One Gateway initiative which often remains behind-the-scenes is our partnerships with international seminaries. Some of these relationships are formal (with written agreements to support one another) while others are fraternal (more intermittent and relational). We have several of these with schools around the world – mainly focused on the Pacific Rim but also including schools in Europe, Africa, and the Americas.
There are several reasons we assist other seminaries. We believe in the global mission of theological education and leadership development. We believe God honors generosity, and sharing our expertise is one way of giving ourselves away to serve others. We are humbled by the results other schools are achieving with limited resources and want to encourage other leaders by our support. We want to extend our mission globally, not just by franchising Gateway in other places, but by supporting contextualized, indigenous leadership training in many locations.
These international relationships do not include sending money to partners or telling partners how to do their job. We try to model effective missiology by coming alongside international partners and joining them in their work, not imposing our methods on them or negatively impacting their economic models.
Last week, it was my privilege to support the work of the Philippines Baptist Theological Seminary by speaking at their 53rd annual Lide Walker Bible Conference. It was my second time to preach at this three-day event with almost 700 registered attendees. PBTS is making a significant impact in training leaders through their primary campus program and certificate-level extension centers around the world. It was an honor to be with them – to train their students, encourage their leaders, and network with national leaders from across their network of churches.
Gateway is a missions-immersed seminary with a global focus – not just on sending graduates to other places but involving our faculty and staff as well. We are committed to doing our part, as one of the largest seminaries in the world, to strengthen global efforts at training kingdom leaders.
By the way, mark your calendar for our annual Missions Conference on Feb. 23-25, featuring the IMB’s Mission College for training local church leaders on how to expand their international missions impact. Paul Chitwood, President of the International Mission Board, will be our special guest. We will also be announcing a major new initiative related to shaping future mission leaders. Gateway global is more than a catchphrase – it’s who we are and what we do!
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