Adult Learning Model
The “Alliance for Church Based Training” in its efforts to define discipleship biblically became committed to the ideal that the bible was describing a transformative process that changes people on multiple levels. The work of the Alliance defined this transformation as Head, Heart, and Hands. Furthermore, they insisted that the work of discipleship was neither adequate qualitatively or complete quantitatively until growth was manifested in all three areas. This changed their understanding of how “training” was to be done and even how curriculum and programs were to be designed and built. To this day “Alliance approved” curriculum has “Head, Heart, and Hands objectives” associated with each lesson and every course.
The call to discipleship is the call to transform a person…
Head, Heart, and Hands.
We believe the Church is to be transformed by the work of the Holy Spirit as He illumines the Word of God in the mind. Worship is only a human activity until we are engaging with the God who is real. Having a clear and accurate mental picture from the Word of God is essential to this process.
Apart from Him we believe God to be something He is not. Under such conditions our worship is inevitably going to revere something “less than” Him. These simple errors turn to legalism, division, cultism, and sin, as we end up worshipping our view of god rather than God Himself.
We believe the best delivery context for this is a guided personal study.
We believe the Church is to be transformed by the work of the Holy Spirit as He “softens” our sinful resistant to “godlikeness” and calls the human heart to repentance (a change of direction) on a moral, emotional, and ethical level.
Apart from Him we desire things that God sees as hateful and hurtful to mankind (sin). It is the work of the Holy Spirit that transforms these desires. It is He who “takes out our heart of stone” and replaces it with a “heart of flesh” through His ability to create conviction and cause us to experience God’s love.
We believe the best delivery context for this is a facilitated reflective discussion in an ethical social community.
We believe the best delivery context for this is a guided personal study.
We believe the Church is to be transformed by the work of the Holy Spirit as He empowers effective ministry. He gives us spiritual gifts, orchestrates opportunity to use those gifts, prompts us to use those gifts, and empowers their effectiveness.
Apart from Him we freely choose only those things that serve our personal interests or that we are forced to do. The Holy Spirit, fully committed to the work of God, moves and inspires us to do ministry for God’s purposes, without thought of reward.
We believe the best delivery context for this is an accountable mentoring relationship in a missional (service/ leadership) context
Program Design
The “Alliance for Church Based Training” adopted the curriculum design trademarked “The W.I.S.D.O.M. Process™” by its developer Mr. Bruce Miller. The Alliance converted existing coursework, developed new coursework, and designed future courses using this framework due to their belief that the W.I.S.D.O.M. Process™ produced a more holistic level of growth experience across the Head, the Heart, and the Hand of the disciple. They found (through extensive testing in their churches worldwide) that this was especially true when implemented in the Courses, Community, and Mentoring program model described below.
Courses
Ordered Learning
Community
Group Based
Mentoring
Accountable Application
We promote training materials that help practitioners develop the key skills, attitudes, and understandings of the core concepts that make CBT programs successful.
We promote curriculum that is specifically designed to bring about life transformation; Head, Heart, and Hands. The curriculums we promote present biblical truths…
in an ordered progression consistent with the discipleship cycle
in a format of personal study and goal setting, followed by a group based facilitated discussion
with a view to the disciples life that creates accountability for application and can confirm their maturity
We promote the development of curriculum (in the above format) at the local church level and assist the churches in the promotion of their own materials to other churches!
Disciple Making Cycle
The Alliance also came to believe that the current understanding of discipleship (starting post conversion and ending with basic spiritual disciplines) was truncated from the biblical description. The Alliance believed (as do the CCBT) that the transformational work of the Holy Spirit is to be facilitated at EVERY step by the obedient work of the Church. Therefore, they concluded CBT starts pre-conversion and doesn’t end until the cycle of “churches replicating churches” through church planting missionaries comes to fruition in the birth of a disciple-making church. Therefor their curriculum design spanned resource and program development for six levels of growth. The “full span” of training materials and programs are still “under-development” today as churches around the world commit quality training materials to the cause.
From Non-Christian to Pastor/ Church Planter
Learn how to get started with CCBT – this video will introduce you to the concepts of church based training and walk you through how to complete the curriculum assessment worksheet for your church. This assessment is the first step in seeing how CCBT can best partner with your church. We provide two assessments to help us work with you to see how your partnership with CCBT as a member can help yours and other churches improve in making disciples.