Seminary launches Forming Leaders Together campaign
Published: October 12, 2023
By Annette Brill Bergstresser
ELKHART, Indiana (Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary) — Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) in Elkhart, Indiana, is announcing the public launch of its Forming Leaders Together campaign to nurture and develop Anabaptist leaders both locally and globally.
The public is invited to join the seminary learning community, the AMBS Board of Directors, and leaders from Mennonite World Conference (MWC) and Mennonite Church Canada to celebrate the campaign launch on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023, 6:30–8:30 p.m., in the AMBS Chapel of the Sermon on the Mount at 3003 Benham Avenue in Elkhart.
The Campaign Launch Celebration will include a lecture by Jamie Pitts, PhD, Professor of Anabaptist Studies, on “Mysteries of Reconciliation: Culture, Violence, Politics,” in honor of his recent promotion to full professor. A dessert reception will follow the presentation.
Investing in Anabaptist leadership
According to Paula Killough, MDiv, Director of Campaign, the seminary has reached 83 percent of its $12 million campaign goal, with contributions and commitments totaling $9.9 million. Planning for the campaign began in 2020.
“We’re so grateful for donors who have caught our vision for Anabaptist theological and leadership formation and have responded to the invitation to give,” she said. “Their investment in these programs will pay off for generations as leaders across the world apply their learnings in their congregations and communities and help call and shape future leaders.”
AMBS President David Boshart, PhD, noted that through the campaign, AMBS has been increasing its collaboration with Anabaptist-Mennonite organizations to serve the church in Canada, the United States and around the world. The funds raised through the campaign will also support these partners and programs.
“It is so gratifying to already see the fruit of the Forming Leaders Together campaign,” he said. “The energy that is being generated through this collaborative work is bringing parts of the church together in unprecedented ways and producing an outcome that is greater than the sum of our parts. We are seeing a true example of the church being in mission together.”
The seminary’s collaborators include Mennonite World Conference; Mennonite Church Canada; Mennonite Church Canada International Witness; Hispanic Ministries of Mennonite Education Agency (the education agency of Mennonite Church USA); Mennonite Mission Network (the mission agency of Mennonite Church USA); Meserete Kristos Church and Seminary in Bishoftu/Debre Zeit, Ethiopia; Mennonite Church South Korea; and the Nehemiah Institute for Christian Studies in Seoul, South Korea. Other global church collaborators are Mennonite Christian Service Fellowship of India and Sekolah Tinggi Agama Kristen Wiyata Wacana—Pati in Java, Indonesia — the seminary of the Gereja Injili di Tanah Jawa, the oldest of the three MWC-member churches in Indonesia.
César García, MA, General Secretary of Mennonite World Conference, added his affirmation of the organizations’ shared work in forming church leaders grounded in Anabaptist theology and identity.
“The need for theological training from an Anabaptist perspective is high everywhere!” he said. “AMBS is equipped to listen and respond to the church and to the most urgent and relevant needs that church leaders are naming.”
Emerging and existing AMBS programs supported by the campaign include:
- New competency-based Doctor of Ministry in Leadership
- New Practical Leadership Training modules
- New Mennonite Education Agency Hispanic Ministries – AMBS Graduate Certificate in Theology
- New Master of Arts: Theology and Global Anabaptism program in South Korea
- Master of Arts: Theology and Global Anabaptism program in Ethiopia
- Journey: A Missional Leadership Development Program (available internationally)
- Thriving in Ministry programs accompanying new and established pastors
- Invite AMBS speakers’ bureau
The campaign will fund these initiatives for the next 10 years, Boshart said.
“With 10 years for these initiatives, it is exciting to think about how this shared work will strengthen the Anabaptist identity of church leaders and their congregations here and around the world,” he said.
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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