Seminary celebrates historic trilingual commencement

Published: May 11, 2026

By Annette Brill Bergstresser

ELKHART, Indiana (Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary) — Approximately 200 people took part in a joyous and historic Commencement Service on May 2 in Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary’s Chapel of the Sermon on the Mount. The event marked multiple milestones for the Elkhart, Indiana, seminary:

• Two students were the first to earn a Doctor of Ministry in Leadership through a program that launched in January 2023.
• Ten students were the first to complete the fully online Spanish-language Graduate Certificate in Theological Studies program that began in August 2023 through a partnership between AMBS and Hispanic Ministries of Mennonite Church USA. Each student who began the program completed it.
• Eight of nine students who are part of a Korean-language Master of Arts: Theology and Global Anabaptism (MATGA) cohort traveled from South Korea to participate in the event and were recognized in advance of completing their degrees in 2027. Their customized program, which focuses on Anabaptist peace studies, began in 2022 through a partnership between AMBS and the Nehemiah Institute for Christian Studies in Seoul. It also has seen 100-percent retention.
• This was the first Commencement Service in the seminary’s history to be presented trilingually — with simultaneous translation from English into Korean and Spanish, some program elements presented in all three languages, and printed programs available in each language — to honor the students who were present who were completing their studies entirely in Korean or Spanish.

In addition, five students earned a Master of Arts: Theology and Global Anabaptism; four earned a Master of Divinity; one earned a Master of Arts: Theology and Peace Studies; and four earned a Graduate Certificate in Theological Studies.

“This year’s Graduation Weekend felt historic in many ways,” reflected David Boshart, PhD, President. “For the first time in AMBS’s history, we celebrated students completing accredited theological education in trilingual commissioning and commencement ceremonies, and we recognized graduates of three new programs created to meet needs across the church. What made this experience most meaningful, though, was the remarkable perseverance and transformation represented by each student’s journey. Their stories are ones of courage, calling, spiritual growth and deep commitment to serving the church. Our faculty and staff have been privileged to witness the profound ways these students have been shaped as leaders, scholars and faithful followers of Jesus.”

Of the 26 members of the Class of 2026, 16 attended the service in person; it was also accessible via livestream. The graduating class, which consisted of 11 women and 15 men, represented nine countries — Brazil, Chad, Colombia, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Kenya, Mexico and the U.S. — and 14 U.S. states. Five of the graduates completed their seminary studies on campus, and 21 completed part or all of their studies from a distance. For several of them, the graduation weekend marked their first visit to the AMBS campus. 

“Look for the small beginnings”

Commencement speaker Rev. Leonard Dow of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, encouraged the graduates to pay attention to God’s call in the “small beginnings” in their lives and ministries.

Dow, who is Vice President of Community and Church Development for Everence and leads the Everence team in Philadelphia, previously served as Pastor of Oxford Circle Mennonite Church in Philadelphia and founded the Oxford Circle Christian Community Development Association.

After naming challenges of the present day such as war, displacement, disease, economic disparities, the dismantling of civil rights protections, and political and cultural shifts, Dow encouraged his listeners “to resist the false narrative that we are in uncharted waters and that a path forward together is unknown, unimaginable and unattainable.”

“While the season we find ourselves in is surely unique in many ways, we have to remember that we’ve been here before,” he said, citing Ecclesiastes 3:1. “It’s only a season.”

And in the midst of the difficulties, he reminded his listeners, “By God’s grace, you’re still here. You’re still advocating. You’re still loving. You’re still learning. You’re still hoping. You’re still seeking justice. You’re still praying, ‘Thy kingdom come — on earth as it is in heaven.’” 

“Because we are still here, we have a testimony,” he continued. “This is the good news that we must declare amongst ourselves time and time again in seasons such as this.”

Dow then referenced theologian Walter Brueggemann’s idea that individuals, organizations and communities can find themselves in one of three places: orientation — when things are going well; disorientation — when significant changes come; and reorientation — when people’s relationships change and they are reoriented to the world.

For wisdom in this season of disorientation, he turned to Zechariah 4:10: “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.” 

These words came during a time of disorientation for God’s people, Dow said, when they were experiencing destruction and despair, fearing that God had abandoned them. In the biblical story, Zerubbabel took a risk by God’s grace and the movement of the Spirit and began to rebuild the foundation of the temple that had been destroyed. 

“We find in our passage that a brother, a man of God in his community, said, ‘No, we now need to begin thinking about rebuilding, re-establishing, re-engaging, restoring,’” he told the graduates. “It’s vital in our season of disorientation that leaders such as yourselves are in step with the Spirit and open to noticing the small things that are seemingly insignificant occurrences. By God’s grace it is being revealed that something else is coming.”

Dow cited Bible stories in which the kingdom of God was revealed in small things and shared about times in his own ministry when God did something new in a season of disorientation, beginning with a small act — and in some cases, a seemingly foolish one. His work with Everence has also included embracing small beginnings in the form of opening an Everence Federal Credit Union in the Kensington section of Philadelphia, a historically under-resourced community.

“What is God seeking to whisper to you perhaps even now that you haven’t been able to hear or see or have not wanted to embrace because it’s such a small thing?” he asked. “It’s not too small if God’s behind it.”

When people learn not to despise small beginnings in times of disorientation, Dow continued, they can learn to wait on the Lord, to let go of expectations, to hold on to one another and to allow God to transform them. He closed by giving the graduates a blessing rooted in Hebrews 10:23-25. 

Graduates receive prayer of blessing

After the graduates received their degrees and certificates, Jackie Wyse-Rhodes, PhD, Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible, gave them a blessing, which was also shared in Korean and Spanish by AMBS faculty members. She honored all that had brought the graduates to this place; their various callings; their “courageous yeses to God”; their communities of support and encouragement; and God’s Spirit.

“May the Creator of the cosmos bless you. May the Redeemer of the world embrace you. May the Sustainer of all life infuse your days with faith, hope, and above all, love,” she told them. “Rest assured that you have what you need to step forward into your vocation. Rest assured that you are beloved, you are enough, and you are never alone.”

Following the service, a reception was held in the AMBS courtyard and Waltner Hall Lounge for the seminary community, the graduates and their guests.

About the Class of 2026

Eleven of the graduates are serving in pastoral ministry roles; four are ministering on a voluntary basis in their congregations and communities; two will serve as campus pastors; three are seeking an assignment in mission, education or pastoral ministry or are discerning next steps; two are serving in education; and two are working in a nonprofit or social work setting. One each is a billing assistant for a utility company, a chaplain, a clinical psychologist, a conference minister or a health administrator. Two plan to pursue further graduate studies in the future. (Some graduates have multiple roles.)

Twenty of the graduates are affiliated with these member churches of Mennonite World Conference: 14 with Mennonite Church USA; three with Meserete Kristos Church (Ethiopian Mennonite Church); two with the U.S. Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches; and one with both Kenya Mennonite Church and Mennonite Church Uganda.

Other affiliations include the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Mosaic Mennonite Conference, the Partnership of Evangelical Churches and Missions in Chad, United Church of Christ USA, the United Methodist Church and a nondenominational church. (Some graduates are connected with multiple denominations.) AMBS serves Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Church Canada as a binational seminary.

Anabaptist-Mennonite colleges and universities with graduates in AMBS’s Class of 2026 include Bluffton (Ohio) University; Goshen (Indiana) College; and Meserete Kristos Seminary in Bishoftu/Debre Zeit, Ethiopia. Six of the graduates also completed undergraduate-level certificates through the Hispanic Anabaptist Biblical Seminary (SeBAH, or Seminario Bíblico Anabautista Hispano) program of Mennonite Church USA before studying at AMBS, and one completed the STEP (Study and Training for Effective Pastoral ministry) program of Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and the former Lancaster (Pennsylvania) Mennonite Conference.

A recording of the Commencement Service is available at ambs.edu/graduation.

Located in Elkhart, Indiana, on ancestral land of the Potawatomi and Miami peoples, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary is a learning community with an Anabaptist vision, offering theological education for learners both on campus and at a distance as well as a wide array of lifelong learning programs — all with the goal of educating followers of Jesus Christ to be leaders for God’s reconciling mission in the world. ambs.edu

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