Africa School of Missions

 History of ASM

 

In 1983, the vision to equip men and women for going to the nations of the world with the Gospel was born in the hearts of Paul and Carol Alexander. God miraculously provided a beautiful campus and a dedicated staff, and in January 1985, Africa School of Missions was opened. It soon became apparent that besides training for missions there was also a need to train pastors who would have a passion for missions. The training programmes at ASM were adjusted and expanded accordingly.

 

   In 1987 ASM opened the School of Health (SOH), a department that would equip missionaries with skills in the field of health care, enabling them to be more effective on the field. In 1991 these programmes were formaly accredited by the South African Nursing Council.  

 

   Initially ASM offered a three-year Licentiate (practical degree) that was recognised by various universities in South Africa. Graduates were accepted directly into  their Honours Programmes to further their formal training. Over the years the Department of Education has brought about numerous changes in the process  of recognising and accrediting training institutions and programmes in South Africa. This has lead to the development of exciting new missions and ministry  programmes at ASM that focuses on character development and guided, practical missions exposure.

 

Currently ASM is approved as an off-campus learning centre for North-West University, offering their BTh in Church Planting and BA Hons in Theology. ASM also offers two unaccredited one-year programmes. This includes Be Prepared a dynamic brdiging year programme designed for Christian students preparing for vocational studies. And the Gateway to the Nations programme that is a one-year foundational training programme in cross-cultural minsitry and missions. Refer to the Academic Programmes tab for further details.

   

•    ASM graduates have served on the field in over 55 different nations such as India, Cambodia, Romania, Russia, China, UK, France, Middle Eastern and many  African countries etc.

 

•    Graduates have established ministries that includes Church planting, Pastoral work, Bible School Training, Bible Translation, Children and Youth work, Leadership and Community Development, and Relief Work. Some graduates are working in closed countries through authentic business or professional  work.

   

 

From the inception of ASM the faculty, staff and students had the desire to also impact the local community with the gospel of Jesus Christ. As a result  a number of ministries have been birthed from ASM:

 

• In 1987 ASM started a school on campus for the children of missionaries. The school had remarkable growth and in order to accommodate the growth moved into White River. Today it functions as an independent school and still continues to provide a wonderful service to the White River community.

 

• In 1990 the School Of Health started a weekly mobile clinic service to a fairly remote area that had no other medical services available. This service is still being offered after all these years. 

 

• In 1988 a Bible translation programme was introduced and missionary candidates had the option to study “Mother Tongue” Bible translation principles. The success of this programme resulted in the decision that the programme would be taught “on the field”.  

 

• In 1994 Word for the World  took the training to the various fields where translation work is done and today many translators are being competently trained on the field.

 

• The Masoyi Home Based Care Project (MHBC) was started in 1997 and makes hundreds of home visits to people living with HIV/AIDS. They also provide food, clothing and schooling for many orphans.

 

• In 2002, to accommodate the rapid growth of the ministry, MHBC separated from ASM and formed Hands at Work, an umbrella organization that duplicates the MHBC model in many Southern African countries.

 

• In 2000, the ACTS Initiative, a specialist HIV/AIDS Clinic, hospice and training centre was birthed. For years the team at ACTS provided specialist medical services for people with all stages of HIV/AIDS. Recently this clinic has been taken over by Right to Care.

 

• In 2002 from the work of the SOH, a Primary Health Care Clinic that offers preventative and curative health services was opened. This includes care of children, pre and postnatal care, and acute and chronic medical care. The ASM clinic also provides medical care to the MHBC orphans that are not HIV positive and destitute children from other projects.

 

As we look to the future, ASM has a commitment to continue to make a difference in the nations of this world,

and also in the local community that God has placed us in.