Kaboson Pastors Training College in Kenya
World Gospel Mission and Africa Gospel Church joined forces in 1993 to open Kaboson Pastors Training College in Chebalungu district in southwest Kenya. The college was opened to meet the vital need of providing the national pastors with the formal education and theological training they were lacking. Many AGC pastors were untrained and unable to attend Kenya Highlands Evangelical University (Kericho) because of expense, distance, or family responsibilities or because they did not meet admission requirements.
The training program at Kaboson was designed to emphasize the practical skills every pastor needs for effective ministry: a good grasp of Bible knowledge and doctrine, the ability to speak and preach well, the capacity to lead people to Christ and disciple them, and the training to guide a church forward.
Programs
KPTC students receive different awards depending on their area of study, entry qualifications, and GPA. Awards include:
• Higher diploma in pastoral ministries
• Diploma in pastoral ministries
• Diploma in counseling psychology
• Diploma in Christian leadership
• Upgraded diploma in pastoral ministries
• Certificate of pastoral training
Diploma students take three and a quarter years to graduate while certificate students take two and a quarter years. Research is being done to offer a certificate in micro computer applications as soon as enough equipment and trained personnel become available.
The upgrade program was started to better equip certificate graduates for ministry. Graduates come in for one more year and upon graduation earn the upgraded diploma in pastoral ministries.
Kaboson also offers a practicum ministry and mentoring program. This three-month term is devoted to practical training in churches or other Christian ministries. During the regular college term, students are sent out to local churches, primary schools, and secondary schools where they put into practice what they learn in class and bring people to Christ. Each student’s practicum is supervised by two trained field mentors and a faculty mentor. Students are placed into small groups under the faculty mentors. These groups provide the students with a safe place to grow spiritually and personal counseling when necessary.
Students
KPTC currently accepts men and women who have finished high school and have been sent by their local churches. Candidates with a primary level of education may be accepted from mission fields and newly established areas.
The majority of a student’s expenses for tuition and room and board are raised by the sending church, district, and family. Students may also receive scholarships from Africa Gospel Church, WGM, or Immanuel General Mission (an indigenous denomination in Japan). Currently, 76 students are enrolled at KPTC: 49 in pastoral programs, 10 in counseling programs, and 17 in the upgrade program.
After graduation, more than 90 percent of Kaboson graduates go into full-time ministry. Currently, eight of the AGC areas are led by KPTC graduates while several other graduates serve as district leaders. There are also graduates serving as missionaries in South Sudan and Tanzania. These graduates are playing significant roles in increasing the number of people coming to Christ in rural and urban Kenya and in the establishment of many new churches. As churches see the results of having trained pastors, they are sending more and more students to KPTC.
Lecturers
Rev. Dr. Stephen Ng’enoh, a graduate of Kenya Highlands Evangelical University and the former business manager at Tenwek Hospital, leads the college. Most Kaboson lecturers are from Africa, and currently five Kenyans and a missionary couple are among the resident lecturers. Missionaries from WGM and IGM serve at different times, and visiting lecturers who serve in full-time Christian ministry in different places are also invited to the college. A staff development program has been started so KPTC staff can advance their spiritual, social, academic, and ministry skills.
Facilities
Current facilities at Kaboson include staff houses; two dormitories; a kitchen and dining hall, which also serves as the chapel; and a multipurpose building with administrative offices and classrooms. The steadily growing library is contained in a room while the college looks forward to constructing a building for the library.
While KPTC has adequate dormitory, housing, and classroom space for 80 students, WGM hopes to enlarge the facilities to allow more students to attend. In 2002, Men With Vision’s annual project raised funds for the construction of urgently needed staff housing. The housing was completed and dedicated in 2003, and now there are four staff houses on campus. Kaboson also envisions the construction of another staff duplex to house the rest of the seven trained faculty members.
With the help of WGM, IGM, AGC, and other ministry partners, a dormitory that can accommodate 60 students was completed in 2011 and now houses male students. The former men’s dorms are being upgraded to accommodate the women students. As KPTC grows, other dormitories will be needed.
Kaboson is supported through donations from churches and a monthly grant from WGM. Is the Lord calling you to join this ministry through a special gift? Specific needs at the college include:
• Student scholarships: Most students come from poorer areas and homes in Kenya. Student fees at Kaboson are approximately $550 per year.
• Building maintenance: The college needs to upgrade dorms and repair buildings at a cost of roughly $4,000.
• Cooking alternatives: Kaboson needs $2,000 to purchase new solar cooking pots to reduce the school’s use of firewood and electricity. Electricity first became available at KPTC in 2007. Prior to this, the college used lanterns and pressure lamps in the dorms and the faculty homes.
Make checks payable to World Gospel Mission and write Kaboson Pastors Training College on the memo line. Send donations to:
World Gospel Mission
P.O. Box 948
Marion, IN 46952-0948
No comments:
Post a Comment