Made for each other
Learning the equal value of the sexes is among the first lessons for many youth on the CWM Training in Mission programme. South African TIM coordinator Rev Natalie van Rooyen explains.
The Training in Mission programme has been instrumental in opening up issues concerning gender equality over the 25 years of its existence. It brings together youth from across the globe to study and reflect together, to take part in mission projects and to live together, first in South Africa and then in India.
Some TIM students arrive on the programme having never before had the opportunity to be exposed to other ways of thinking or doing. On the programme they start wrestling with other views, cultures, languages, systems and structures as they live and work with women and men from different nations.
Debate: Training in Mission students discuss an issue. Sometimes the diverse backgrounds of students cause power struggles. They are encouraged to talk about their differences.
This is undergirded by the theological phase of the programme, daily devotions and Bible study. Gender equality is one of the many issues that occupies and transforms them as individuals and as a group.
One student was uncomfortable with having an ordained woman minister as one of the TIM coordinators. After our awareness sessions, he said: "God can do anything, he can even use a woman."
At the end of the programme he shared that he was going home to make the men aware in his church and community that women are called just as men are called. He realised that the men in his community are raised in a very strong patriarchal system.
When TIM students begin identifying mission issues in the South African phase of the programme, they see that though we have a relatively fair constitution in relation to gender equality, it is not practised every day in communities and real lives. As we face the challenge of HIV and AIDS in South Africa, the women and children are the most vulnerable. And our roots are still deeply entrenched in a patriarchal social system.
Tension
Sometimes TIM students unintentionally cause friction by their behaviour, and it shows in the group's interaction. It could develop into a serious situation if it is not dealt with properly. Group sessions promote and encourage communication on a deep level. They give everyone the opportunity to be heard.
Often gender issues are dealt with in this way. In these sessions others come to realise that some cultures bring up their children to understand that women are not equal to men, which brings about power struggles.
Women and men working in mission together can distract one another, as some fall in and out of love. But it is vital that they work together and share their diversity of gifts and ways of ministering to people. A community of women and men in mission complements each other as they work together. For some participants it has been a way of discovering the opposite sex in a healthy environment whereas before they did not have the opportunity because their home culture did not allow it.
Challenge
Some TIM students determine to make a change when they go home; to bring awareness to others in their communities.
Harmony: Training in Mission participants play a duet. Young men and women learn their different skills compliment each other when they work together in mission.
This is a good way of taking the gospel home but not a comfortable message to share. One young woman on the TIM programme was very determined in the beginning and said that women should not lead in ministry, because this is how she was brought up and because it was done this way in her church.
When she presented her final paper in the India phase of the programme she admitted she can no longer accept this and that though she will face opposition she is now determined to empower the women in her church and community.
It is an integral part of the growth of young people to work with the opposite sex in mission. They are together for 10 months. In this time they discover more about others and themselves and gain confidence in who God has created them to be.
They have to learn to live together, love one another, hate one another, reconcile, and agree to disagree. They overcome obstacles together, rejoice together and despite everything learn to make it work for the sake of Christ's mission in the world.
It is interesting to watch the formation of the students on the TIM programme. They have different approaches. Some are convinced that their views will not change. Others are open to change. A few think they do not have to learn anything because they are okay. The truth is, everyone leaves TIM changed whether they are willing or not. The triune God challenges everyone on the programme, including the coordinators.