONS for writing the ESSAY
- Please complete the essay, using the font Times New Roman, size 12, single-spaced. As a guide, total words used should not exceed 1,500 words
- The essay is divided into FOUR (4) parts.
- You must complete each part in separate sheets. Each part has a limit as to the number of pages. Please do not exceed this number of pages for any of the parts.
- For each Part, you must always indicate your Name, Country, ID number and Session number.
MAILING INSTRUCTIONS
- Upon completion, send the essay as an attachment through e-mail to essays@maui.haggai-institute.com and bring another softcopy with you.
- Please be sure to send your essay ONLY in the form of a (.doc) Word document.
- We will NOT accept essays submitted in the form of a Power Point Presentation.
- Your Essay is due sixty (60) days prior to the opening day of your scheduled seminar.
- If you are not able to send the essay as an attachment, we expect to receive a type-written copy of your essay through regular mail, not less than 60 days before your arrival. Please mail your essay to:
Haggai Institute
175 East Lipoa St,
Kihei, Hawaii, 96753 USA
Attn: Training Department,
Part I PERSONAL INFORMATION (TWO pages)
A. Personal Data
- Name:
- Occupation:
- Field of specialization:
(Be specific. Writing only “Manager” or “Pastor” is not enough. You will need to include a description of your role or area of responsibilities. For example: “Manager of Quality Control for a major Sri Lankan tea company”, Pastor of church with 350 tribal/ethnic group. Most position names require some description to be truly useful.)
B. Your personal testimony (conversion and evangelism).
Write about how you came to Christ and what you have been doing in your particular position to bear witness for Christ and proclaim the gospel.
(Feel free to discuss problems which you face in this regard and how you deal with them. Some of the more common problems are the conflicts between ‘Traditionalism’ and ‘Modernity’, the ‘Spiritual’ and the ‘Secular’, ‘Biblical faith’ versus ‘Science’, ‘Evangelism’ versus ‘Social Action.’ You may have encountered other problems besides these.)
C. Your involvement in church/evangelism
Write what you and your church/ministry have been doing to train others to witness and evangelize.
D. What are two of your greatest achievements in your work and/or Christian ministry?
Give data, e.g. books written, churches planted, etc.
E. What makes you and/or your ministry UNIQUE?
When someone meets you for the first time, what will they remember about you that is special and/or unique? Do you have an interesting experience or story that you like to share?
How has God dealt with you in a very special way, in addition to saving you from sin?
Part II COUNTRY INFORMATION (Two Pages)
A. Country Brief:
Please provide us with the following general data:
- Population
- Major Religions
- Percentage of Christians
- Official Language/ Literacy percentage
B. Evangelism in your Country:
- Comment on the general condition of your country (i.e., social, political, economic), stating the strengths and challenges.
- How do the Social, Economic and Political conditions help the work of evangelism?
- How do the Social, Economic and Political conditions hinder the work of evangelism?
C. Christianity in your country:
1) Describe briefly how Christianity came to your country.
- How has Christianity spread in your country (e.g. through individual conversions, mass movements, through education, hospitals, evangelistic crusades, revivals, social work, etc)?
- What are the Church’s strengths and weaknesses?
2) How to make the message of Christ relevant and meaningful to your people (non-Christians)
Describe what aspects of the Gospel message can be made especially understandable to the different groups of non-Christians in your country.
- What points of contact are there in the non-Christian’s teaching and practice which can be used to communicate the Gospel meaningfully? Give attention to the message rather than methods.
- What are the real problems and needs of the people which the Church should address in your country?
Part III “DESIRE DIRECTORY” (One Page)
List at least 3 desires or wishes for each of the following six (6) areas of your life. We will help you consolidate these into concrete goals for your life. Hopefully, you will return home with a clearer and sharper focus:
- Ministry
- Family
- Spiritual
- Intellectual/Educational
- Physical
- Financial
Part IV NEEDS and EXPECTATIONS (One Page)
- Write down, at least, five (5) things that you would like to gain from this ADVANCED LEADERSHIP FOR EVANGELISM TRAINING based on your needs.
- To accomplish the above, what do you expect from your faculty members?
- To benefit from this training, what do you commit to do?
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