Global Education Newsletter, September 2011

INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY OF MENNONITE BRETHREN
(ICOMB)

Global Education Newsletter

Volume 4, No. 4
September, 2011

Executive Secretary of ICOMB: David Wiebe (email: dwiebe@mbconf.ca)
Editor of the Newsletter: Dalton Reimer (email: dreimer@fresno.edu)
Faculty Exchange Editor: Elmer Martens (email: epmartens@comcast.net)
Mailing Coordinator:  Viv Johnstone (email: vivj@mbmsi.org)
 
Beginning Notes for School Leaders
• Please forward this newsletter to faculty and others who may be interested.
• This Newsletter is published quarterly. The next issue is scheduled for January, 2012. Please send news of what is happening at your institution to the editor: dreimer@fresno.edu

ICOMB Website: http://www.icomb.org
• Note that previous issues of the Global Education Newsletter may be found on the ICOMB Website under Education.

A Special Note
As this edition of the Newsletter was being completed, the editors received word that Eric Wingender, former president and currently Vice President of Development and member of the faculty at Ecole de Theologie Evangelique de Montreal, died suddenly on October 5 of a massive heart attack. Wingender represented ETEM at the June ICOMB Global Higher Education Consultation in Winnipeg (Canada), and contributed significantly as one of the French translators. After a Congo caucus at the Consultation, he expressed interest in visiting Congo in the interests of teaching the ICOMB study manual, Knowing and Living Your Faith.

Our condolences to his family and colleagues at ETEM in this time of sorrow and grieving. – Editors

Note: An early tribute to Wingender, written by Dora Dueck, can be found at: http://doradueck.wordpress.com/2011/10/06/in-honor-of-eric-wingender/

A Word from the Editor
An African proverb says: “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.”

If we apply this proverb to the church and school theme of this past June’s ICOMB Global Higher Education Consultation, we might say: “If you as church or you as school want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.”

“Going together” is a prominent theme in the final report of the Findings Committee of last June’s consultation. Ten Proposals for Action are recommended at the end of the report. These are as follows:

The following proposals look to school and national church leaders to take initiative:
1. Where needed, church leaders will invite school leaders to talk together about a relationship of understanding, trust, and peace. They will include matters of theological understanding. We will consider creating commissions of ongoing dialogue.

2. School leaders will invite church leaders to dialogue about programs needed to better serve the churches and their communities

3. Pastors and educators will ask of each other, “How are you creating a culture of discipling, and how are you modeling the Gospel of peace in your churches and schools?”

The following proposals look to ICOMB leaders for fulfillment:
4. We will develop further dialogue and models for what it means for churches and schools to be agents in transforming societies.

5. We will value alternative delivery systems of education by publicizing them as models.

6. We will invite educators to share with each other how they are or would like to be contextually telling their stories to their people and to the larger ICOMB family.

7. We will select model schools (Bible Institutes, Bible Colleges, universities) to share how they are permeating their education with missional emphasis and intentionality.

8. We will empower voices less heard and enhance global accessibility to educational resources by creating and improving forums including the ICOMB website, the Mennonite Global Learning Network, and other relevant sites.

9. We will encourage and assist further educational consultations at national, regional, and global levels.

10. We will continue the work on proposals and initiatives from the Fresno 2007 Consultation.

The full, final report of the Findings Committee will be available in October in English, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish. The report will be posted on the ICOMB website, as well as published in hard copy with the rest of the Proceedings of the Consultation.

The ICOMB Website: http://www.icomb.org

One Example of “Going Together”
The Proceedings of the June consultation will be published in both hard copy and on the ICOMB Website. Included will be the “lead stories” of the fifteen workshops of the consultation.

In one of these workshops, David Faber, Director of the Carson Center for Mission, Service and Global Education at Tabor College (Kansas), and Jim Elliott, Vice President for Advancement, shared how Tabor is working at “going together.” As perhaps the most senior of all the schools in our international network of schools, Tabor, founded in 1908, has a long history of working at school-church relations. Following is their summary of their workshop “lead story.” It reflects one school’s initiative in “going together.”

The Tabor Story

Since 1908, alumni, friends and the Mennonite Brethren Churches of the Central, Latin American, North Carolina, and Southern Districts of the US Conference have been integral partners in supporting the Tabor College mission.

The mission of the Advancement Office of Tabor College is to advance the institutional mission by mobilizing resources through:

1. Modeling and Encouraging Biblical Stewardship

Biblical stewardship is about understanding ownership. When we realize all that we have – our time, talents, and treasure – has been entrusted to us by God to manage (or steward) for His honor and glory, we can: freely give back to God what is rightfully His; praise Him for who He is; and, receive from Him the blessings He desires for us.

By modeling biblical stewardship (i.e. using our time, serving from our spiritual gifting, and investing our resources in Kingdom ministry), we encourage others to do the same. It is difficult to encourage others to participate with you in supporting your ministry when you are not doing so yourself.

2. Effective and Efficient Communication

Most donors invest in missional organizations because of the transformative nature of the ministries. Communicating effectively (i.e. compelling and authentic) and efficiently (i.e. cost-effective and segmented for particular audiences) conveys the life-changing stories of those the organization serves. In the case of Tabor College, those stories are of students who have been equipped spiritually and vocationally to impact the world for Jesus Christ.

3. Building Meaningful Relationships

Lasting, meaningful relationships are vital to resource development in ministry. Whether church members, advocates for missions, or alumni of colleges and universities, each constituent needs to feel valued and appreciated. There is good reason for friend-raising to be associated with fundraising. It is those closest to the ministry who become generous and faithful financial partners of organizations. These relationships must be based upon trust in both the organization and its personnel.

4. Providing Opportunities for Investment

“Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7)

The language of the advancement mission at Tabor College is intentional: “providing opportunities for investment in the kingdom ministries of Tabor College.” One can provide an opportunity for partnership without doing so under compulsion. Whether one desires to partner annually with the College through the Tabor Fund, establish an endowed fund for academic scholarships, or give toward a capital project, all are opportunities to invest in the kingdom ministries of the College.

Two groups, in particular, are examples of “core group” development at Tabor College: those who pray regularly for Tabor and those who give annually as part of the Tabor Society.

Tabor provides constituent churches and individuals a quarterly prayer guide with daily requests and items of praise. Scripture encourages us to pray without ceasing; there are a core group of alumni and friends of the College who intercede daily on behalf of Tabor. Such investment is priceless in eternal value.

Those who give annually to the Tabor Fund (i.e. the annual fund) at $500 or more are recognized in the Tabor Society. Special communication from the President; passes to athletics, musical and theatre arts events; and, invitation to the annual President’s Dinner are ways in which these faithful alumni and friends of the College are thanked and acknowledged throughout the year.

The Tabor story is similar to many faith-based ministries. It is the faithful prayer and support of His people – an investment of time, talent and treasure – that has been the foundation for “preparing people for a life of learning, work and service for Christ and His kingdom.”

Tabor’s story, while told from the perspective of the school, affirms the importance of church and school “going together.” It further identifies initiatives a school can take to assure that school and church are, indeed, “going together.” Thanks, Jim and David, for sharing Tabor’s experience.

More Stories to Come
Those who attended the June ICOMB consultation were able to attend only three of the fifteen workshops, given that each afternoon several workshops were scheduled at the same time. However, all fifteen of the workshop “lead stories,” such as Tabor’s story, will be available in October in print in the published volume of the Proceedings of the consultation as well as on the ICOMB website. Each consists of a brief story or experience of an institution on the theme of the workshop.

In addition to the workshop stories, the published Proceedings will include the full texts of the Findings Committee final report (in English, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish), the morning meditations, the plenary addresses, and directories of the participants, schools and national churches represented, as well as several other informational pieces.

SCHOOL AND COUNTRY REPORTS

CANADA
Columbia Bible College Initiates Presidential Search
Columbia Bible College President Ron Penner has announced his intention to retire, and has asked the Board of the College to initiate a search for a new President. At its September board meeting, the Board expressed appreciation for Penner’s 14 years of service to Columbia, the last five as President. In addition the Board appointed a search committee for a new president. Penner has indicated “that his finish date will remain flexible according to the pace of the succession process.”

Columbia Bible College To Celebrate 75th Anniversary
Columbia has announced its 75th anniversary celebration for Saturday, October 22 of this year. Activities of the day will be climaxed by an evening banquet on campus in Columbia Place The program of the evening “will celebrate our great musical heritage, highlight classic CBC moments and elements and focus on Columbia’s mission and future.” A special choir of former choir members, led by Rudy Baerg, also will sing at the banquet.

For Columbia Bible College anniversary and other news, see: http://www.columbiabc.edu

“Going Together” at the Fall Festival of Canadian Mennonite University
Canadian Mennonite University has replaced its traditional annual “homecoming” with a “fall festival,” which embraces a larger university community beyond just alumni. “Everyone – students, alumni, friends, donors, community members – is welcome to be part of a renewed weekend that will connect and inspire,” is the invitation issued by the university. The festival, featuring a variety of events including faculty lectures, music, awards, sports, alumni reunions, children’s activities and the like, was held on the CMU campus on September 30 and October 1.

For other CMU information and news, see: http://www.cmu.ca/

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (DRC)

Closing the Three Key Mission Gaps in Congo
Dr. Nzash Lumeya, founder of the Fresno School of Mission (California), spent a month (July 9-Aug 9) together with two church teams, each led by its pastor, ministering in Congo. One team from First Baptist Church in Clovis, a suburb of Fresno, had five participants; the second team from New Beginnings Church in Fresno, consisted of ten people.

Lumeya writes: Filled with the Holy Spirit, Congolese and American teams worked side by side in Kinshasa to close the three following gaps: spiritual hunger, ignorance, and poverty.

Addressing the spiritual gap, Pastor Ken “Mukambi” Hendrix taught pastoral theology from 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus to 30 local pastors and leaders. Pastor Angulus “Nganga Nzambi” Wilson, who is also the campus pastor at Fresno Pacific University, taught eighty pastors and leaders about God’s mission. As a result, a school of evangelism has been created and will open its doors in October to equip Congolese evangelists. In Kinshasa alone with its eight million people, there are more than 30,000 youth living on the streets.

Tatiana is a graduate of the University School of Mission [founded by Lumeya] teaching Christian peace culture to those in their 20’s and below. She is a fourth generation Christian. Timothy Djimbo, her great grandfather, was the first Mennonite Brethren Congolese Pastor.

Both teams were used to fight linguistic and biblical ignorance. New Beginnings Church taught the story of Jesus Christ through vacation bible school, whereas First Baptist Church taught English. Kevin and his friends are mute and deaf. Through American sign language, they learned English.

To close the poverty gap arrangements are being made to generate small business start ups that empower families to sustain each other financially.

The teams participated in a prayer gathering of 5,000 in Kinshasa. Lumeya reports that a grass roots movement is planning for 80,000 to meet in the Kinshasa stadium on December 31 for thanksgiving and intercession.

ETHIOPIA
Former Meserete Kristos Dean and President Earns Doctorate
Hailu Cherenet, former MK College Academic Dean and President, has rejoined the faculty of MK College after receiving his Ph.D degree at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield (Illinois, USA) in May, after five years of study at Trinity.

Meserete Kristos College Campus Becomes Center of Church Activities
According to a report from President Negash of MK College, during last summer the college “hosted close to 800 persons at different times including the [MK] General Church Council and many MK Church local and other evangelical churches. Many urge us to expand this service as the demand for Learning Centers, seminars and workshops by evangelical churches is very high.”

Meserete Kristos College Hosts Summer Teachers
Six North Americans were guest instructors in this past summer’s undergraduate program at MK College. In addition, two from North America taught in the Eastern Mennonite Seminary extension post graduate program.

Among the undergraduate instructors was Elmer Thiessen, PhD. retired teacher in philosophy, now from Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. He reports that he taught 25 first-year students in “Introduction to Philosophy, Theology and Logic.” With the exception of one woman in the class, all were evangelists and pastors with ten to twenty years of experience.

As a professional philosopher, Thiessen confesses that “I found it somewhat daunting to think that I as a lay-person was teaching all these evangelists and pastors. What an awesome responsibility.”

As a lay churchman, however, Thiessen is not new to the work of evangelism. In March of this year InterVaristy Press published his new work on The Ethics of Evangelism: A Defense of Proselytizing and Persuasion (see the March Newsletter under Publications).

Nevertheless, Thiessen reports that he had been “forewarned that the students might have some suspicions about philosophy. To counter this I told my story of teaching philosophy in a secular setting and the opportunity for Christian witness, of my church involvement, and some of the obstacles there because of my calling as a philosopher. In the end, they came to believe that I really was a
Christian philosopher, and perhaps that in itself was a significant contribution that I made to their lives.”

“Philosophy,” Thiessen states, “is about thinking and learning to critically evaluate ideas.” Though students found critical thinking challenging, Thiessen reports that when toward the end “I asked the students for some response to the course, the students would again and again come back to this emphasis on critical thinking in the course. They found this to be very valuable, and it would be a lesson they would take back with them into their ministry.”

INDIA

MB Centenary Bible College Announces Leadership Changes
In a change of leadership at MBCBC, faculty member IP Asheervadam has been appointed as the new Principal and A.J. Yesu as Vice Principal.

Asheervadam, an ordained minister in the Indian Mennonite Brethren Church, is also Executive Secretary of the India MB Historical Commission. He is a church historian with degrees from Osmania University in Hyderabad (MA in Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology), B.Th and B.D. from Union Biblical Seminary in Pune, and M.Th and D.Theology (candidate) in Church History from the United Theological College in Bangalore. His doctoral thesis is on The Dalits’ Search for Identity in the Post-Independent Era – A study of the Dalit Christian Experience in the Prakasham District of Andhra Pradesh.

Beyond his work at the Bible College, Asheervadam has contributed to a variety of global Mennonite conferences and publications. Most recently, he wrote the chapter on India in the 150th anniversary history of The Mennonite Brethren Church Around the World – Celebrating 150 Years.

New Testament scholar A.J. Yesu, appointed as Vice Principal, rejoined the faculty of MBCBC in January, 2011 after a year of doctoral thesis research and writing at Fresno Pacific University and Seminary in California. Yesu has been in the doctoral program in New Testament under the Federated Faculty for Research in Religion and Culture in Kottayam in the state of Kerala, India. His doctoral thesis has focused on the kingdom of heaven in the Gospel of Matthew’s non-parabolic passages with regard to mission, community and structure.

LITHUANIA
LCC International University Celebrates Twenty Years
LCC reports an eventful 20th anniversary celebration held from Wednesday, September 21 to Sunday, September 25. A beginning celebratory chapel service was followed by a variety of events including the dedication of LCC’s second student residence hall on campus, a parade to downtown Klaipeda with persons carrying the flags of the 26 countries represented at LCC, a luncheon with alumni followed by the planting of 16 trees, and “the unveiling of a book containing many alumni stories called 20 Years of History: The Alumni Book.” A fuller report of the event can be found on the LCC website at: http://www.lcc.lt/

The Story of LCC International University
Art Defehr, Founding Board Chair of LCC, joined with Interim President Marlene Wall in presenting the “lead story” in one of the workshops at this past June’s ICOMB Global Higher Education Consultation in Winnipeg, Canada. His story of the school will appear in the published Proceedings of the Consultation. Given the recent 20th anniversary celebration of the school, his story is also included at the end of this Newsletter, for those interested.
For more on LCC International University, see: http://www.lcc.lt/
UNITED STATES
Homecoming at Tabor College (Hillsboro and Wichita, Kansas)
Homecoming is a long-standing tradition at Tabor College. “It’s an annual celebration all about friends and family,” Tabor’s news release on the event proclaims. This year’s homecoming celebration is scheduled for October 14-16.

Homecoming is a time when alumni and their families, along with friends, return to campus to renew acquaintances, and join in a variety of activities, including music, drama, art, sports, class reunions, food and fellowship. When all join together, the work of Christian higher education, and the school in particular, are affirmed.

For further information and news from Tabor College, see: http://www.tabor.edu

Fresno Pacific University Begins Presidential Search
Given the resignation of President Merrill Ewert effective July 31, 2012, the Fresno Pacific University Board of Trustees has initiated the search for a new president.

A search committee including board members, alumni, faculty and staff has been appointed. In addition, for the first time in the university’s history the Board has chosen to employ a worldwide search firm, the Dingman Company, to assist in the search.

The search committee and the search firm have worked together to create “an ‘opportunity profile’ describing the experience, management style and other characteristics the university community seeks in a president.” The “opportunity profile,” along with other information, can be found on the FPU website at: http:://www.fresno.edu

Fresno Pacific Inaugurates Center for Anabaptist Studies
A major lead gift from Herb and Jessie Penner (Bakersfield, California) has led to the establishment of the Center for Anabaptist Studies at Fresno Pacific University and Seminary. Celebration of the inauguration of the Center was scheduled for October 9 on the university-seminary campus.

Valerie Rempel of the Seminary faculty has been appointed as the first director of the Center, as well as the first occupant of the J.B. Toews Chair in History and Theology at the Seminary.  Anticipated activities of the Center include research and publication as well as seminars and related educational activities.

For further information and news from Fresno Pacific, see http://www.fresno.edu

FACULTY AND STUDENT EXCHANGES

A Word from our Newsletter Exchange Editor on Student Exchanges….
Alexander Negrov, Rector of St. Petersburg Christian University in Russia, is an advocate for global student exchanges. He welcomes students from various countries to attend, either for a short term or for a full year. Check details at www.spbcu.ru/en

Such a move makes much sense in our world where Westerners and others travel freely. While teaching both in Kenya and in India I met students from the USA who were taking a year out of their college or seminary studies to spend abroad. They regarded their experience as highly positive.

Benefits of such a move include: a) an education in cross-cultural living; b) exposure to other religions; c) introduction to new perspectives, new pedagogies; d) enlarging one’s circle of personal friends;
e} experiencing God at work in another setting; f) becoming acquainted with the church functioning in another culture. – Elmer Martens

ICOMB encourages faculty exchanges among our schools.
Elmer Martens continues to serve as the ICOMB/MB Mission facilitator of global faculty exchanges.

For a full list of those available or for assistance in negotiating an exchange, please contact Dr. Martens at his email address: epmartens@comcast.net

Direct contact with schools may also be made. With the development of the internet, teaching opportunities are increasingly being listed on school websites.

The customary financial arrangements are for schools to be responsible for room and board. Volunteer teachers self fund their travel and/or seek support for their expenses.

Teaching Opportunities at LCC International University
LCC International continues to offer teaching opportunities in multiple disciplines. For further information, see: http:/www.lcc.lt/

PUBLICATIONS

Arthur Dück Co-Edits Issue of Common Ground Journal
Arthur Dück, Director of Faculdade Fidelis in Curitiba, Brazil, is the guest co-editor of the fall issue of the Common Ground Journal – Perspectives on the Church in the 21st Century. The entire fall issue is focused on “The Missionary Dimension of Christian Education in Brazil.”

The editors of the Journal note that the fall issue “is the first ever to be published entirely in the language of the authors,” in this case the Portuguese language of Brazil. In introducing the issue, the Journal editors note that “the two lead articles by the guest editors describe their perspectives on the theme and set the stage for the ideas and suggestions presented by the authors who complete the issue.”

The full issue is available on the internet, and may be found by simply googling Common Ground Journal (current issue) or the website at: www.commongroundjournal.org/cu...

Mvwala C. Katshinga Publishes New Book on Community Development (French)
Mvwala C. Katshinga from Congo writes to inform that his first book recently has been published in French by a firm in Sarrebruck, Germany with the help of Editions Universitaires Européennes. The book is about Translation and Community Development in Congo and is available at morebooks.fr and amazon.fr.

Mvwala is a graduate of the University School of Missiology in Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo). He was a member of the musical ensemble, “Esengo,” that itinerated in India, Japan and North America several years ago.

Baker and Green Revise Book on Atonement
The book, Recovering the Scandal of the Cross. Atonement in New Testament and Contemporary Contexts, by Mark Baker and Joel Green, first published by InterVarsity Press in 2000, has been reworked by the authors; a second edition appeared in July 2011.  Baker, faculty member of Fresno Pacific University Biblical Seminary, explains that "most of the chapters have significant changes and additions. For instance Joel [Green] gave a lot more attention to wrath of God as that is something we were misunderstood on." See http://www.ivpress.com/cgi-ivpress/book.pl/code=3931

The Mennonite Global Learning Network (http://icomb.org/mgln) is up and running with two inaugural series: Edmund Janzen on the Sermon on the Mount, and Elmer Martens on Unlocking the Old Testament. Check them out, as well as the other content featured on the site.

A SPECIAL STORY

LCC – A CONTINUING MIRACLE (As told in a workshop at the June, ICOMB Global Higher Education Consultation)
By Art Defehr, Founding Board Chair of LCC

LCC should not really exist.

There is no founding or sponsoring constituency, no official relationship with any church or agency, it is profoundly Christian but carries no label.

LCC has survived 20 years where most educational institutions founded after the end of Communism in the former Soviet Union have failed or had serious difficulty.

LCC is accredited inside Lithuania and the European Union—yet today it would be impossible to achieve that accreditation.

More than 1000 volunteers from the West have come without expense to the University to offer their teaching talents—and hundreds more to build and serve in other ways.

The University has students from over 20 countries—countries which are under extreme political and economic stress.

LCC has a modern campus with all new buildings and has always operated in the black.

LCC was founded without a survey, study, commission or even a planning document. We believe it was genuinely the product of many different people being open to the opportunities that God provided and acting without asking too many questions.

Even our location in Lithuania is a historical accident—Lithuania did not exist as a country when LCC started—the border surrounded and defined us later.

LCC is the product of an entrepreneurial moment—but do not for a moment believe that there is an absence of astute, committed and talented people who have taken this moment of opportunity and shaped something beautiful and effective.

Anecdotes sometimes define the larger reality...

• We were challenged on arrival in Lithuania by senior Catholic officials and accused of being a sect, specifically Mennonite. I asked the Bishop that even if we came as Mennonite, why would that be a problem? His colleague responded in perfect English: „If there were too many Anabaptists (not Mennonite but the Reformation terminology and implying pacifism) then who would fight the Russians?“

• We were invited to the Lithuanian Parliament when it was still in rebellion and surrounded by sandbags. A group of Lithuanian scholars stated that they expected to become independent and become a democracy. Their question was, „Is Religious Freedom essential in a democracy?“ We debated the question and they ended with a welcome. We have essentially re-lived the Reformation.

• President Landsbergis of Lithuania met me in Davos, Switzerland to ask about the College and its initial controversy. He asked, „Is LCC a College or a Mission?“ We had both just heard the Bishop of Milan speak on the subject, „Your Vocation is your Mission,“ and I was able to use that to inform my answer.

• Landsbergis suggested we relocate to the Port City of Klaipeda with its Protestant heritage to reduce the controversy. On arrival the Chairman of the City Council began the meeting with a story:
„In the 1540s two Protestant scholars came to the old City of Memel to start a University and were turned away by the authorities. They walked a hundred kilometers down the coast and founded the famous University of Koenigsberg. We will not miss our second chance to have a University. You are welcome.“

These stories are important because they give LCC a unique history and purpose. LCC is a political statement shaped like a University—specifically a Christian University in the rich liberal arts tradition.

Marlene Wall and many others spend their days and nights dreaming, thinking and working to meet the many academic and other requirements of stuidents and authorities. I spend more time thinking about how LCC can live up to its revolutionary beginnings and make an impact on people, on society and on the church. Together we build the Kingdom of God.

Why has LCC succeeded?

In the first year a senior Mennonite administrator wrote to me and stated: „Art, you do not just run around the world and start universities. Who will provide support for the school in 20 years?“

I wrote back: „If you can assure me that the founders of Mennonite or other institutions could answer that question the day they started, I will also answer the question.“ I have yet to receive a reply.

LCC must remain flexible, creative and always adjust to the rapidly changing nature of its political, economic, social and religious environment.

LCC is unique in many ways—also unique in the possibilities it offers to our religious and social institutions. We frequently take people out of a safe social experience and send them to a totally different and challenging environment and hope they make the transition.

Allow me to make a suggestion and challenge to mission boards and agencies.

Each year LCC receives 200 new students, most of whom will graduate in four years with a Business major flavored with curriculum and social experiences based on Christian and related values. Some will graduate in English or Psychology or Theology. Many arrive and hopefully more depart with a strong Christian commitment. They come from places like Belarus, Kazakhstan, Albania and more.

Imagine if an agency would come to LCC early in the first year and interview and select a few students that it would commit to work with, support and mentor during their years of College with the expectation that they would work with the agency on graduation. The agency could provide a partial scholarship, summer internships and other supplemental training and experience.

Consider the profile of a recent graduate of LCC. She was born Muslim in Uzbekistan, studied and graduated in a Soviet University, and during that period became a Christian. In her late twenties she came to LCC and graduated with a degree in Theology. She then received a scholarship to Brandeis University in Boston, a Jewish instituton, and graduated last spring with a Masters in Conflict Resolution, and will achieve a Ph.D. She speaks flawless Uzbek, Russian and English. The possibilities of such a person are radically different from your standard applicant and can literally change the face of an agency.

LCC graduates are known for the values they have absorbed while at LCC . We are known as „the ethical school“ among Western European Universities. Students bring their own traditions and languages, but after years in this unique environment they develop a capacity to deal with confidence across cultural lines, specifically Western culture, and become very attractive to employers. If these graduates also carry values and ethics shaped by their expeience in a Christian environment, they become the yeast to shape the broken societies from which they come.

Not all graduates of LCC will return directly to their home countries, but if they graduate from LCC they are much more likely to remain in that part of the world than if they would graduate from a College in North America. We are all about shaping and changing societies through the changed lives of our graduates.

LCC is not a mission in the traditional sense, but a mission in the sense implied by the question of President Landsbergis. Nevertheless, a cluster of churches exists today in Lithuania that are significantly influenced by LCC. Most of their pastors are graduates of LCC, and there are many linkages.

LCC also plays an important role in linking and supporting all of the religious traditions in Lithuania, and, we hope, increasingly in the region.

LCC is not your traditional mission agency, but it can play an important role in building the church and the Kingdom of God. LCC is a political idea shaped like a University, and the output of LCC is hopefully ambassadors of Christ and change agents in society in the shape of wonderful young people known as our graduates.