2025 Glo Dip Report by Erskine College

www.seminary.erskine.edu/globaldiploma

Erskine Theological Seminary & School of Biblical Studies glorifies God as a theological community where students embody the gospel of Jesus Christ, confess historic Christian orthodoxy, engage Reformed theology, value the Church, and grow as whole persons to serve as pastors and leaders who advance Christ’s Kingdom.

The mission of the Global Theological Education Department is to expand the reach of Erskine’s theological community by providing robust biblical and theological training to equip men and women from the Majority World for effective Christian and academic leadership.

Dear Supporters and Friends,

Reflecting on the past year is one of the highlights of my job as Director of Global Theological Education at Erskine.

Finishing our second year as a department and the second year of formally offering the Global Diploma around the world has been an incredible joy.

Our systems are finally in place and although there are constant tweaks and adjustments, 20242025 has been a year of finding our groove and developing a richer collaboration with World Witness’ SEED Ministry as well as our global partners around the world.

The alliance of Erskine and World Witness, supported generously by the ARP denomination through individuals, churches, and presbyteries, represents the very best of what it means to be ARP. For our small denomination to make a big impact in the world, we must work together in the unity of the Holy Spirit, as well help and encourage one another to complete the tasks the Lord has given us. Thank you for doing that for us here in the Global Diploma/Carson Scholarship – any successes are shared by each one of you.

In this annual report, you will learn of

• the ripple effects of the program in Pakistan through Pastor Faraz

• the context of education and theological education in Rwanda,

• our new Global Diploma adjuncts,

• and if you haven’t already heard, our first graduation!

These are exciting days in global and domestic theological education. Thank you for being a faithful part of our growth and success!

soli Deo gloria, Director of Global Education Erskine Theological Seminary

GLOBAL DIPLOMA

CARSON SCHOLARSHIP

Rev. Dr. John L. Carson graduated from Erskine College and earned a Master of Divinity from Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson, MS. After serving as pastor of Ebenezer Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, NC, from 1973–1983, he earned a Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Aberdeen. Dr. Carson returned to Erskine College and Theological Seminary in 1998 to serve as the institution’s thirteenth president until 2005.

After his presidency, and with the support of Mrs. Sarah Ellen Carson, he helped to found World Witness’s Mobile Theological Training Team (MT3). He spent much time teaching theology and raising up Church leaders in Africa, especially in Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda.

Sarah Ellen Carson raised a family and supported her husband, John, as a pastor’s wife and first lady of Erskine College and Seminary. Perhaps her greatest legacy remains the countless young women and pastors’ wives she loved, encouraged, and discipled for ministry at Erskine and in Uganda and South Africa. In 2011, Sarah Ellen was honored with the Julia Hardeman Rhodes Award, given each year to a faithful and dedicated ARP woman.

YOUR 2025 SUPPORT THROUGH THE CARSON SCHOLARSHIP:

• Took 6 pastors to Rwanda as short-term help for our professors.

• Graduated 2 classes (46 students).

• Began 2 cohorts with 69 new students; bringing our total to 310 students in the program.

• Added one volunteer Adjunct Professor and one volunteer is transitioning to full-time work for us!

• Began a translation project of Right with God by Michael Reeves into Kinyarwanda.

• Initiated a scholarship for a Pakistani to enroll in Erskine's MDiv or MATS online program.

• Operated with over $75,000 in donations as of April (this number runs from July 2024-April 2025).

CURRENT EVENTS & FUTURE PROJECTS

MEXICO

We have been reestablishing a relationship with our sister denomination in Mexico. The Mexican ARP Church is doing well but desires to receive even more solid, Reformed training, especially out in the villages. The program in Mexico will be two-fold: Comunidad Reformada De Estudios Superiores, the seminary established by the ARP Church of the United States over 50 years ago, and Erskine are exploring a relationship where we can send professors to teach classes. These might be full-time Erskine Theological Seminary professors or our Global Diploma adjunct professors. The second aspect of this program will be much like our other Global Diploma cohorts. Out in regions like La Huasteca, pastors and lay leaders will gather and formally begin the Global Diploma program. We hope to use ARP pastors who speak Spanish to teach these classes, supported by the Global Theological Education Department at Erskine and our regular Global Diploma adjuncts.

Erskine’s Global Theological Education Department is also researching how we can support the Hispanic diaspora here in our own backyard. There are many Hispanic pastors and lay leaders in the United States who desire more training but do not qualify nor have the financial resources to attend regular seminary. We are exploring partnerships that would enable us to provide Global Diploma courses in cohorts, using Spanish-speaking Global Diploma adjuncts, ARP pastors, and qualified ARP leaders.

SCHOLARSHIP EXPANSION

As a part of our push towards sustainability, we are thrilled to report that we will begin offering the John and Sarah Ellen Carson Scholarship to a Pakistani ARP to enroll in the MDiv or MATS program at Erskine Theological Seminary & School of Biblical Studies. This person must pass the language competency exam and meet all of the other criteria needed to matriculate at Erskine. They will then complete their degree online. After finishing this degree, they may go on to get more training if desired. This scholarship is a huge step towards meeting one of our major long-term goals: to replace ourselves with educated and qualified national instructors and professors.

TRANSLATION PROJECT

Another exciting development in Rwanda is our new translation project. Rwanda has very few resources in their own language of Kinyarwanda to support biblical, theological, and Reformed understanding. Last year, our very own David Galletta had R.C. Sproul’s Scripture Alone translated, and each of our students received a copy. This year, the Global Diploma/Carson Scholarship has picked up the mantle and is having Right With God by Michael Reeves translated and printed. Each of our students, alumni and current, will receive a copy. Right With God is just one out of the Essentials series, a series intentionally designed to be short and easy to read. Our prayer is that we will have the funding to continue translating the entire series.

RWANDA GRADUATION

We ended last year with the graduation of our first two cohorts of students in Rwanda. These 47 graduates were quickly replaced by even more new students who have been patiently waiting for their spot in our program. Courses for our Nyabihu and Bugesera (Juru) cohorts have begun this year with a variety of Old Testament classes being taught by Ben Glaser, Sam Cotten, Justin Brickey, George Schwab, and Kyle Sims. And our cohort in Runda is plugging away with only four more courses until their graduation!

Additionally, our recent alumni in the Rwandan Global Diploma program have been asking for more classes, requesting we develop another level of training so that their education does not have to end at graduation. It is humbling to see their passion for learning and desire for education, despite the sacrifices they must endure to get it.

We plan to start a new cohort in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, as soon as we have the funding for it. Interested Kigali students have attended our 2-day “taster” event and are ready and willing to begin as soon as we are financially able. All expenses for our Global Diploma programs are fully funded by the generosity of supporting individuals and churches through the John and Sarah Ellen Carson Scholarship.

UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES IN PAKISTAN

Many people are surprised when they hear that we as a denomination are working in Pakistan, with World Witness and Erskine providing theological training in Sahiwal and Karachi. The question that always follows is, “Oh wow, isn’t that dangerous?” Given the religious and political climate, it can be.

Yet, we always follow with two answers: God is sovereign everywhere, including Pakistan, but also the ARP denomination has a unique opportunity to enter and minister. This rare advantage reveals an exciting calling from God for the ARP.

Other missions’ agencies are also amazed that we are able to enter because the vast majority of parachurch agencies cannot. The God-ordained and blessed history we have as a denomination gives us a special privilege in this country.

Our history in Pakistan began even before the partition of India into the two countries. The ARP began their work in northern India (present-day Pakistan) in 1906 by sending Miss Minnie Alexander to work with the already established work of the United Presbyterian Church.

Answering a request for help from the district of Montgomery, Miss Alexander and the Ranson family went. They reached out to Muslims and Hindus, evangelized, established schools, and Miss Lucy Hamilton ministered to the sick. The Holy Spirit began to open eyes and thousands of Indians were added to the Church each month. When the partition happened in 1947, the ARP work continued in the new Islamic nation called Pakistan.

Because the ARP church has an established presence from before the partition, we have been allowed to continue our education and medical work. This gives us opportunity to enter the country when most other missions’ agencies have been kicked out.

The district of Montgomery was re-named “Sahiwal” in the 1960s and by the 1970s adult literacy programs provided a needed venue for Bible training. In Karachi in the 1970s, the ARPs joined the work of the Pakistan Bible Correspondence Institute. It flourished and had 1200 students by 2003.

Erskine is thrilled to be able to partner with World Witness in continuing the tradition of providing theological education to pastors and lay leaders in Pakistan. We are humbled by the work of God in this nation through our shared ARP history and are delighted to be a part of the work He will do in the coming years. Thank you for being a faithful part of strengthening the gospel in Pakistan!

SHEPHERD TO SHEPHERDS PASTOR FARAZ’S STORY

By Dr. Ross Durham, Adjunct Faculty

One of the greatest joys of teaching in the Global Diploma program is seeing students not only grow in knowledge but step out in faith to lead and teach others. Pastor Faraz, who serves an ARP congregation in Karachi, Pakistan, is doing just that.

When I visited Karachi in July 2024 to teach NT2, we spent a lot of time untangling the complexities of the book of Revelation. After I returned to the U.S., Faraz reached out over WhatsApp—eager to develop a preaching series on Revelation for his church. In a culture where topical preaching is the norm, this was a major step toward the kind of expository preaching we encourage.

We laid out a plan together, and many weekends he would message me asking for insight on a passage before Sunday’s sermon. One of my favorite moments was helping him prepare a Revelation message for Christmas Eve. Our conversations have since grown to include requests for exegetical and pastoral resources to strengthen his ministry.

Now, Faraz is starting a mini training school in his church with another SEED student, bringing SEED-style biblical training to more people—including lay leaders.

This is 2 Timothy 2:2 in real time—faithful students teaching others. Please pray for Pastor Faraz and others like him. Ask the Lord to stir up more students with a heart to strengthen the Church, and may some of them one day become Global Diploma instructors themselves.

All praise to Christ for His grace and truth at work in His Church!

THE CONTEXT OF THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION: RWANDA

The Center for the Study of Global Christian estimates that in all of the Christian traditions worldwide (Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants, and Independents), there are an estimated total of 5 million pastors/priests. Roughly, only 5% are likely to have formal theological training – either undergraduate or graduate. The category of “Independent,” which almost all of our leaders in Rwanda would fall into, makes up about 70% of the 5 million pastors. These independent pastors have very little theological training, and this is true even in the West.

Additionally, the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda reported that 10% of persons aged 15 years and above had never attended school, 41% attended but did not complete primary education. The literacy rate for people aged 15 years and above was 76% – the City of Kigali had the highest at 91% and the Southern Province – where our Runda cohort meets –had the lowest at 72%.

The percentage of people aged 16-30 in Rwanda who have attended a tertiary level of schooling is only 2.9% with the rural areas in which we minister bringing the average down at only 1.6%.

So, what does this mean for us as theological educators in Rwanda? It means we are fighting a battle that is on a larger scale than lack of theological education. It means that we must begin our courses on the rung of the ladder that is appropriate for each class, which sometimes means the end result is not always what was planned.

The eagerness and thankfulness of the students more than make up for any lack of experience in the classroom. The Lord is doing incredible things in the lives of these brave men and women, who give up precious time they could be making ends meet for their families, so that they might glorify God more with their ministry.

STRENGTHENING TIES:

A RENEWED PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN ARP SYNODS IN MEXICO AND THE USA

By Justin Brickey, Adjunct Professor

Last year, the ARP Synods of Mexico (IPAR) and the United States worked to renew and strengthen ties as sister denominations. A delegation from the USA attended their synod meeting in February 2024. Representatives from Mexico participated in our synod. During these meetings we began to discuss opportunities for Erskine and the seminary in Tampico, Comunidad Reformada de Estudios Superiores, to work together to strengthen the two denominations.

Over the last year we began developing a plan to offer Erskine’s Global Diploma in Theology and Christian Leadership to church leaders in the rural Huasteca region of Mexico. We continue to talk with the IPAR synods and the seminary in Tampico about ways we can encourage and support one another. It is our desire that the Lord would bless us with continued opportunities to build upon the foundations laid by previous generations of the ARP Church.