No. So how did Jesus train his disciples?
He had his disciples follow him. Wherever he went, his disciples followed him. He went from place to place, preaching the gospel to lost sheep, healing the sick, and casting out demons as evidence that he was in fact the Promised Messiah. They watched as he ministered and learned to do what they saw him doing—including healing the sick miraculously and casting out demons. He would also have private gatherings with them during which he taught them.
That was how Jesus trained his disciples in the gospels.
Then…
Luke 9:1 When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
Luke 10:1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. …9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’
Before he sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God, he first gave them supernatural power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases—the same power and authority he used to perform the miracles.
That was how Jesus trained and equipped his disciples before sending them out.
He did not send them to an accredited Bible School where they would have to take a slew of theological courses in a classroom setting. He did not require them to write papers and take exams. He did not require them to graduate from Bible school or seminary, after which they could apply for an internship or to serve as a youth pastor at a local church in the city—where hopefully they could make a decent salary to support themselves and their growing families. He didn’t send them to a respectable Bible School where seated in a classroom behind their desks they would have no opportunities to learn to exercise supernatural authority and power over sicknesses and demons in the sight of those who did not know Jesus. He didn’t give them diplomas or certificates, or confer them any theological degrees.
Why is it so different today? It is mostly due to the teaching of the Nicolaitans which Jesus hates. Due to this practice, the Church has conformed to the culture of the society where she has been planted (as in “The Emerging Church“.)
Is this reason why—since the early disciples passed from the scene—the Church is and has been generally ineffective in missions falling far short of what is recorded in Acts and fulfilling the Great Commission even after 2,000 years?
The point of this article is to argue that something is definitely missing in the training of today’s servants of God and harvest workers, especially on the Third World mission field.