The Matthew 9 Initiative

Multiplying Leaders for the Harvest

The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers must be equipped. The Matthew 9 Initiative is Global Action’s vision to move from addition to multiplication by developing faithful leaders who can train, mentor, and equip others.

Give Now See the Model

We are not simply trying to add more students. We are building a pathway that multiplies leaders.

For more than twenty-five years, Global Action has equipped church leaders in hard places through accessible biblical training. The Matthew 9 Initiative builds on that foundation by developing leaders who can continue the work long after a course ends.

The Strategic Shift

From storefront to factory

This is the clearest picture of the Matthew 9 Initiative. A storefront serves people directly. A factory produces what can be sent, shared, and multiplied.

Storefront

Global Action’s current model

Through Foundations, Global Action provides accessible biblical leadership training to a wide number of students. Leaders gain foundational knowledge, practical ministry skills, and spiritual formation that equips them to serve their churches and communities.

The impact is real and meaningful, but our involvement is concentrated while the program is running. Once leaders graduate, our direct oversight decreases. The work bears fruit, but the reach is still largely tied to how many students we can train directly.

Factory

Global Action’s future model

The factory model multiplies impact through a three-level pathway: Foundations, Formation, and Facilitation. Leaders begin with theological grounding, move into deeper formation, and then select leaders are equipped to teach, mentor, and train others.

Instead of staying constantly hands-on, Global Action invests strategically, develops reliable instructors, and equips local leaders to carry the work forward in their own contexts.

The Work Around the World

A global foundation is already in place.

The opportunity before us is not only to create more content. The opportunity is to develop more qualified leaders, mentors, and instructors who can use what already exists to expand the work.

Training leaders in hard places

Leaders formed through prayer

Stories of transformation

Churches strengthened locally

A pathway built to multiply

4.2B People within reach through translated materials

Why This Matters Now

Our reach is no longer limited by language. It is limited by laborers.

Global Action’s materials are currently available in 14 languages, giving access to an estimated 4.2 billion people, or approximately 51% of the world’s population.

With this reach, the primary need over the next five years is not simply more translation. It is more laborers: qualified leaders, mentors, and instructors who can bring training to life through teaching, discipleship, and local leadership.

English

Spanish

Hindi

Tamil

Telugu

Nepali

Ukrainian

Russian

Shona

Ndebele

Arabic

Hungarian

Bengali

Portuguese

French in Progress

The 3-Level Program

Content. Character. Craft.

The Matthew 9 Initiative develops leaders through a three-level pathway that preserves accessibility while creating a path for deeper formation, recognized learning, and multiplication.

Foundations

A structured, teacher-led introductory program focused on theological grounding, basic leadership development, and participation in church life.

Primary emphasis: Content

Formation

A competency-based, learner-centered level focused on ministry formation, mentoring relationships, character, discernment, and lifelong learning.

Primary emphasis: Character

Facilitation

A selective level that prepares leaders to teach, mentor, and multiply Global Action’s program within their own local contexts.

Primary emphasis: Craft

Why Formation Matters

Formation gives growing leaders a meaningful next step.

Many students complete Foundations and immediately ask, “What’s next?” They want to keep learning, but there is often a gap between non-formal training and formal theological education.

The second level, Formation, helps close that gap. It gives students a deeper, competency-based pathway focused on character, calling, ministry practice, mentoring, and long-term growth.

Reforma Certificate Pathway

In the Formation level, eligible students can work toward a Reforma certificate, giving their learning a recognized marker of completion and credibility.

This matters because many leaders in hard places have never had access to formal theological education. A certificate helps affirm their growth, strengthen their confidence, and create a bridge between accessible non-formal training and deeper recognized development.

It honors serious learning.

Students are not simply attending sessions. They are being mentored, assessed, and developed over time in real ministry contexts.

It strengthens credibility.

For leaders with limited access to traditional seminary pathways, recognized completion can help affirm the value of their training before churches, mentors, and ministry partners.

It supports multiplication.

When leaders are formed deeply and recognized for their growth, the strongest among them can be identified and developed further for Facilitation.

How Multiplication Happens

Years 1–3 build the pipeline. Years 4–5 multiply it.

The goal is not simply to add more students every year. The goal is to equip faithful leaders who can teach others also.

Year 1

Leaders begin Foundations.

Students receive accessible biblical training and begin growing in theological content and practical ministry understanding.

25 Foundations Students

Year 2

Leaders move into Formation.

Selected students continue into mentoring, character development, ministry practice, and competency-based formation.

10 Formation Students

Year 3

Future facilitators are developed.

A select group begins preparing to teach, mentor, observe, assist, and eventually train others in their own local contexts.

5 Facilitation Students

Year 4

Multiplication becomes visible.

Facilitation graduates begin helping train new Foundations students while more leaders continue through the pathway.

150 Foundations Students

Year 5

The model keeps growing.

Local facilitators carry the work forward, creating sustainable training capacity in already-accessible regions.

500 Total Foundations Students

That is the difference between addition and multiplication.

Addition means Global Action trains as many leaders as we can directly. Multiplication means equipped local leaders begin training others, creating new instructors, mentors, and ministry leaders who can carry the work forward.

Vimbai’s Story

This is multiplication in real life.

Vimbai Trust Nelson faithfully serves in her local church in Zimbabwe. Through Foundations, she gained stronger biblical roots and the confidence to step into leadership in a rural church that was struggling without a pastor.

But her story did not stop with what she received. Through Formation, Vimbai was challenged to apply what she was learning in real ministry. She began discipling three women in her church who had often been overlooked.

That is the Matthew 9 Initiative in action: a leader is equipped, formed, and then begins strengthening others. The impact moves from one student to many lives.

One leader equipped. Three women discipled. A church strengthened. A model of multiplication made visible.

Why We Are Doing This

Because the next generation of leaders needs more than access. They need a pathway.

Foundations has opened the door for thousands of leaders. The Matthew 9 Initiative builds the next steps so leaders can keep growing, be formed more deeply, and eventually help train others.

More depth

Leaders need more than information. They need character formation, mentoring, discernment, and the ability to apply truth in real ministry.

More instructors

Growth is limited by the availability of qualified teachers and mentors. Facilitation helps create the next wave of trusted local trainers.

More long-term impact

When leaders are equipped to train others, the work is no longer contained to one class or one program cycle. It can keep multiplying.

FAQs

Common questions about the Matthew 9 Initiative

Is this replacing Foundations?

No. Foundations remains the essential first level. The Matthew 9 Initiative strengthens what already works by adding a clear pathway for students who are ready for deeper formation and future facilitation.

Why not just keep training more Foundations students?

We do want to keep training Foundations students. But if Global Action only trains students directly, growth remains limited by our immediate capacity. Multiplication develops local leaders who can train others, making the model more sustainable and scalable.

Why is Formation so important?

Formation is where leaders move beyond content accumulation into character, calling, mentoring, ministry practice, and competency-based growth. It helps identify leaders who are not only learning but living and applying what they have received.

Why does the Reforma certificate matter?

The certificate gives students a meaningful recognition of serious study and growth. For many leaders who have limited access to formal theological education, this kind of recognized pathway can affirm their development, encourage continued learning, and strengthen credibility in ministry contexts.

What makes Facilitation different?

Facilitation is not simply more content. It is selective and developmental. Students practice the craft of teaching, mentoring, observation, and assistance so they can help multiply training in their own local contexts.

Why focus on laborers instead of more languages?

With materials already available in 14 languages, Global Action can reach an estimated 4.2 billion people. The greatest opportunity now is to develop leaders who can use these materials faithfully and effectively in places we can already reach.

How does this help donors understand the vision?

Donors are not just giving to one course or one class. They are helping build a leadership pipeline that can continue multiplying: leaders equipped, churches strengthened, communities served, and future trainers developed.

What is the biblical vision behind this?

The heartbeat is faithful multiplication. Like 2 Timothy 2:2, the vision is for what has been entrusted to faithful people to be passed on to others who will also teach others. Matthew 9 reminds us that the harvest is plentiful and the need for laborers is urgent.

Join the Matthew 9 Initiative

Help equip leaders who multiply leaders.

With materials already available to reach over half the world’s population, the next step is clear: develop the laborers. Your generosity helps Global Action train leaders, form mentors, prepare facilitators, and multiply gospel impact in hard places.

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