Victory Family Centre Singapore was birthed with a vision to share the Good News of Christ to every nation in the world through the primary strategy of church-planting.

Since our beginnings in 1977, VFC has established more than 6,000 churches in over 80 nations, sending over 1200 members who volunteer to give at least 1 year of their life to serve God in another nation.

Most of these works have been accomplished by ordinary men, women and youth who have been loved, empowered and released as missionaries in church-planting teams called "Gideonites".

THE GIDEONITE PROGRAMME

The term "Gideonite" was chosen to identify with the principle illustrated in the story of Gideon and his small band (Judges 6 - 8) where, through perseverance, they gained a victory though they were greatly outnumbered.

In the Gideonite programme, a few individuals are grouped into a team led by a mission pastor. This team will be trained and deployed to a specific nation with the goal of establishing a church through intensive evangelism and discipling.

Each team is supported by a Division (a group consisting about 70 members of the church), hence the term "Divisional Missions" is given to the process of sending Gideonites.

OBJECTIVES OF THE GIDEONITE PROGRAMME

• To plant missions-minded churches in strategic cities of the world
• To train and equip people to share the Gospel in other nations
• To provide all church members an opportunity for a hands-on experience in missions
  

GIDEONITE TRAINING PROGRAMME OUTLINE
The Training Programme is divided into four integrated components to achieve the above objectives:

1. Gideonite Training Programme Phase I (GTP I)
This is a preparatory phase. A two-hour class is held once a week over a period of 10 weeks. The primary objective is to introduce attendees to life in missions. The course includes a brief glimpse into the different aspects of the Training Programme as well as information to prepare a person to become a Gideonite team member.

This course is also a requirement in other missions programmes of VFC Singapore.

2. Gideonite Training Programme Phase II (GTP II)
This is a three-month live-in programme conducted in the mother church. Selected trainees are grouped into teams with a designated missions pastor and trained for church planting purposes. The training consists of three specific areas: classroom lessons, ministry practics, and personal development.

Other missions programmes of VFC Singapore also include this training course as part of their requirements although there may be some minor adjustments to meet specific needs of the proposed ministry and field location.

3. Gideonite Training Programme Phase III (GTP III)
This is a 9- to 12-month field programme. It is the practical application of all that has been taught in the previous Gideonite modules. The goal of this phase is to plant a VFC-type church in the targeted nation. The teams engage in a disciplined daily schedule of prayer, contact making, evangelism and discipling. As time progresses, discipling groups become Net Groups and then finally a worship service is started. The team works hard to raise up local Net Group leaders before returning home.

4. Gideonite Training Programme Phase IV (GTP IV) —
Re-entry and Debriefing
A series of classes and practical ministry are conducted over four half- days at the mother church. This is designed to reorientate the returned Gideonites to life back in their home country. This course aims to provide closure to the missions experience and marks the end of the Gideonite programme in its entirety.

All returned missionary personnel of VFC Singapore are required to attend this course at the conclusion of their specific missions service.
This course can be adapted to meet the specific needs of a returned missionary regardless of his or her role assignment in the mission field. These modules provide the necessary reentry debriefing experience.