Thirdmill Institute is designed to cater to an array of communities, churches, and individuals, striving to meet the needs of each of them and make our curriculum as accessible as possible. However, many of those communities and people live in areas where persecution is high and resources are slim. Therefore, not all people or groups who use our materials have constant access to secure internet or reliable devices to use our offline materials.
In particular, numerous churches in India face threats, persecution, and financial hardship stemming from government interference. Most recently a church in India hit a crisis that due to insufficient internet and electronic devices the church was unable to access Thirdmill materials online, and lacked the funds to print the offline materials.
In a testament to the community of Christ, leaning on and caring for one another’s burdens, multiple Learning Communities in China heard of the hardship this church in India was facing. Together, these Learning Communities raised money to send to the church to help provide them with printed materials.
In November, 40 spiral-bound sets consisting of thousands of pages of a significant portion of Thirdmill Institute’s Certificate 1 materials were delivered to the church’s leaders in India. The entire process, from printing to delivery, was made possible through the generous donations received from the Learning Communities in China.
What these efforts done by the Learning Communities in China demonstrate is that building the kingdom of God is not an individual work, but a communal and corporate work. As Christians we are encouraged and instructed to be a part of a body of believers, it is in this body where we see our uniqueness in the image of Christ, but also how God has called all of us together to His heart. Thirdmill Institute takes this structure and implements it in the foundation of how students are encouraged to study our material. Learning Communities abide by this belief that as we grow to know and love God more deeply, that love will be most transformative when done together with other believers who share a common spirit.
If you wish to use and study Thirdmill Institute material, it is greatly encouraged that you become a part of a Learning Community. In this, you will have the experience of learning together through discussion and application. Each group is made up of students and someone who can lead the group called a trainer. Once you are in a Learning Community, you may register as an online student by clicking the CLASSROOM LOGIN button above.
By Josieann Ownbey
The spiral-bound notebooks sent to church leaders in India.