New Articles
NACD-GNTCS Accepting Donations for the School
Abuja, Nigeria Campus Second Session
Female Dormitory Nears Completion
Nigerian AIC Leaders Visit Campus
Rev. Humphrey Akogyeram in USA for Further Studies
Current Prayer Requests
1. Nicholas Kwakye, the General Services Officer, is a sickle cell anaemic person. He has been having some crises of late. Cold weathers are not good times for those having such diseases. The weather from July to August is usually cold - though not equivalent to Minnesota. Please pray for him.
2. We are in the process of enrolling students into the 2009/2010 academic year. Thirty-three prospective students have inquired. Please pray with us and the applicants as they are preparing to take a life-time decision.
3. Humphrey Akogyeram is scheduled to begin a two-year Master of Theology course at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, PA. He has got a student's visa and awaiting a ticket from the ELCA. He would leave Ghana during the last week of August. Please pray with him as he prepares to leave. Pray also for Mary and the kids as they prepare to undergo the emotional pain of separating from a husband and father. Praise the Lord with us also for the opportunity.
4. With the absence of Humphrey and insufficient funds to employ new Faculty members, the Faculty is obviously headed for heavy teaching schedules. Please pray for endurance as the Faculty shares the teaching load of Humphrey. He has been teaching - Old Testament, New Testament, Christian Ethics, Peace & Conflict Resolution, and Homiletics.
5. Humphrey has also been the Registrar, and Chairperson of the Film Outreach Ministry, and Scholarship Administration. Please pray with us as we search for people to fill these unpaid positions.
6. The seminary has applied for Work Permit for Dick and Caroline Seed, missionaries of The Church Mission Society (CMS) to teach as from September 2009. The Immigrant Quota Committee of the Ministry of Interior will meet at the end of July to decide on the application. Please pray with us for approval of the application. When approved, Dick will be assigned to work with the Ghana Chapter of the Organization of African Instituted Churches (OAIC), whilst Caroline will be teaching at the seminary. Plans are being made by the CMS to have the Seeds, who have been living in the UK, to leave for Nairobi, Kenya in August to have some orientation on how to work with AICs before proceeding to Ghana, should the application be approved.
7. Another Work Permit application has been put in for Viking Dietrich, the West African Program Director for the ELCA. When approved, Viking and his family will settle in Ghana. The kids of Viking need to continue their education in Ghana in mid-August 2009. Any delay in the approval will affect the continuity of the kids' education. Please pray with us.
8. Thomas Oduro is scheduled to leave Ghana for Abuja on 9th August 2009. He will be teaching at the Second Session of the Abuja Campus (10-21 August 2009). Please pray with him as he prepares his teaching notes. Please pray also for the students and other teachers of the Campus.
9. Esi, the wife of Matthew Afrikadzata Gadasu, the Accountant, is scheduled for surgery to remove a Fibroid in October 2009. Please pray with the Gadasu family.
10. Praise God with us for the completion of the temporary library. Expect pictures soon. Please pray with us - we have engaged some students to move books to the new building.
11. Please pray for the success of a scheduled OAIC Conference in Accra (10-13 September 2009). Some AIC leaders from Nigeria and Ghana will participate in the Conference.
12. Funds into students’ scholarship fund
13. Commencement of Somanya campus
14. Development of Sudan Campus
15. Staff welfare needs
16. Development of Computer Lab. More computers needed.
Future Needs
As we look into the future we see these pressing needs. Please pray with us for these major areas of need:
NEEDS OF THE SEMINARY
THE UNDERLYING FACTORS
Many AICs are among the poorest in most African societies. Though willing to support the seminary, they cannot.Many leaders of AICs are not educated or minimally educated, thus skeptical of theological education.
AICs are the ‘Gentiles’ of 21st century African Christianity. They’re persecuted, shunned, and marginalized by the wider church.
Many AIC leaders are spiritually gifted but not theologically trained thus they do not appreciate the essence of theological education, let alone support it.
NOTES:
The needs have been categorized for each person or organization to find an area of interest and possibly support.Directing the seminary to people or institutions that may help will also be appreciated.
At Good News, designated funds are used as directed.
FACULTY AND STAFF
FACTS
• Total Gross monthly salaries for 12 employees (9 skilled and 3 unskilled) is $2,094.00
• The highest paid staff receives a net monthly salary of $286.40. The same person could receive a monthly salary of $1,200.00 elsewhere.
• Lack of personal working tools – computers/laptops, booksRESULTS
• Low morale
• Inability to employ more staff
• More work/teaching load per staff
•Ppotential loss of trained staff.NEEDS:
• Supplementing of salary
• Supply of working tools,
• New Desktop computer = $850.00 upwards
• Fairly used Desktop, P4 = $380.00 – $480.00
• New Laptops = $1200.00 upwards.
• Fairly used P4 Laptops = $400.00 upwards
• Textbooks for Faculty
DISTANCE LEARNING
FACTS:
• AICs in need of theological education cannot all come to Accra or Ghana.
• There have been many enquiries about the availability of Distance Learning.RESULTS:
• Access to the seminary’s tuition is limited to few people,
yet the constituency of the seminary is expansive.NEEDS:
• Computers
• Printer
• Photocopier
• A book binder.
• Training of textbook writers
RESEARCH, DOCUMENTATION AND PUBLICATION
FACTS:
• History, beliefs and practices of many AICs are yet to be researched and documented.
• Backlog of written histories of AICs have not been published.
• The publication of Journal of AIC Theology suspended due to lack of funds.
• Proposed establishment of the Center for the Study of AICs (CESAIC) still on the drawing board.RESULTS:
• The persecution, shunning, and marginalization of AICs are due to lack of documentation about their histories, beliefs and practices.
• The AICs, themselves, do not understand one another.
NEEDS:
• Grant for doing research.
• Purchase of research tools.
• Grant for publications.
• Computers, bookshelves, printer and photocopier for CESAIC.
CAPITAL PROJECTS
FACTS:
• No permanent Library block.
• No offices for faculty and staff.
• No worship center.
• Staff Duplex partially completed.RESULTS:
• Moving of books and shelves.
• Difficulty in preparing lesson outlines.
• Spirituality is endangered without a chapel.
• Income from renting out facilities not foreseeable.NEEDS: (according to priority)
• Completion of Female dormitory. Projected cost - $88,926
• Building of Worship Center. Projected cost = $392,779
• Completion of Staff duplex.
• Building Permanent Library and Administration Block, Projected cost = $242,567
STUDENTS
FACTS
• The poverty of AICs and skepticism of some AIC leaders have affected the intake of students.
• Students lack personal textbooksRESULTS:
• More than 35 prospective students withdrew interest after hearing the fees.
• International students do not enroll.
• The fees were slashed by 60%.
• Reduction of fees affects budgetary income of the seminary.
NEEDS:
• Donation of Textbooks for students – Dictionaries, etc.
• More scholarships for students.
• Fees for students
• More computers at computer laboratory.
EFFORTS AT LOCAL FUND RAISING
• Appointment of a fund raising committee.
• Seeking affiliation with a university so as to teach secular subjects – charging higher fees.
• Nigeria campus to be operational by June 2009.
• Reviewing the Constitution of the seminary to ensure financial commitment of churches, no matter how meager.
• Possibility of establishing a crèche (day care) and kindergarten for parents living in the neighborhood around the campus.
• Providing manual labor on the construction of the capital projects.
Highlighted AIC Churches
