Welcome to Strengthening Ministries Training Institute

Strengthening Ministries Training Institute was established in 2010 and exists to promote excellence in Biblical Counselling in the local church in South Africa by training and equipping pastors and other Christians in the theologically accurate and practical use of Scripture in understanding and solving the problems of people, and thus promoting growth in and usefulness for Christ in the Church and the world.

What Is the History of Strengthening Ministries Training Institute?

Dr Wayne Mack left America and came to South Africa in 2005 to teach Biblical Counselling. At that time, he was the only light on the Biblical Counselling tree in the country. During those formative years, he trained hundreds of men (mostly pastors) and women in Biblical Counselling. It was said about his work,

“While many have departed from truly biblical counselling, Wayne Mack has not. When you sit under his teaching, you can be sure that his training will guide you into scriptural principles and practices from beginning to end. We are thankful to God for raising him up and equipping him to equip others.”– Jay Adams

SMTI seeks to uphold the solid biblical and practical approach that characterised Dr Mack’s ministry in writing and counselling while remaining informed of scholarly work being done for the advancement of Biblical Counselling. 

In 2018, Dr Sybrand de Swardt became the Executive Director of SMTI. He has worked hard to contextualise Dr Mack’s work for a multi-cultural setting. By God’s grace, this has led to SMTI building several partnerships with respected institutions in Southern Africa and the United States to advance the cause of Biblical Counselling throughout Africa and Europe. These partnerships include Mukhanyo Theological College in Pretoria and Brookes Bible College in St Louis, Missouri.

Mukhanyo Theological College has asked Dr de Swardt to rewrite their entire pastoral curriculum. This is a great opportunity that demonstrates God’s faithfulness and His desire for His people to be counselled and trained from the Scriptures rather than in cultural, traditional, or psychological beliefs. Dr de Swardt teaches the higher certificate and bachelor’s degree counselling courses. These courses will engage with both western and African worldviews that have plagued the church of Christ in Africa. The material further considers several African related topics that are unique to the Southern Africa context.

Brookes Bible College and SMTI have partnered with one another to offer a master’s degree in biblical counselling starting in August 2025. SMTI is delighted to work with Brookes Bible College and highly values their desire to reach the world with biblical truth. The focus on this programme is to make an online master’s degree available for an African and European context. The adjunct faculty of SMTI will serve as lecturers and readers in the master’s programme.