by Alison Lee, Executive Ambassador
The Theological Development Africa Programme (TDA) was pleased to extend bursary support to two new campuses of its Gospel Partner Colleges: Alexandria School of Theology (AST) and Johannesburg Bible College (JBC).
AST chose Minya in Upper Egypt as the location for its campus, offering access to many current and potential students. The Minya satellite centre was established in 2015. It is the first theological centre in Upper Egypt that provides a certificate of theological studies. Classes are taught one weekend every month throughout the academic year, allowing students to study part-time while working. AST rents a conference centre to accommodate students and lecturers. AST lecturers must travel around 290km south of Cairo to teach in Minya.
JBC opened its doors to students in its new Alexandra campus in February 2022. This has been a desire and deliberate objective for many years, driven and supported by Rosebank Union Church and Rays of Hope, a local NPO. Alexandra is an iconic township in the north of Johannesburg, “eight square kilometres inhabited by eight million people.” Most residents face issues of extreme poverty. Though Alexandra is full of churches, many of them are led by untrained pastors. We were able to visit the campus earlier this year. Mark Dickson reports: “It was tremendously encouraging to hear from the students how the teaching from JBC was shaping their understanding of their identity in Christ, which in turn is shaping their ministry in the local community.”
Please pray for AST and JBC that their needs will be provided for and that their respective new campus programmes will bear great fruit for the gospel.
