A Journey of Faith and Learning with TRACI

I serve as the church administrator and worship team leader for my local church and I’m also a social science researcher. I’m writing a book about women’s leadership in Indian churches through interviews I did with 115 women over 33 cities in the country.

Over the course of the past five months, I have been deeply nourished by the ‘Faith and Active Citizenship’ Course as well as the ‘Gender and Biblical Equality’ Course offered by TRACI. During one of the Q&A sessions in class we discovered a need to have a deeper understanding of Hermeneutics, so TRACI planned another course (titled ‘Bible Study and Interpretation’) parallelly to help us supplement our learnings.

Each of the sessions across all three courses were full of spiritual depth and intellectual substance, of revelations led by Kingdom culture principles and conceptual clarity regarding very sensitive, intense, and complex topics. We were always encouraged to ask questions, however basic or uncomfortable. The assignments had compelling readings, documentaries, and reflection questions for us to delve much deeper into these ideas. The feedback we received throughout the course has been invaluable to me. The mentors have been so perceptive and spent time with us and our work to give us very pointed feedback to look at our context and get mobilized with concrete plans, giving us direction to move from idealistic and generalised notions to a practical call of action.

It’s easy for a participant to feel confident in TRACI’s stewardship through the course because it is evident that they practise what they preach. This space is handled with discipline and so much care. There really is space for everyone to come as they are, to learn and grow. TRACI modelled respect towards each participant and taught us to also listen to each other with honour. I have now found many wise companions on my journey, as we have grown together in our understanding and commitment to the calling of Social Justice and Integral Mission.

These courses and the time I have spent soaking in the values and spirit of TRACI have blessed me, my relationship with God, and the ways I serve my community. I have made many commitments through these courses for my personal life and my engagement with my local church. With respect to my book, I will be working on a chapter that addresses Policies for the protection of women in churches and one on Biblical Foundations of Gender Equality.

I’m so grateful to TRACI for the immense spiritual support and for commissioning us in these areas.

Caroline, Mumbai
December 2024