Michael Fouad, an IT specialist in Cairo, was one of the first participants in a 4G3 leadership institute in Egypt. He credits the program with shaping his faith and equipping him to minister more effectively to the people around him.
“4G3’s leadership institute made me more passionate toward my ministry and equipped me to serve with a different perspective,” he shares. “I attended some of the individual seminars last year. They were like appetizers, so I decided to attend the leadership institute and get the full experience. The materials were so well-prepared, and I have personally benefited from each course. I began implementing biblical truth on a deeper level.”
Each 4G3 leadership institute offers 70 hours of targeted training courses focused on foundational Bible knowledge, leadership development, and holistic growth. SHAPE, a course that examines each person’s Spiritual Gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, and Experiences, made a lasting impression on Michael. “Before attending the SHAPE course I didn’t know the best place to serve and glorify God. This study opened my mind to things I’ve never thought about before. It’s all about finding my right place in ministry; the place where I will be most fruitful and most effective in building up God’s Kingdom.”
For Michael, that place of fruitfulness is ministering to the people around him through evangelism and counseling. “The Purpose-Driven Life,” another course he studied in 4G3’s leadership institute, inspired him to engage people in his network with the truths he learned. “I started asking people around me if they knew the purpose God created them for,” he says. “Most of them said things like ‘to get married,’ ‘to have kids and die,’ or ‘to work.’ It was shocking. I started encouraging them to join the 4G3 leadership institute to learn about God’s purpose for their life.”
One of the people Michael invited to attend a leadership institute was a lady who had grown distant from God because of hardships in her life. “She was going through unexplained difficulties,” he shares. “She could not understand the wisdom behind what she was going through. She questioned why God couldn’t change her circumstances. She felt hopeless. I shared with her what I had learned: that the power of change comes from the power of Christ’s resurrection. I told her maybe she does not understand now, but God will always work for good for those who love Him—we might not understand it now, but one day we will.”
Intrigued by what she heard, Michael’s friend joined 4G3’s leadership institute. “I can see the difference it made in her life,” Michael says. “She’s decided to trust God even if she has no answers to what she is going through. Jesus showed her how precious she is in His sight. Through 4G3’s leadership Institute she learned how to stand firm in the faith whatever she is facing. She even started inviting other people to the leadership institute. 4G3 helps create a flame that burns inside of you urging you to harvest people for the Lord.”
In his counseling and evangelism ministries, Michael also used what he learned in a course called “Power to Change Your Life” to help others claim victory over sin. God orchestrated a meeting with a French woman who was a Christian but had turned to immoral relationships after the sudden unexpected death of her husband. “She was in pain, so Satan started attacking her where she was most vulnerable. She got into a sexual relationship with a man who was emotionally and sexually abusive. She felt helpless and hopeless. When I met with her, there was a voice inside me prompting me to tell her that there was a Power she could lean on to change her life: the power of the resurrected Jesus.”
Michael began sharing what he had learned at the leadership institute with the French woman. “I told her she was succumbing to the lies of the enemy that her life was at an end and could never change. We talked about how the One who defeated death gives us that same power. Why don’t you use that power to break free from the bondage of sin and abuse?” Michael’s words struck a nerve and she decided to trust Jesus one more time. God used this message of change to free her from an adulterous, abusive relationship.
“People are hungry for the Word of God,” Michael says. “They receive it best from people who have tasted His goodness and are living in intimacy with Him, people who are vulnerable enough and obedient enough to share their weaknesses and their faith with others whatever the cost. 4G3’s leadership institute gives life and vision to those who want to hear God’s voice. Once they hear His voice, their lives change. This institute gave me tools to better know God, to know myself, and the people I minister to. I encourage every servant of Christ to be a part of this!”
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