International Church and Educational Leaders say …
Dr. Paul Sanders, International Director
International Council for Evangelical Theological Education (www.icete-edu.org)
It is important to know that global evangelical theological education, whether it be from the standpoint of board members, management teams or faculty members, is often characterized by highly motivated people, put into positions of responsibility because of their personal competence, but not necessarily having been professionally trained in their fields of service. As it relates to faculty members in particular, theological education needs not only to be theological, that is, driven by a clear “theology of theological education”, but also educational, e.g. informed by the relevant findings of educational science.
As we focus on the work and qualifications of faculty members, it is clear that the training that GATE offers brings the following unique mix: professional competence of PhD level educators; evangelical theologians well qualified in the theological disciplines; global communicators, all of whom have significant cross-cultural experience (an indispensable component of working in international settings); a tool/structure of faculty training that has been proven effective on several continents.
Capacity-building of faculty members in evangelical theological schools worldwide is a key concern of our ICETE service network, as we seek to match needs and resources across our nearly 1000 member institutions in 8 regional/continental networks spanning the entire world, schools which are involved at any given time in the teaching/learning of over 80,000 students. We see GATE as a key resource provider for the institutions in our networks.
Tanya Petrova, Chief Academic Officer
Bulgarian Evangelical Theological Institute
I am writing to thank for your timely help for the development of our vision, strategy, curriculum and their implementation. Indeed I have waited a while purposely to write and send this letter at the time I/we have obtained the Resolution of Accreditation from the National Accrediting Association. This is to make you co-receivers of the joy from our successful completion of the process, of which you have been an integral part. I received the letter just Friday last week and rush to tell you this good news that is yours too.
When the accrediting team came over and asked different questions as to the excellent documentation we have prepared and the way we developed it, we shared of your self-giving and help for this to be a reality. We received the highest grade possible of the three.
Please, receive my and all of my colleagues’ gratitude for being part of us and fulfilling the metaphor of the Body of Christ!
GATE Workshop Alumni say …
- I want to endorse and applaud this initiative because it is need-related and context-sensitive. I witnessed institutional leaders from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania and Poland being led into a deeper understanding of the fundamental task of a theological training school, to train leaders capable of making a difference ….
- This workshop was the first educational workshop in my teaching career. … I can say that most, if not all, of the information was beneficial for me. I think that the lecturers themselves gave good examples of how to organize my course, and how to present it in a meaningful and attractive way.
- Seminars such as these are always a good opportunity to stop and reflect on issues that so often are neglected among all other pressures. It was good to rehearse the issues and to have a chance to discuss them with colleagues.
- Much of what I have learned came from the discussion and critical perspective of the participants. It deepened my understanding of the role of community for effective learning and I was challenged to consider different natures of the learning community.
- The greatest value was simply gathering these various faculties together so they could listen to each other within their own schools as well as listen to members of other schools. They never get a chance to do this kind of discussion and interaction among themselves.
- I have learned the importance of humility in teaching. The attitude with which the presenters approached the attendees was marked by their preparation about subjects supported through fervent prayers.
- The information, the interaction and all leaders demonstrating/embodying servant leadership have been powerful. The learning from this conference will serve as cornerstones in my life as I seek to serve His people – whether as a formal teacher or volunteer.
- It is difficult for non-Americans to avoid [receiving] the impression that Americans have the authoritative and final word on theological education. I thought you generally did a good job of communicating with humility, sharing insights without suggesting that those insights were the only appropriate evangelical position. … Thank you for coming!
- The four steps in developing a course were especially beneficial for me as a new teacher. In my future course preparation, I would like to think first about the outcome, then the antecedents, then process and content.
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