Clients

Ethiopia’s Lutheran church has over 9.3 million members. Facing the challenge of preaching the Gospel in over 80 languages, the denomination needs educated leaders – and Mekane Yesus Seminary, founded in 1960, supplies that need. Mekane Yesus has 1,400 students in three programs: Theological Studies, Music and Media, and Management and Leadership. (VSI helped Mekane Yesus consolidate from four programs into these three, a consolidation that also refocused on the school’s primary mission.) The seminary emphasizes the diversity and equality of all Christians in a society where ethnic identities often conflict and upholds Christian ethics in a society where corruption often colors civic life. As the denomination and seminary grow, VSI is helping the seminary consider how to expand its facilities wisely, how to encourage more women in theological leadership, and how to engage new donors (especially for scholarships). Just before COVID-19 began, the seminary successfully installed a new well, which is vital for dealing with the pandemic.

Shalom Bible Seminary in Kohima, Nagaland, India serves the approximately 30,000 members and 104 congregations of the Angami Baptist Churches Council. It was founded in 1996, and in 2019, its student enrollment topped 200. The seminary has hosted conferences on AIDS and on women's needs. It facilitates youth discipleship through music and basketball camps. It offers the only youth-focused MDiv in South Asia. Because many of its graduates serve in Baptist congregations, the seminary has organized visits to local churches so that students, alumni, staff, faculty, and Board members can get to know local contexts. Before COVID, VSI and ATA staff met with Shalom leadership to help them create a master plan for faculty and campus development, analyze how to incorporate technology in the library and across campus, and consider how to enhance relationships with alumni.

University Divitia Gratiae began in 1993 as the College of Theology and Education, which prepared leaders of small group Bible studies. In 1995, because of a need for educated church workers, it united with the Moldovan Baptist Union to form the current University. In 1998, it opened a special training track for missionaries to Turkic-speaking peoples in Moldova and in Central Asia. Now, over 60% of its students come from Central Asia, mostly from Muslim contexts. As a result, VSI is encouraging UDG’s prophetic voice on developing Christian community during persecution, Christian-Muslim relations, and the impact of emigration/guest worker programs on families. It is also helping UDG consider how to sustain its rich faculty/staff community life and its short-term missions program, which offers life-changing opportunities to students. During COVID-19 lockdowns, UDG sheltered over 100 students, mostly Central Asians trapped by border closures.

Servant of Christ is a unique example of an immigrant community ministering to their new country. Founded in 1990 and run mostly by Chinese, the seminary offers side-by-side Chinese and Portuguese programs. An interdenominational seminary, it is known among churches for its high academic standards and opportunities to learn from diverse Christian perspectives. Its location in urban São Paulo allows it to reach urban pastors, young professionals, and the deaf community; because these are often part-time students, the seminary offers classes early in the morning and in the evening to allow professionals and those who have families to attend to their other responsibilities. It is a regional presence, hosting extension sites in Argentina and Chile and sending graduates to Colombia and to marginalized people groups in Brazil’s northeastern desert. During COVID-19 lockdowns, Servant of Christ hosted a vibrant online chapel program and a virtual real-time prayer wall that maintained and enhanced its faculty/student community despite classes being online.