Chapman International College endeavors to raise disciples in Southeast Asia to be the leaders and ministers of the churches in their respective places, including Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia, as well as minority groups therein.

In 2017, the college started the Mobile Education Program, dubbed “Bible College in your hand,” to provide accessible ministerial preparation to train pastors and lay leaders where they are. MEP has been the answer to the leaders’ prayers for the multiplication of local ministers, enabling the college to overcome geographical barriers and a lack of available teachers.

The MEP follows a simple but organized process for preparing the Course of Study material: translate, video record/edit, and upload. By recording all the lectures of the 24 Course of Study (COS) into video clips, the lectures can be used anytime, anywhere for the academic programs both for lay and ministerial students, Nazarenes and non-Nazarenes, in the Southeast Asia Field and beyond. The digital format allows prospective students to study without leaving their vocational environment – growing rice in the fields or working in the factories.

There are two ways to access the digital content. The first is through an online website (onlinecic.net). It is an asynchronous program of the Course of Study. Through this, 10 Myanmar pastors finished their Diploma of Ministry while they were in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, last July 2022. Pastor Ray McCrary, the senior pastor of the Southside Church of the Nazarene, facilitated and hosted the program.

The second method is through the use of tablets. The same videos and clips of lectures are saved on tablets via SD cards. This method is specially designed to assist the learning and training of disciples in Creative Access Areas, where literacy is low and internet access is a challenge. Translated handbooks and other ministry materials are also made available on the SD cards.

In April, 13 disciples from CAA10 South crossed the Thailand border to participate in their first ministerial Course of Study class. The hunger and thirst for learning became clear. One disciple testified, “Studying is valuable, especially God’s Word. I prayed for many years but never had the opportunity to study. Thank God he provided the way through CIC.”

Each disciple received a tablet during the training. For the next hour, they were oriented to the MEP goal, the tablet use, and the security and protection they would receive because they lived in a CAA. It was clear that the tablet would further assist and reinforce what they learned during the week.

The Southeast Asia Field envisions a remarkable multiplication of Christlike disciple makers that make disciples in CAA10. The tablet project is also planned for the ministry training in CAA10 North and CAA Central. Through these tablets, CIC can raise Nazarene ministers and lay leaders who will lead the disciple-making movement in CAA10.

This project and its outcomes will be possible thanks to the Nampa Ministry Partnership.