More groups have completed the Small Group Leadership Training

With German participants started the "Missionary Course" of the "Small Group Leader Training" in January 2023 and was successfully completed in March. It is the last part of the three-stage team-based training (basic, advanced and missionary course). It lasted seven weeks, with participants having to complete weekly teaching units of two hours.

Almost simultaneously, an international group completed the advanced course (the second level of the training), which started at the end of January. This group will continue their final level of education, the missionary course, in the autumn. The participants are connected via Zoom and can thus complete their training regardless of where they live; it is taught exclusively online.

The "small group training" is conducted by the team of the Arthur Daniells Institute of Mission Studies (ADIMIS), which is located at Friedensau Adventist University (FAU). The institute's director, Dr László Szabó, is a lecturer in missiology and intercultural studies at the FAU.  The ADIMIS team includes Szilvia Szabó as the Institute's project manager and the theology students Wieland Gelke (Germany) and Michael Bistrovic (Croatia). Two external staff members are involved in the organisation and implementation: Zlatko Musija, youth leader of the Adriatic Union Conference, and Ivan Popovic, youth leader of the South-East European Union Conference.
The participants of the courses come from Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Switzerland. They are church members and pastors who want to work for the church and society. László Szabó: "The balance between theory and practice is especially important in our team-based approach. The practical exercises help the participants prepare for leadership tasks and overcome possible reservations and fears. The participants observe, experience and control group dynamic processes and learn from short presentations and each other."