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News about teaching in the Philippines
Dear Friend,
What is the best way to help a struggling, developing nation? Naturally there are many ways. But one extremely effective way is to train the Christian leaders of that nation.
For example, wouldn't it be great to provide graduate training in Christian counseling to a medical doctor serving the urban poor? Or to an experienced minister who will soon be resigning his pastorate of 25 years to encourage and counsel ministers of his denomination throughout the entire country? Or to the manager of an international Center for Missions with responsibilities for training and providing missionary care to missionaries? Or to a team leader for a missionary team? Or to a faculty member at a Baptist seminary? Or to a youth pastor or a teacher at a Christian academy?
You are! The second group of doctoral students in Christian Counseling at the Asia Graduate School of Theology in the Philippines have just begun their graduate studies—and the aforementioned leaders are some of the students. These students already have their MA degrees in counseling but need more in-depth training to do a more effective job. They took their two first courses this spring. Now Dr. William Kirwan will be joining me to teach their first course on biblical and psychological foundations of counseling.
I had the privilege of meeting several of these students in January and they are an outstanding and extremely diverse group. They range in age from their late twenties to late fifties. Some have been counseling for years and others are just beginning. They have undergraduate degrees in accounting, biblical studies, business administration, commerce, civil engineering, economics, English, education, religious education and statistics! And they are a mix of Canadian, Korean and Filipino. But somehow God has led them all into Christian ministries that call for a deeper understanding of ways to effectively help people struggling with personal, relational, marriage and family problems. Their great diversity makes teaching extremely interesting, but also challenging. I would appreciate your prayers as we work hard to tailor our instruction to the unique backgrounds of students with very different life experiences than ours in the United States.
Some of these students will be able to continue their full-time ministries or hold part-time jobs to support themselves during their counseling training. But because of the extremely low salaries (many people in ministry in the Philippines must take two jobs to make ends meet), hardly any of the students can pay the $1,000/year tuition and fees that the program costs. So NCF has agreed to provide a full scholarship for all of the students who need it. In addition to that, we will be paying the $2,500 it costs for the airfare, hotel and meals for each faculty member we fly from the U.S. to teach.
This is a sizeable commitment, but one we feel compelled to make because the results will be great. These students are making incredible sacrifices to serve God's people throughout the Philippines. And no other organization has stepped forward to make this sorely needed Christian counseling training possible. NCF friends like you have already helped several of our first group of doctoral students complete this program. Now they are serving the Lord as full-time counselors and faculty members at various evangelical theological seminaries in the Philippines.
Our first doctoral graduate to leave the Philippines to teach and counsel in another country has just taken a position at a Bible college in Singapore! We never imagined that this program would so quickly begin to have an influence beyond the Philippines. You have also helped us to get this second group of students underway. Now we need your help to provide the rest of the scholarships and funds we need to carry these students through their first full year of doctoral study.
One thousand dollars will cover the tuition and fees of one student for a complete academic year! This is at least 10 times less costly than we could train these same students in the United States! Other gifts will be pooled to provide textbooks and cover faculty expenses and the many other costs involved in making a quality program like this possible. Please pray with us and do all that you can to help us train these wonderful Christian men and women who have a heart for the Lord and a sacrificial commitment to serve hurting people in their homeland. Indeed, this is one of the best ways to impact a country. Together we will make a difference!
Serving God's Servants,
Bruce Narramore, Ph.D.
President
Support can be sent to:
Narramore Christian Foundation
P.O. Box 661900
Arcadia, California 91066-1900
U.S.A.
NOTE for U.S.A. residents: Narramore Christian Foundation is registered in the State of California as a non-profit 501 (c) (3) tax deductible organization.
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