(a four-part mini series – part 2)
01.11.2025 / Volker Glissmann
In part 1 of this mini-series (The original questions that shape TEE), we looked at the original questions that shape TEE: who is called to participate in Christian ministry, and who are the right leaders. In both cases, TEE practitioners recognise that, over time, restrictions (or barriers) on who was invited to participate in theological education had increased to the point that individuals who, for the sake of the ministry of the church, should have been trained were not receiving theological education. From these observations grew the vision behind TEE, which is to extend access to everyone-everywhere to participate in theological education fully. The TEE vision is to extend access and remove barriers to theological education for the sake of the church, faith, and ministry. The third original question is about how all people of God can be empowered through their participation in theological education, or, in other words, how can theological education be extended to those who should have access to it?
A common experience among TEE practitioners is that the geographical extension of theological education raises questions about access in smaller towns, villages, and language groups, as well as among the less educated. The question is: who is allowed to participate and who is barred? Barred on what basis? The following is a common scenario: one elder with a school-leaving qualification is allowed to attend a course, but an elder from the same congregation who lacks the school-leaving qualification, or perhaps who is less fluent in the language of instruction (which might not be the first language in the village), is barred. Yet, both are elders and are chosen by the local community as representative leaders. Ideally, both should have access to relevant learning. This is why the question is: how can theological education be extended to those who seek it?
Geographical extension (including local extension, beyond the wall of the seminary) usually leads to an increase in enrolment. Not just of those seeking ordination or elders, but especially of grassroots Christians (and members of other churches if permitted). This phenomenon was witnessed throughout the TEE world, with high enrolment uptake not just among the target audience but the whole church, if no additional barriers to access were added. The same is still true today and portrays a hunger for systematic learning of faith amongst many members of the church more broadly.
TEE, as a global and decentralised movement, had several contextual responses to the question of how to extend theological education beyond its traditional recipients. Though there is great diversity and innovation among the early global TEE pioneers, there are some similarities.
TEE was envisioned as a tool for the church (as is all theological education). Due to the decentralised nature of extension education, TEE has always been contextually driven by the needs of the local church. Local church needs refer to denominational, synod/diocesan/district needs that depend very much on local circumstances. TEE has been used by established churches, such as Anglican, Baptist, Brethren, Methodist, Presbyterian, Nazarene, and Pentecostal, as well as small local denominations and larger indigenous regional churches in different contexts. All these churches shape the learning content of the programmes that they use.
A good way to understand TEE is to see it as a tool that can be used in various ways, depending on local needs. Jesus used farming images, like the world as a field ready for harvest. Staying with the image, TEE is a motor vehicle (a tractor), and different trailers (such as a plough, flatbed, or animal trailer) can be used, allowing the farmer (here, the church) to use the vehicle according to current needs.
The church, in a different context, had different needs; sometimes these needs were fulfilled at the denominational level, at other times only at the synod/diocesan level. Sometimes existing lay training centres, Bible schools, theological seminaries or colleges enhanced their outreach through extension education, and at other times new ecumenical programmes were formed where no structures existed. Again, the need of the church differed from ministerial theological formation at pre- or post-secondary school level, to the training of elders, to grassroots/lay empowerment, to specific ministry training for evangelists and lay readers (and other forms of specialised ministry). Some TEE programmes exist within church structures and have been given a specialised ministry, while others have received broader mandates.
To extend relevant theological education, the TEE movement focussed on the production of workbooks for several reasons: ensuring a consistent quality of content as well as to focus on the initially building of strong foundational knowledge and skills over great geographical distances, to build a curriculum of learning material that corresponds to the need of the local church communities, to allow verneculisation of content while maintaining consistency and increase the reach of theological education. The geographical extension of access was initially limited by the availability of teachers; however, as all extension services, such as agricultural extension services, know, the provision of workbook-based learning materials only requires local tutors who are familiar with the foundational content. Naturally, the second focus was on tutor/facilitator training to extend support for group- and discussion-based theological learning.
The questions led to a vision: to extend access to relevant theological education to everyone-everywhere, in partnership with local churches, sensitive to local contextual needs. The emphasis of TEE has traditionally been on producing relevant workbooks and training facilitators to broaden the church’s teaching ministry.