RALEIGH, N.C. (Mennonite Mission Network) — This year, 210 leaders will complete Anabaptist education courses in Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela. Although the seminaries teach by “the book,” their students are far from traditional.
Most students are church members, and start with a beginner-level course, said César Moya, who co-founded with his wife, Patricia Urueña, ProPaz (ProPeace), the seminary in Quito, Ecuador. The beginner-level courses are offered to “any adult who can read,” said Moya. Most have full-time jobs and families. They meet one Saturday a month, and only pause for lunch.
Each curriculum has a different structure, but they meet the needs in each context: to raise Anabaptist leaders for a new and growing church. The Colombia Mennonite Biblical Seminary (Seminario Biblico Menonita de Colombia, or SBMC) has three levels, and the programs in Ecuador and Venezuela both have two levels. Although the courses vary, the concept is the same:
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Beginner level: Bible-based leadership training for church members to confidently serve in the church, without a heavy time or academic commitment.
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Intermediate level: Students receive more in-depth training, sometimes with the option of specializing in an area like peace studies.
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Advanced level: Courses provide a solid biblical and theological base for students, which strengthen the churches and prepare students for ongoing study in accredited programs.
For more than 20 years, SBMC, based in Bogotá, has educated and sent leaders. More than 100 students in Colombia alone take at least one course every year, some working toward a degree. In addition to traditional seminary courses, SBMC offers satellite courses throughout the country. Zaraí Gonzalía, the executive administrator, is an SBMC graduate herself.
The fruits of SBMC’s labor started seminaries in Ecuador and Venezuela.
In 2000, the Colombia Mennonite Church, in partnership with Mennonite Mission Network and Central Plains Mennonite Conference, sent Moya and Urueña, SBMC alumni, to Ecuador as church planters. In the past 13 years, they pioneered three Mennonite churches in Quito, Riobamba, and Calderón. In October 2012, they began ProPaz. With new churches, the Moya Urueñas needed a way to train the leaders, with an Anabaptist perspective. “We were teaching and preaching, but recognized that our congregations didn’t understand some topics, like peace and nonviolence,” said Moya.
Church leaders are also being reared from church pews in the United States. This year, three hundred people were selected by leaders in their Mennonite Church USA congregations to participate in the Instituto Biblico Anabautista (Anabaptist Biblical Institute, or IBA). The courses are offered Spanish, but by popular demand, some courses are now being translated into English. The need for undergraduate level courses resulted in the newest educational program, Seminario Bíblico Anabautista Hispano (Hispanic Anabaptist Biblical Seminary or SeBAH), which is also in the process of being translated into English.
Mennonite Church USA offers a variety of other theological courses for church members, said Terry Shue, director of Leadership Development for Mennonite Church USA. More information can be found at the following websites: Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Eastern Mennonite Seminary, and Mennonite Education Agency.
Anabaptism is relatively new to Ecuador, and there was no local training around.
The couple began to offer seminary classes. In Colombia, Moya was the executive secretary for the Colombia Mennonite Church and Urueña taught at a Mennonite high school. The couple spent a year at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Ind., where the couple taught some courses and Moya began work on his PhD.
Groundwork for the Mennonite Biblical Seminary of Venezuela (Seminario Biblico Menonita de Venezuela) was laid by Alix Lozano, SBMC’s director, and Gonzalía. Starting in 2001, they made several trips between Colombia and Venezuela each year, bringing books and supplies.
In 2011, Erwin Mirabal and Euclides Bausa took leadership. They offer courses in the seminary located in Isla Margarita, but have since started satellites in the towns of Caracas and Maracay. Currently, students are enrolled in the beginner and intermediate levels. The school hopes to expand to an advanced level next year.
Enrollment confirms success, but the three seminaries face their own challenges.
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The Venezuelan seminary’s stance for nonviolence is essential. In 2011, 53 people were killed in the country each day. “We want this vision of peace to develop in Caracas,” said Mirabal.
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ProPaz, in Ecuador, struggles against the students’ time commitments, as they try to find time for studies in between work and family life.
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The SBMC gave scholarships to 60 students last year. Although funds are slim for both students at SBMC, the seminary would like to give more scholarships. “The seminary [in Colombia] isn’t perfect, but we do our best, with the resources we have,” said Gonzalía.
Leaders of the three seminaries have seen the impact that biblical study makes in communities. Mirabal credits his own transformation to the seminary in Venezuela, leaving a life of machismo for a life of peace.
“It’s worth the time and energy to develop pastors and lay leaders,” Urueña said, “because they are committed to serving their neighbors.”
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Mennonite Mission Network, the mission agency of Mennonite Church USA, leads, mobilizes and equips the church to participate in holistic witness to Jesus Christ in a broken world. Media may contact news@mennonitemission.net.
