Although our team-led local church renewal events are most often done as weekend events in local churches Aldersgate Renewal Ministries has accepted invitations to do them in international settings as well. The Life in the Spirit Seminar has been done in The Philippines, Poland , Paragua y , Russia , Tanzania , Brazil and Slovakia . The Lay Witness Mission has been done in Mexico , New Zealand , and Australia and there are websites for the Lay Witness Mission in Ireland , England , South Africa , and Canada . The Lord Teach Us To Pray has been done in Slovakia . 

Seminar materials are translated into the language of the participants and translators from the target country are obtained to translate the talks of the team members for the participants and assist in prayer ministry. 

The normal weekend schedule for a local church renewal event is modified as needed for the international setting. In some cases they are held mid week. In some cases they are held on multiple evenings with other ministry being done during the day. Sometimes the event is lengthened or shortened. Usually the team does two of the same events in two different locations in the country during a 14-21 day trip.  Some time is taken during the trip for the visiting team to learn more about the country and ministry situation and to participate in other ministry opportunities. 

Coordinators and team members pay their own expenses to participate in the trip.  Often those expenses may include the costs of translating and printing the participant materials.  In cases where ministry is being done among the poor, team members may also be subsidizing the costs of the participants’ food, housing and transportation. 

International teams are usually 8-15 persons and they are formed in two ways. The traditional model is where an International Coordinator recruits a team from across the country.  The coordinator would recruit from ARM lists of trained team members who have indicated interest in being on international teams. 

The local church sending model is where a local church catches a vision of partnering with ARM to send a team from their own church to lead one of ARM’s team-led local church renewal events in an international setting. In this case an ARM trainer is sent to a local church to train people in that church to be team members of one of the local church renewal events.  Some of those trained may wish to only be used in the United States . Those trained lead an event in their own church or another church here in the USA . Those who are trained and want to be used internationally then serve as the core of a team serving elsewhere in the world. ARM provides the local church with an International Coordinator, an international ministry setting, and additional trained team members to fill out the needs of the team. 

If you are a trained team member who would like to be considered for international ministry teams please email the Director of Church Relations, Rev. Frank Billman at fbillman@aldersgaterenewal.org. You will be sent a team member update form that we will use to update your information in our database and add your interest in international ministry.

If you are visiting our website from an international setting and are interested in having ARM send a team to lead one of these events in your country, you may also email the Director of Church Relations, Rev. Frank Billman at fbillman@aldersgaterenewal.org.  He will want to know which event you are interested in, your ability to feed and house and transport an 8-15 person team, the denominational approval for the event that you can provide, and the time of year you have in mind. International trips should be planned at least a year in advance because it takes time for a coordinator to recruit a team and for team members to raise financial support for the trip. Furthermore, we have more requests for international ministry than we have coordinators and team members to send.

How can you help ARM respond to more of these requests? At least two ways.  First, get trained as a team member for one or more of our team-led local church renewal events either at your own church or at our annual Power Up training event. 

Second, gifts to ARM designated for international ministries are needed for translation and printing of materials and to support the expenses of the host churches who are often poor.

Cross Cultural Ministries

In addition to international ministry, ARM has been invited to do our team-led local church renewal events in Spanish speaking churches here in the United States and in non-local church settings. Since we have a Spanish version of the Life in the Spirit Seminar participant’s manual we can provide that seminar in Spanish speaking settings here as well as abroad. We have some Spanish speaking trained Life in the Spirit team members and can use translators for other team members. 

The Lay Witness Mission, Lord Teach Us To Pray, and Life in the Spirit Seminar have all be done in prison settings. Some have been done in retreat settings, cluster, district and conference settings; and we are exploring opportunities to do them at retirement centers.  Normal schedules for these events are modified as needed for these unique settings. 

A final thought…  If ARM people are willing to go to jail or around the world to respond to a request to minister, they are SURELY willing to come to YOUR CHURCH to minister.  Schedule ARM’s events at your church.