A Blessed Boot Camp — ISMT Comes to Suriname

By: Linda Smit with Jeanette Windle

Suriname, a small equatorial country (slightly bigger than Greece or the U. S. state of Georgia) lapped by North Atlantic surf, is the ‘Dutch’ of South America’s three Guianas, tucked between (British) Guyana to the west and French Guiana to the east.

Lush, wild variety sums up its countryside. Coconut and banana palms. Rice paddies. Tropical rain forests. Countless species of orchids and other flowers as well as animal life. Vast and diverse mineral resources.

Suriname’s human residents total less than a half-million with nearly half of that in the capital city of Paramaribo. But the population is as varied as the flora and fauna. East Indian, Creole, Javanese, Maroon (descendants of escaped slaves), Amerindian, Chinese, and Caucasian intermingle in delightful and too-rare harmony.

BCM Suriname’s first In Step With the Master Teacher training course reflected that variety and harmony as 33 participants ranging in background from Creole to Hindustani, Amerindian, European and Chinese gathered at the BCM Ministry Center an hour’s drive outside of Paramaribo Friday and Saturday, February 23-24, 2007. The common bond tying them together is their Christian faith and passion to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with their community.

BCM Suriname impacts wider Christian community.

Training teachers for children’s ministry has always been a key element of BCM ministry in Suriname. BCM’s five missionaries there, Mr. & Mrs. Imro and Linda Smit, Miss Mildred Milam, Miss Elaine Lang, and Miss Chittrawatie Gangadien, along with many local volunteers, are involved in Bible Clubs, Christian camping, and youth outreach, along with church planting and leadership training for area churches. An exciting new resource was the inauguration in November 2006, of the new BCM Suriname Ministry Center, a multi-functional facility that can be used not only for camps, but retreats and in-depth training courses. And not only to benefit BCM personnel, but the wider Christian community in Suriname.

With that in mind, BCM Suriname missionaries attended an international Train The Trainer course, learning to use the ISMT curriculum. Excited about the practicality of the training, they returned home to host their own ISMT course. The program centers around four core areas, with 18 more possible follow-up sessions available. In this first training course, the four core sessions were offered, plus the session on discipline.

Not just ‘rote’!

“The format of the course was great for the group!” reports BCM missionary Linda Smit, who has been training teachers for Bible Clubs since the mid-1980’s.  While Surinamers are very interactive by culture, the school system relies heavily on "rote" learning, using almost exclusively lecture and memorization.  Students are accustomed to listening to teachers talk and taking a lot of detailed notes. 

Unlike a lecture-based class, the ISMT material calls for active student participation during the presentation and also in the frequent group activities.  Suriname participants particularly enjoyed this and appreciated being able to share their own ideas and experiences with each other. 

“We all came away with some good new ideas for working with the children,” adds Linda. “As a course leader, I very much like the way the ISMT ‘programs in’ this sharing of participants' own years of experience, not just relying on those of the teachers.”

In addition to the training, BCM Suriname invited local Christian organizations to set up book tables with material participants could use with children. In this way they were also able to offer activity pages, music, lessons, equipment, prizes, etc. attendees could take home to their ministries.

In the end, of 33 participants, 29 received certificates for completing all 5 sessions offered.  The ages ranged from 18-70.  One pastor attended, as well as a woman who trains teachers in several churches.  7 different churches were represented, plus one Christian organization.

A practical ‘boot camp’ for children’s ministry

In course evaluations, students expressed excitement over and over that the material was very practical and could be used immediately in their ministries. Asked one of the most useful things learned, one participant replied that it was "to use the life of Jesus as an example."  Another much appreciated learning "how to handle disruptive children without interrupting the lesson." All asked for follow-up training courses.

BCM Suriname missionaries plan to honor those requests. They, along with their ISMT students, understand the urgency of the skills they are teaching and the ministries of these churches in reaching Suriname’s children and youth with the Gospel. If the common thread binding them together is their Christian faith, the children they are reaching in Bible Clubs or Sunday schools very often come from Hindu, Muslim, or animist homes. 

“Childhood is often the only open time we have with them before the family typically wants to pull them into their own non-Christian religion,” concludes Linda Smit. “ We need to make the very best use of the window of opportunity the Lord has opened for us to work with them.  Thus I see the ISMT program as a kind of ‘blessed boot camp’ for equipping and encouraging Bible teachers to reach more children effectively.”