About Going With Jesus and FOAMTI
Training Christians, missionaries, pastors, and church planters to reach the Nations
Go With Jesus and the Fire Over Africa Missionary Training Institute (FOAMTI) exist to train Christians and indigenous missionaries, church planters, and pastors across Africa, Asia, and the world to reach the nations with the good news of Jesus Christ. Founded by Dr. Gary Munson, FOAMTI draws on 35+ years of experience training church leaders in Africa and Asia.
Well-trained, prepared Christians, leaders, and indigenous missionaries are the biblical and most effective way to reach the nations with the gospel. The Apostle Paul’s method of training, discipling, mentoring, and releasing local missionaries remains the best method available to us.
🎯 Our Mission
Training every Christian to reach their own people with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
🌍 Our Vision
Every nation in Africa and Asia with Jesus-centered, Spirit-filled churches led by indigenous pastors and leaders.
Why FOAMTI
Three Pillars of Nations Training
FOAMTI’s curriculum integrates three inseparable components. None stands alone — a trained missionary needs all three to be effective and faithful.
Academic Study
63 courses across 10 categories covering biblical foundations, Christian doctrine, evangelism, discipleship, church planting, missions, Muslim outreach, leadership, and ministry operations. Each course has 10 sessions with video teaching, lecture notes, discussion questions, quizzes, and practical assignments.
Practical Experience
FOAMTI partners with churches, denominations, fellowships, and sending organizations who provide the practical component — outreach, church-planting experience, small-group leadership, and going out two by two for evangelism. Ministry is built upon relationship.
Spiritual Formation
The first goal is relationship with God through Jesus; knowledge is built on that foundation. We encourage daily prayer and devotion, small-group accountability, seasons of fasting, family devotions, and character development through the Holy Spirit.
Hear the vision from Dr. Munson
Introduction to Go With Jesus
Our Approach
Go With Jesus is about equipping every Christian to be a missionary to their own people — and the trainers who send them. All materials are free to indigenous African Christians, churches, and ministries through the online learning system and the “Going for Jesus” app — in English, Amharic, French, Swahili, and Indonesian. Consider a monthly donation to help cover the cost of training leaders across Africa and Asia.
Having ministered in Africa and Asia for over 35 years, we learned that traditional teaching and training methods needed to improve. Language is a major barrier, so we must use local languages. Every Christ-follower is needed if we are to make disciples of all nations — and the need is urgent.
Our Theological Foundation
Core Commitments That Guide Everything
Every course, every session, every sentence is shaped by these non-negotiable anchors, drawn from Scripture and Dr. Munson’s decades of ministry.
Christocentricity
Jesus Christ is the center — not theology, not statements of faith. Christ is the key to all Scripture, the model for all leadership, and the content of all proclamation.
Scripture as God’s Self-Revelation
The Bible is the inspired Word of God, sufficient for faith and life; God continues to speak by His Spirit in ways that never contradict Scripture.
The Primacy of the Holy Spirit
The Spirit brings grace, empowers holy living and service, guides the believer, and gives gifts for ministry. All gifts of the Spirit are operative today.
Theology as Lived, Not Merely Known
“What we believe is revealed by our actions and living; therefore there is no good theology outside of godly living.” Theology separated from character is deficient.
Missional Identity
The church exists to make disciples of all peoples. Every believer is a participant in the mission, not a spectator.
Unity, Not Divisiveness
Jesus prayed for the unity of the church. Theology should bring Christians together. FOAMTI avoids denominational polemics and seeks common ground in Christ.
Contextual Sensitivity Without Syncretism
Content respects African cultural realities — oral tradition, communal identity, extended family — while keeping Jesus as the absolute center and rejecting any mixture.
Formation Over Information
The goal is not merely good theology but bringing people into proper relationship with God. We prioritize character formation through the Holy Spirit alongside academic study.
Our Founder
The goal of Christianity and the work of Christ is not to teach good theology but to bring people into proper relationship with God. Good theology helps in that process, but it is not the purpose of Jesus.
- Two doctorates
- 35+ years in ministry
- Ethiopia · East Africa · Asia
Origins & calling
FOAMTI grew out of Dr. Gary Munson’s 35+ years training indigenous church leaders. He has initiated, built, and managed leadership-development programs across Africa and Asia. Living in Ethiopia from 2008 to 2013, he developed a missionary-training program that became the foundation for FOAMTI today.
The heart behind Go With Jesus
Having ministered in Africa and Asia for over 35 years, we learned that traditional teaching and training methods needed to improve. Language is a major barrier, so we must use local languages. Every Christ-follower is needed if we are to make disciples of all nations — and the need is urgent.
Teaching philosophy
Dr. Munson’s teaching voice is informal and conversational — not lecturing at students but walking with them. Warm, pastoral, and relational, he treats every learner as a brother or sister in Christ, tells stories from 35 years of ministry, and always points to Scripture and the work of the Holy Spirit. We learn together as we follow Christ.
Credentials & experience
Dr. Munson holds two doctoral degrees — one in education, the other in theology and missiology — with deep formation from his studies under Violet Kiteley at Shiloh Bible College. His theology is Christocentric, Spirit-empowered, and missional, shaped by experience in Ethiopia, the Chinese house-church movement, across East Africa, and throughout Asia.
Getting Started
Missionary candidate prerequisites
Before beginning Go With Jesus training, we recommend the following faith foundations. These are not barriers — they are building blocks that ensure fruitful training.
- A clear desire to follow Christ and confess Jesus as Lord.
- Water baptism as a public confession of faith.
- Six months to a year of one-on-one or small-group discipleship with a mature believer.
- Regular personal devotion and a basic grasp of biblical truth — the authority of Scripture, God as Creator and Redeemer, Jesus as Lord, and the Holy Spirit.
- A strong foundation of faith — daily prayer, regular Scripture study, seasons of fasting, and active participation in a local church.
Done alongside a church or sending partner while learners study the Go With Jesus courses.
Spiritual formation
Daily personal prayer and devotion, small-group interaction, and family devotions — reinforced by group participation.
Discussion groups
Every lesson is discussed in the missionary’s primary language — content, context, and personal application. In person or online.
Outreach
Going out two by two or in small groups for evangelism; role-play, naming people to reach, and praying for the sick.
Church planting
Experiencing small-group and house-church dynamics, and small-group discipleship as a leader — planting while you study.
Testimonials
What our learners say
I came out of Islam recently, and I regret not coming to the Lord sooner. My family of four have heard the gospel and accepted Jesus. I come from a very Muslim-dominant area, and I reached 10–15 of my people before coming here. Now that I have taken this training, I believe there will be many more.
I have learned that a disciple is a follower who learns and then teaches others — someone whose life testifies to the truth he has learned. It has greatly encouraged me to minister more and raise up strong, steady believers in my area.
After I came to the Lord, I faced hardship and pressure in my community. But the Lord kept looking out for me and brought me here to take this training. I have promised to preach the gospel in words my people understand, and to work even harder to bring my family out of the darkness.
I come from South Wollo. I have served the Lord in my community, preaching from the context of Islam. Having taken this training, I give my word to serve even more, urging others to look like Jesus and make disciples.
I come from an area near Dessie dominated by Muslims. I heard the gospel from a believer who visited his relatives there. I have come to understand that a disciple is a follower — and I will work and pray for my people to hold to the truth.
Begin your journey — free for African believers
All 63 courses, all 5 certificate programs, all materials — completely free to indigenous African Christians, churches, and ministries. Available online and on the “Going for Jesus” smartphone app.