Our Story
Teaching practical missions online and in the piazza
with heart and hands-on experience
About The Missions Academia
The Missions Academia equips missionaries with pre-field and ongoing training. It is a unique form of missionary discipleship, but it also serves any Christian who desires to grow in grace and become more useful to the Lord.
PMc Academia
- A means for training in the specialized skill and service known as Missionary Church Planting
- An on-the-go training model, conducted in the ‘piazza’ (in person and digitally) rather than in the classroom
Jesus didn’t teach in a traditional classroom. Instead, He taught personally while doing the Father’s work. His classroom was the mission field, and His lectures were given as He evangelized and discipled others. His apostles walked with Him, ate with Him, traveled with Him, and learned by doing.
At PMc, we follow this same hands-on approach, teaching through the practical work of planting Biblical churches. This includes evangelism, discipleship, and elder training.
What is the idea behind the Academia?
Many bright and talented American Christians who study “missions” are often given a perspective rooted in Third World missions. While this perspective is important, the time has come for new missionaries also to receive a solid education in missions within First World countries. Today, Europe is considered the darkest continent.
When it comes to missions, nothing compares to on-field training. In a very real sense, when a missionary arrives on the field, they must set aside much of what they previously learned and enter the ‘school of Christ’ to rediscover what it truly means to be a Christian. New missionaries quickly realize that much of their understanding of Christianity has been shaped by their culture—it is, in fact, American Christianity. Some of it may align well with Biblical truth, while other parts may not be Christian at all. Only in the ‘school of Christ’ can missionaries fully embrace their calling and bear fruit for God’s Kingdom in another land among a different people.
All Christ-followers are enrolled in the ‘school of Christ,’ but the PMc Academia exists to help missionaries grow in their knowledge of God and their personal calling. It equips them to thrive in God’s mission, particularly in spiritually dark places like Italy.
The best theological and missionary education, in our view, combines hands-on ministry with rigorous study—blending learning with real-life experience and service in missionary church planting. Italy presents unique challenges, as does the broader work of church planting in a mission field context. Each of God’s laborers is uniquely gifted and has specific needs to grow in their calling. The PMc Academia allows us to address these individual needs, helping new missionaries not only survive in the so-called ‘missionary graveyard’ of Italy but flourish in their calling, whether with us or wherever God may later lead them.
Far too often, new missionaries are left without solid guidance or are used to advance personal agendas. This is a tragic loss because every person God sends to the mission field has something valuable to offer. At the same time, new missionaries need time to adapt, learn from more experienced workers, and develop the necessary skills—starting with language acquisition. They must slow down, adopt a humble and teachable spirit, and allow God to shape them through the challenges of the mission field.
When a new missionary joins PMc, they also enter the PMc Academia. Regardless of their prior knowledge or experience, they join others in the ‘school of Christ at His service.’ Together, they grow, sharpen one another, and become stronger, bearing fruit that lasts—all for God’s glory.
For whom is the Academia designed?
All missionaries participating with PMc in Italy are part of the PMc Academia to some extent:
- PMc Short-Termers (10–15 days): Short-term missionaries are immersed in the ‘school of Christ’ while actively evangelizing. They also engage in daily Bible devotionals led by long-term PMc Missionary Church Planters.
- PMc Missionary Interns (1–3 months): Interns participate in weekly one-on-one discipleship and group gatherings with Missionary Church Planters and Cohort Leaders, fostering deeper growth during their stay.
- Long-Term Missionaries: Missionaries on the Church Plant Cohort engage in regular one-on-one discipleship with their Cohort Leader and attend group gatherings alongside their cohort. They also collaborate with short-termers and interns during overlapping periods.
- Aspiring Missionaries: Those preparing for a missionary career can join preparatory courses through The Italian Cohort. These courses are designed to equip individuals with foundational knowledge, practical skills in evangelism, and cultural understanding of Italy. Aspiring missionaries benefit from mentorship by experienced church planters and can participate in short-term missionary activities to gain real-world experience before committing to longer terms.
How does the Academia work?
The PMc Academia is designed to equip missionaries at every stage of their journey through a blend of on-field discipleship and accessible online pre-field training. Originally focused on hands-on, on-field experiences, we’ve evolved to make our full training ecosystem available worldwide via our website—empowering not only our own missionaries but also servants from other missions and ministries who want biblical, practical preparation before or alongside their field service.
At its core, the program combines three powerful elements:
Regular discipleship meetings (one-on-one or small cohort groups) tailored to your stage and role, built around a curated reading plan from PMc’s vetted resources.
Short-term missionaries receive focused coaching for their trip.
Interns (1–3 months) follow a customized reading track with immediate field application.
Long-term missionaries pursue in-depth, role-specific tracks (e.g., church planting, cohort leadership).
Our own customized online courses – self-paced, multimedia training developed in-house by PMc leaders and field practitioners. Each course includes video lectures, comprehension quizzes, supplemental reading, and practical assignments that prepare you for real ministry.
Courses Currently Available
Foundations
Doctrines of Grace
Biblical Missions
Courses in Development (coming soon)Equipped for the Mission
Evangelism
Roman Catholicism
Discipleship
Winning Souls with Spurgeon
Apostolic Church Planting
Preaching
Apologetics
Active engagement & application – Whether on-field or studying remotely, you’ll interact deeply with the material: summarize chapters, wrestle with key concepts, record personal reflections and field applications, then discuss everything in your discipleship sessions for accountability and growth.
This flexible, hybrid approach means you can begin solid biblical and practical training right now—no matter where you are in the world—then continue seamlessly when you join us on the field in Italy or serve elsewhere. Our goal is simple: send you out not just informed, but truly transformed and ready to make disciples who make disciples.
Where is the Academia located?
The PMc Academia is rooted on the mission field in Italy, but it’s built to serve and equip believers worldwide.
While our on-field discipleship happens in the heart of Italy (in homes, Italian piazzas, coffee bars, and wherever ministry is unfolding), our full training program is now centralized on this dedicated PMc Academia webpage — making biblical, practical missionary preparation accessible to anyone, anywhere, at any time.
You can complete your reading assignments and customized courses at your own pace or according to a guided schedule. Discipleship meetings still take place in three primary settings:
In Homes – Intimate, distraction-free environments perfect for deep discussion and mentoring.
Public Spaces – Italian piazzas, coffee bars, parks, and streets where teaching and evangelism happen side-by-side, putting lessons into immediate practice.
Online – All course content (video lectures, quizzes, supplemental readings, and assignments) is now hosted primarily right here on the PMc Academia site.
Our active online community, The Italian Cohort (hosted on Discord), remains the vibrant hub for real-time interaction, prayer, questions, fellowship, and encouragement. It’s a growing family of like-minded believers with a heart for reaching Italy and the nations with the gospel.
This mirrors the ministry of Jesus: sometimes retreating to quiet places for focused instruction, sometimes teaching and applying truth in the middle of real-life ministry as it unfolds. Whether you’re preparing from afar or already serving with us on the ground, the PMc Academia brings both worlds together so you’re thoroughly equipped — in doctrine, character, and practice — for lifelong, fruitful mission.
What is the desired outcome?
Whether you join us on the ground in Italy or train with us from anywhere in the world, the desired outcome of the PMc Academia remains the same: to provide biblical, practical, and life-shaping guidance for every area of life and ministry.
Through disciplined study, discipleship, and real-world application, participants will:
Grow in the grace and knowledge of God and His will—personally and in community.
Gain a clearer understanding of their own strengths, weaknesses, gifts, and calling.
Grasp the unique challenges of gospel ministry, especially in postmodern and post-Christian contexts like Italy.
Be equipped and strengthened to bear lasting fruit for the Kingdom and to fight the good Fight of faith.
Lord willing, every participant—whether short-term, intern, long-term missionary, or online learner—will feel deeply connected to what God is doing in and through Italy. We pray that many will be stirred to serve here long-term, either with PMc or with our trusted partner ministries. For those whose path leads elsewhere, our prayer is that they will never see Italy (or the unreached) the same again, that their love for Christ and His global mission will burn brighter than ever, and that they will remain actively engaged in the Great Commission for the rest of their lives.
And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.
Ephesians 4: 11-12
