We believe that local Bible teachers are the most transformative. They are able to apply the scriptures most effectively because they know they people they are teaching. They know the questions they have and the problems they face. They also have the trust of their listeners because they do life with them. We believe each church has lay men and women eager to do this work, they just need some training and some practice. That’s where Teach Equip can help.

Teach Equip is for any person who loves God's Word, and wants to share that with others in a faithful and engaging way. While TE gives tools for teaching, the skills participants gain can be used in multiple places like small group leadership, Bible studies, curriculum writing, kids and youth ministry and family discipleship.

Kelly - Teach Equip is specifically targeted to train lay Bible teachers (aka normal church members with non-ministry jobs). Most of our students are not on staff at a church and don't have any formal education or training in the Bible. They're just faithful church members who love their Bibles and desire to see others love it too. We designed Teach Equip to serve this group of people. So it's shorter and less intensive than seminary. We want to make sure it can fit into the lives of people with kids or other jobs. At the same time, we designed the program to require a significant time commitment because teaching God's Word is a weighty thing that should be taken seriously. We feel like it's the perfect sweetspot of maximum learning in the shortest time possible.

Labs are what makes our program unique. Labs are practice teachings opportunities where students are able teach and receive feedback. We believe these labs help them build real teaching skills in a safe, but supportive environment.

Teach Equip covers the basics of Bible study and exegesis, addresses motivations and heart issues, gives students practical communication tools, and builds in as much practice as possible. And all this in 7 months!

Teach Equip is a 7 month program that runs from January to early August. We begin doing trainings with churches on how to use the materials later in September and October. We recommend chuches begin building their class of students by November so that they are ready to go by January. Training Bible teachers is serious business (James 3:1) and require your time and effort. But we've tried to do all the heavy lifting for you so that you don't have to worry about what to teach or how to best train students. We want you to spend all your energy pouring into the people God has given your church!

What's the student commitment like? Each month, students are required to attend 1 two-hour class, turn in 1 homework assignment, and read parts of our required reading books. They also prepare and teach 3 twenty-minute messages during the program in labs. There are additional opportunities to grow throughout that time that are optional. We estimate the time commitment for a student to be between 15-20 hours a month.

We are a hands on kinda organization! Lindsay and Kelly love to trouble shoot and problem solve. They offer monthly "office hours" that any Teach Equip church can hop in on. You'll also be connected to the Teach Equip community through slack where you can connect with other churches, students, and graduates from the program.

This program is for up to 12 students. We’ve found the ideal class size is between 6-12. But in our opinion, if you have at least 3-4 students, it’s worth it!

We think every church should prioritize the training of Bible teachers. We have churches of every size use Teach Equip. So long as you have 3-4 interested students, we think it’s worth the investment.

Yes, we currently still are offering Teach Equip as an online class. Applications open in August, spots are limited.

No, we have developed a peer to peer model of teaching that allows churches without any prior experience with Teach Equip to still implement the program.