In preparing to go and teach in what is a national seminary for a branch of the church in an Asian country I asked the Principal to give me more information.
In his letter that came today he listed down these details:
Library: We only have about less than 500 books altogether. We don’t have Leadership books. [I am teaching a course on Leadership when I visit]
Faculty: We don’t have a paid faculty, except, the principal, warden and a cook.
Housing: We are running our class and dormitory in a rented house. [Many come from remote areas of the country, hence the need for a residential College]
Facilities: We don’t have enough basic facilities as well.
Finance: We only have one [international] sponsor who is supporting us for the food costs and a little bit of other expenses. For the rest of the finances the college has to raise them. I am having difficulties in raising the funds for the college. The support of the international sponsor is on a “decreasing ratio”.
I am meeting with the seminary and convention leadership on the last day of my visit to listen to their issues and talk about their future together. Hopefully there may be some scope to encourage people to support their seminary further but one of the major challenges in countries like this is the poverty of the local churches and believers.
TWB is about entering into partnership whereby teachers volunteer to visit seminaries and churches in countries like this where the financial and teaching resources are not plentiful.
If you are a teacher who can offer some time and expertise to redistribute theological resources and help to tip the scales, I’d love to hear from you.
Dr Geoff Pound