Country School and City School

Higher Education is changing all around the world. One of the things that our partner church is interested in having me work with is their Bible schools. They are having trouble now with having enough money to pay the instructors, who lived on only a few months salary last year. Revising pastor education and doing it more effectively is one of the goals of the new church leadership. We have toured two of the three schools so far. One is only 20 mins. away, but feels way out in the country, a few miles off the main road down a hard to follow two-track path. Many of the students there live in circular huts they have to build, much like a traditional village. They have lots of area around them to farm and even have fields there for pastors in the area. They seem to follow a pretty full schedule all day but have some breaks and a lot of time slots labeled Bible Study.

The other school we visited was at the edge of a small city.  It had a little more developed feel with more rustic dormitory block style housing, although some of it was depressing a little like walking through the German concentration camp courtyards.  This school had the biggest mix as they have the highest level degree training here and some very educated faculty, but also a program for teaching those called to ministry how to read so they can start their studies.  It too was surrounded by smaller fields for the students and teachers to farm.  It will be very interesting to see what steps the church can take to adapt their ministry training and what role I can play in helping them!