A Rich Heritage

A Rich Heritage

People often ask me, “How did MTS go from 2 apprentices in 1979 to 250 in 2017?”
I tell them about the amazing power of God and how he grew the movement over time, by His Spirit and His word.

The movement has had 4 main stages:

Family (1979 – late 1980s) – it began on the campus of UNSW with the first apprentices training in 1979. It was the UNSW / St Matthias Centennial Park family who kicked it off. It was very early on that the MTS signature verse dwelt richly in the hearts of the movements founders. That verse was 2 Timothy 2:2 “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to reliable people who are able to teach others.”

Friends (late 1980s – mid 1990s) – in this period people (like Tim & Rosemary Thorburn, Dave & Fiona McDonald, Gordon & Fiona Cheng) who’d done an apprenticeship at UNSW finished theological college and went to work in other places around Australia. These ‘friends’ began to train apprentices in other locations.

Fellowship (mid 1990s – mid 2000s) – as time passed the apprentices that the ‘friends’ trained started to train their own apprentices. Gordon & Fiona Cheng trained apprentices in the 1990s of which about 6 trained their own apprentices in the early naughties. 2 Timothy 2:2 in action.

Movement (2006 – present) – in 2006, just prior to Col Marshall’s departure as National Director the MTS Board determined that MTS should be a movement rather than an institution. It should operate in terms of ‘influence and inspiration’ rather than ‘command and control.’ To find out more read the MTS Blueprint.

The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has indeed blessed the MTS Movement since it began ‘informally’ 40 years ago.

The fruit of God convicting the movement of the necessity to train up generations of 2 Timothy 2:2 minded Gospel workers.

Author: Ben Pfahlert, MTS National Director