Equip
What does it mean to be equipped?
Training and equipping go hand-in-hand. While training focuses on influencing a person's actions, attitudes, and behaviors, equipping provides the resources and equipment that a person needs to perform the duties associated with their roles and responsibilities. A teacher may need a classroom and supplies; a delivery person may need a vehicle and GPS; and a cross-cultural missionary may need specific tools to do their job.
If we truly desire to see thriving disciples among every language and ethnic group in the world, we will adapt our tools and resources to the people we seek to mobilize for holistic ministry.
Who needs equipping?
When thinking about equipping, there are always two focuses: myself and others. As I discover tools and resources that play a key role in my own success, I can then train and equip others as they too identify goals and strategies that glorify God.
Myself
There are many tools and resources to equip disciples to THRIVE in their ministry strategies. For me to adequately guide others into effectively drawing their friends and community into a relationship with Jesus Christ, I need to invest time and energy into learning and growing. As my worldview is shifted to that of a biblical worldview, I will become a good steward of the resources God has placed in my hands.
Others
The people that I live among or seek to train, equip, and mobilize to reach their community with the Gospel may not not have access to the same tools and resources that I do. I will need to assess together with my friends what local resources can be used to reach their goals and help them understand how to work in partnerships and interdependency with other ethnic groups.
