Introduction
Last week marked the 10th anniversary of our arrival at the Biblical Seminary of Colombia.
When we arrived on September 9, 2011, our children were 13, 11 and 9, Rochelle was in her 5th year of homeschooling, we had just spent three years in Boston (after four years in Paraguay), and Gustavo was two years into a PhD program.
A lot has happened since then. Here are several of the highlights:
Masters in Biblical Exegesis
After a 7-year painstaking process, the Biblical Seminary of Colombia (BSC) is on the cusp of receiving accreditation for its Masters in Biblical Exegesis from the Colombian Ministry of Education.
This may be hard to believe but there are only 8 evangelical institutions on the ENTIRE LATIN AMERICAN CONTINENT that offer an accredited Masters program. Part of the problem is the few Protestant universities that exist in general, usually 1 per country. The other part is how difficult accreditation can be.
Our two year Masters program will prepare men and women in advanced biblical exegesis that is inter-disciplinary, contextual and practical for the needs of the church and society. Our program will also prepare students for doctoral work.
Beginning of our undergraduate virtual program
Our virtual program began in 2016 and has doubled our student body. In addition, it has allowed Spanish speaking students in any country to complete their undergraduate studies.
So far, Gustavo has had the privilege of teaching virtual students in Doha, Germany, London, the U.S. and several South American countries.
Faith and Displacement Study
In conjunction with the Templeton World Charity Foundation, we launched a multi-year, multi-disciplinary study whose goal was to provide spiritual, material and emotional support to Colombia’s displaced communities.*
Working alongside displaced communities, and an international team of 30 experts in the fields of theology, psychology, sociology, politics and pedagogy, we developed a certificate program and a wealth of materials to help churches minister to displaced communities / peoples in their midst.
*Colombia is home to 7.6 million internally displaced peoples (second in the world to Syria).
PhDs Coming and Completed
Several of our students have either completed or are initiating PhD programs within Colombia as well as in other countries (U.S. and U.K.)
Our very own rector just completed his PhD in church history, and our vice-rector is a year from completion. Both are alumni of our seminary. In addition, two of my former students are set to begin their studies: Manuel Ramos, PhD in Old Testament from Asbury Theological Seminary and Guillermo Velilla, PhD in Old Testament from Oxford University.
It is critical that the church in Latin America develop its own scholars, theologies and literature. One way forward is through advanced studies, which begins with the robust foundation our students receive here at the seminary.
Our Ministry
Since 2011, we have ministered with the Biblical Seminary of Colombia (5 years in country, 5 years in Boston with the virtual program).
It has been Gustavo’s privilege to teach dozens of courses (residentially and virtually), and to help in preparing hundreds of students for their vocations.
Our graduates are leading hundreds of vibrant churches (both large and small, in Colombia, London, Doha and the United States), at least 7 denominations in Colombia, several non-profits, several bible institutes, as well as leading this seminary as Rector and Vice-Rector.
In addition, we have hosted 6 international short-term teams, some from our home church, Park Street Church in Boston and some from Colonial Church in Edina, MN. It has been a blast to introduce students and chaperones to existing ministries in Medellín (including our own) and to give so many people a taste of the real Colombia.
Our Family
In 10 years, all of our kids finished out their home-school and high school careers, are into their university studies.
Emilio graduates from Vanderbilt (TN) next Spring with an Economics / Finance degree. Caroline is a junior Studio Art Major at Connecticut College (CT) while Natalie is beginning her freshman year as a Biomedical Engineering student at Washington University in St. Louis (MO).
Rochelle and Gustavo are back in Medellín, living on campus. In addition to regular teaching duties (classes, supervision of theses), Gustavo is also actively involved in a technology and ministry project teaching churches to use tech for greater ministry impact (digitaleclesia.com).
Rochelle has completed her first year as a student systems analyst for Phillips Exeter Academy. One of the best parts of the job (besides working with great people) is being able to work remotely.
We have had an incredible 10-year run here at the seminary and we look forward to many more fruitful years of service.
Thank You
We wish to thank everyone who has supported us in this journey, who have given of their time, money, efforts, and prayers, the short-term teams who have visited and ministered with us and those who have ministered to us on our return trips to Boston.
We are extremely grateful.