December 2006
Dear Family and Friends around the world,
Greetings from Nairobi, Kenya! The new academic year has seen
changes in our lives here—after twelve good years at Daystar
University, in September I shifted over to serve full-time at
Nairobi International School of Theology (NIST) as the chair of
the Postgraduate Leadership Studies Programs (M.Div. and M.A.).
I am very excited about this new opportunity, and I feel like
it is a convergence of many experiences and interests from over
the last decades.
T he Nairobi International School of Theology (NIST) was founded
in 1981.
NIST was founded in 1981 to equip pastors, church workers, and
Christian leaders with ministry skills and theological training.
Its mission statement reads: “To educate and train Christ-like
visionary leaders to spearhead holistic transformation in Africa
and the world.” Academic programs are offered at the diploma
and masters levels, with majors in counseling atudies, leadership
studies, biblical and theological studies, educational studies,
mission studies, and pastoral studies. As a ministry of Campus
Crusade for Christ, referred to as Life Ministry in Kenya, it
draws students from across the continent, and even beyond. In
my classes this term, I have students from Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia,
the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Rwanda, and Germany,
both men and women, from a wide variety of professional backgrounds.
This year, NIST has about 135 students, and I greatly value its
commitment to holistic training. Along with rigorous academics,
students are involved in weekly field ministry every term, live
in their communities, serve in their churches, are part of a weekly
discipleship group, and are involved in community development
and research.
CNN’s Africa correspondent, Jeff Koinange, said during
a Kenyan TV talk show, “Africa’s problem lies in bad
leadership.” This rings true, so what a privilege it is
to be able to integrate my doctorate in leadership, my years of
experience here in Africa, and my commitment to ministry to teach
adults already serving in ministry and professions and to help
them become more skillful, visionary, and value-driven leaders
of faith and integrity. Already my students have included the
daughter of Kenya’s first president; the senior pastor of
a large influential evangelical church; the senior pastor of one
of the leading indigenous churches in the city; the widow of the
founder of “Emerging Young Leaders, Africa” (her husband
died in the Kenya Airways crash five years ago in West Africa—she
is now coming into her own as a leader); a founding member of
a new up-and-coming political party in Kenya (and potential new
political leader in next year’s elections); and a young
man commissioned by the new united government of Sudan to work
on national education as well as peace and reconciliation processes
between Muslims in the north and Christians in the south. What
an incredible opportunity—and responsibility.
Bushra has now completed his first semester at NIST in the master
of arts program.
Let me tell you about just one student, Bushra. Bushra grew up
in a Muslim home in Ethiopia. As the first in his family to complete
high school, much was expected from him. It was during high school,
as he searched for more meaning in life, that he heard the gospel
for the first time. After further seeking, he invited the Lord
Jesus to come into his life and be his Lord and Savior. With his
contagious smile and outgoing spirit, he quickly became very involved
in ministry, sharing his new-found faith with others, and becoming
involved in church ministry. The more he grew, the more he desired
to grow, so he applied for an undergraduate degree in theology
at Pan African Christian College here in Nairobi. Having managed
to raise enough dollars to get himself to Nairobi, he enrolled
by faith. To date, he says he cannot explain how God provided,
but he is proud to have graduated, having completed his undergraduate
degree debt-free, and even before he finished, he had heard about
the new masters we offer here in NIST in leadership studies. Once
again, he enrolled on faith. With some support from friends and
a scholarship from NIST he has now completed his first semester
in the M.A. program.
He is so grateful, and his home country and family are so much
on his heart and mind, that he raised some funds and went home
to Ethiopia for the Christmas holidays. He had only enough shillings
to get there, but he said there is no problem; once there, he’ll
figure out a way to come back in time for classes for his second
term. With a big smile, he talked of how he is organizing to call
together the more than 60 members of his extended family to share
with them what God has been doing in his life, praying that some
of his family may also come to know new life in Christ as well.
Please pray for Bushra and the other students as they study,
serve, and prepare to lead the way in positive change here on
the African continent. To all of you, joy for the Christmas and
on into 2007!
Marta Bennett
Nairobi, Kenya
The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
335 |
