Investing in SETECA, Shaping Latin America’s Theological Future

This May, the Central American Theological Seminary (SETECA) in Guatemala received a pallet of over 1,000 post-graduate theological books through our Theological Book Network program. This shipment was carefully curated to meet doctoral-level needs, and it will enable SETECA to launch the first evangelical PhD program in Biblical Studies in Spanish-speaking Latin America.

This milestone will ripple far beyond one institution as it will allow Latin American theological leaders to pursue doctoral studies in their own cultural context and language.

The impact of this achievement is also the fruit of years of collaborative investment. Scholar Leaders has walked closely with SETECA through multiple initiatives:

  • Through our Leader Studies program, we had the privilege of supporting Nelson Morales (Dean of SETECA, Professor of New Testament), Sofía Quintanilla (Vice Rector, Professor of Old Testament), and Gerardo Corpeño (Professor of Old Testament) during their PhD studies.
  • We are also scholarshipping Dayrin Cardona, a promising young instructor at SETECA, in the collaborative Duke Global Women’s ThM Fellowship.
  • Sofía Quintanilla is a member of the current Women’s Peer Leader Forum cohort, in which she receives professional development and peer mentoring.
  • Sofía also contributes to No More, an initiative addressing sexual abuse in seminaries.
  • SETECA also participated in the VSI process in 2023-2024, during which they highlighted their ambition to develop the first evangelical PhD program in Biblical Studies in Spanish-speaking Latin America.
  • And we are working with Rector Paul Branch to establish a new regional accrediting association for Spanish-speaking Latin America.

This story captures how our strategy works in practice: PhD scholarships forge long-term relationships with theological leaders. Then, through initiatives like VSI, TBN, the Women’s Peer Leader Forum, and No More, we support institutions they serve and strengthen the theological ecosystem across entire regions.

We invite you to watch this thank-you video from SETECA and celebrate with us. Because of your support, our global partners are better equipped to teach, lead, and serve the Church in their contexts. Thank you for being a part of this journey.

This story was featured in our recent newsletter. To read the newsletter, click here.