GWC had the privilege of hosting the REACH SA synod in early September. This was a good time and all of us were treated to an excellent set of talks on ‘Building the Kingdom – lessons from Israel’s Great Kings’, by GWC’s Old Testament specialist, Dr. Nathan Lovell. You can find these talks on our website and I would recommend them to anyone seeking to find relevance in the Old Testament for living as a Christian today.
I had opportunity to speak to Synod about several important issues facing GWC. One of these touches on the enormous benefits that arise from residential learning that we enjoy at GWC. Being part of a student community means that you have opportunity to learn from each other. We at GWC think that a third of student learning happens in this way. Lectures and personal study make up the rest, but thirty-three percent comes via the
student community. I also pointed out that some of this learning is indirect, like noticing other students at work. As a student at GWC you see a fellow student in the library writing an essay, or you see another at her desk
reading and studying – this provides an incentive which is totally absent from the online lecture that you watch at home on a computer. Being part of a Christian community of men and women from all over Africa grappling with God’s Word has an invaluable shaping effect on the learning experience. This learning extends to faculty and staff. I often sit with students at lunch and it helps me to know what they are reading and what dominates their thinking. These conversations are enriching and inspiring, they take us beyond the narrow confines of our everyday experience and helps us gain insight into how God’s providence is working itself
out in so many extraordinary ways, and to be encouraged that God is building His church throughout the African continent.
Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter. I hope you will be encouraged to see how your investment in us financially, prayerfully or otherwise is bearing fruit for the building of God’s Kingdom in Africa. Please continue in your partnership with us.