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Historical Overview
Tentmakers Youth Ministries Australia began in 1991. A handful of visionaries formed a steering committee in Australia to develop the ministry and establish training courses for young adults in part-time ministry in the local church. During that year, 4 young Aussies attended the training course in Minnesota with Tentmakers USA. These graduates served as leaders for the first Australian course in January 1992 with Mr. Claude Bowen, the father of the unique training philosophy, as the lead trainer.
Over the next four years Tentmakers grew, employing full-time staff and running a 7 week training course in Melbourne. They introduced a 5 ‘weeker’ concurrently, to cater for people in ministry and/or the work force who were typically not free for seven weeks of training. The Tentmakers training courses were very successful in giving people new ministry skills and vision for an exciting youth ministry. The effect of the 7 week training in a number of cases was met with little interest by the established church leadership. The enthusiasm of the Tentmaker graduate in applying new ideas and skills was, ironically, counterproductive to their influence in the church, possibly because they were a threat to the status quo.
Tentmakers decided therefore to reach the people with more influence in the church. In 1996 the name “Tentmakers Youth Ministries” was dropped and the training was redesigned for pastors, ministry leaders and other key people in the church. The name Caleb Ministries was adopted and eventually became known as Caleb Leadership Ministries. The seven week and five week courses were replaced with a three week course (much more palatable for people in full time ministry). It was a time of rebirth!
Caleb has trained hundreds of ministry professionals, lay leaders and others, helping them to develop fruitful, life-changing ministries. Christian agencies like Pioneers, Operation Mobilisation, Urban Neighbours of Hope and SIM and churches across many denominations have undertaken Caleb training, whether it be the Caleb Institute 3 weeker, Caleb Plus business leaders training, or 1-2 day short courses.
Caleb is also part of an association or an alliance of trainers from a variety of mission groups contributing, called the International Training Alliance, to help conduct training courses similar to those offered by Caleb around the globe.
Caleb Leadership Ministries has also helped in the development of a sister organisation in New Zealand, Caleb Ministries New Zealand Trust. Caleb NZ has its own board and staff to provide the three week leaders training every year. The course has been warmly accepted by the Baptist Union of NZ as key professional development for Baptist pastors undertaking the training.
Much of the evolution of the ministry of Caleb in Australia has been initiated by a handful of people. One person who has contributed immensely to this and the quest for excellence and relevance of Caleb is Martin Boutros, who held the position of director for about 7 years, beginning in 1991. Martin stepped down to concentrate his efforts on the oversight of Caleb’s training courses and materials, in early 1999 to become Caleb’s training coordinator. The position of director was given to Stewart Hunt in an acting capacity, before Stewart left Caleb in August 1999 to work with Operation Mobilisation. In 2000, Mark Young was appointed CEO of Caleb and continues in this capacity to date.
Caleb is faced with a largely saturated market of “training” courses being offered to Christian leaders in Australia. Yet many of these “training courses” are more lecture or seminar based than participatory in nature, where little opportunity to develop ministry skills is given. The Caleb training is unique because it offers to equip leaders with practical tools for ministry. It is “on the job training”. If you are to take on a ministry position within the church, training shows you how to fulfil it effectively. If theological education qualifies you to a position as a pastor and a leader, training empowers you to be a pastor and effective leader. Thus the challenge over the years for Caleb has been to reach the market with a unique training product and demonstrate how it has something very real to offer.