Baptist Theological Seminary
Terry and Pat Janke in front of a class of Laurier members
Pastor Sue
From Dan...
Renewing Intimacy with God
Pastors lack a close spiritual connection to God, according to Bolivan Baptist churches responding to a questionnaire from the Baptist Theological Seminary (BTS) in Cochabamba and as a result two Canadian Baptist Missionaries are reorienting the first year program for seminary students.
“The churches said our graduates were too academic and did not have a strong relationship with God,” Terry Janke, told the Laurier Heights advance team on Sunday, January 14. He and his wife Pat are professors at the seminary and they could understand how such a weakness could have evolved.
“We told our students to pray, read their Bibles and make time for God,” Terry explained. Then one day a student asked Pat when they should do that. The couple realized they were asking their students to put their relationship with God first, but the program did not provide them any opportunity to do so.
Seminary students in Bolivia had a very busy schedule. Their first class was from 6:30 to 8:30 a.m. and they then were dismissed to attend employment in order to pay for their studies. They came back in the evening for two classes from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Add up to an hour travel time each way on the bus and it was easy to see why these students were having trouble meeting the demand placed on them that they spend time to develop their personal relationship with God.
¨We were turning out hypocrites,” Terry states, a criticism of the seminary, not the students.
As of this year students are being asked to live in residence for their first year and they will given time to meditate, pray, read their Bibles and interact with professors in a daily, direct way, much in the way Jesus mentored his own disciples. Students will not leave to go to work. Classes will be in the morning and in the afternoon they will work at the seminary, cleaning, helping in the kitchen and performing chores to reduce the cost of their year. The plan is for each student to contribute $200 and Canadian churches are being asked to provide $1,000 per student.
Two-thirds of the students come to the seminary right out of high school, at age 19. A third are mature students. Some only attend for one year. Bolivian pastors typically attend for three years, but some take a five year course which includes a thesis. Terry considers a five year degree to be the equivalent of a Bachelor of Theology. Most of the staff, including the principal, are Bolivians.
BTS was founded in 1920s by the Canadian Baptists and the present facility was built about 1941, partly out of Canadian building materials. At the time it was considered to be far out of the city, but the city has grown out to it. Initially students lived in residence and the problem of students not having time for their relationship to God was much less, but over the years a bi-vocational model for Pastors evolved. Students needed time to earn a living, as well as study. Once they graduate, most of the time they will continue to hold two jobs because only 20% of rural Baptist churches can afford a full time minister.
The campus includes the seminary, large grounds including residences for married and single students and a large sports arena which doubles as convention hall. The seminary is being physically expanded. A library and student lounge has been roughed in at a cost of about $20,000 US. It will likely be finished this year with the help of other short term mission projects at an additional cost of $30,000 US.
Costs are not high in Bolivia. The operating budget is only $50,000 a year, $12,000 of which comes from Canadian Baptists directly, with individual churches providing other assistance. American and German Baptists also make significant contributions. With costs this low, outsiders wonder why BST needs outside help.
“It could be said that Bolivia should self-sufficient,” Pat notes, “but in a third world country, how can they do it?” She asked that an awareness of BST´s financial needs be raised. Terry also asked for prayers and the Laurier team, led by Isabelle Johnson, Norma Whittle and Steve Simala Grant prayed for the missionaries and BST.
While the changes are positive, BST could be much more, Pat says. The electricity is antiquated and eating too much of the budget. A tour of the building by the Laurier Heights team revealed decrepit plumbing and creaky floors. The desks are sure to keep student awake because they are very uncomfortable. Most of the students are Baptist, but others attend from other denominations. There at least two other Protestant seminaries and Pat wishes the seminaries had the will to work together, but that is not possible at present. “Frankly they (students) say this is the best seminary, but none are very good,” Pat says openly. Nevertheless, considering the limit funding, BTS accomplishes much.
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