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Seminarian Book, Media and Texts for Neema Lutheran College Matongo, Kenya
Summary of Project: Initial effort will fund copies of The Greek New Testament: A Reader’s Edition to each Bachelor of Theology and Diploma of Theology pastoral student who successfully completes the four-credit-hour Biblical Greek with a passing grade and enrolls in the Greek Reading course. As project develops funding may include other books, media and texts for seminarians in Matongo, Kenya, Africa and other locations.
Needs Statement: The study of the New Testament in Greek is essential for the formation of pastors and preachers in Africa. The beauty of The Greek New Testament: A Reader’s Edition is that it contains the full and actual text of the UBS Greek New Testament with textual notes, and a full lexicon. A pastor with this in his hand can study the New Testament in Greek, without other expensive resources, which are well out of the financial abilities of these men.
Who will be served by the project: The partner churches of the B.Th. and D.T. students, who attend Neema Lutheran College. Matongo, whose pastors will be equipped to preach and teach the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27), including the New Testament Scriptures, which clearly teach Jesus Christ as Lord.
Project Goals – short term:
The short-term goal of this project seeks to raise the level of theological and exegetical skills of pastors and future pastors, who currently take a course in Greek at the college but are ill-equipped to make use of this knowledge without a Greek Bible to read, and study. The students will receive a copy of The Greek New Testament: A Reader’s Edition after successfully completing the Greek course and enrollment in Greek Reading, a follow-on course. This project is in keeping with the strategy of encouraging development and not dependency, since each student must attend the course, demonstrate competency, and pass the requirements of the course. Failure to pass Greek will result in no book being provided. These students will then be able to deeply study New Testament books which are taught at the college, especially Synoptic Gospels and the Epistles to the Romans and First Corinthians.
Project Goals – long term:
The long-term goal of this project is to develop exegetically and theologically competent pastors, who can accurately translate from the Greek New Testament and apply this knowledge in engaging Bible studies, sermons, and theological papers so that their church bodies may become strong, confessional Lutheran churches, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.
Timeline
This project is an ongoing project, with no specific end date. It needs continuous funding. The project line item will be open and regular reports to donors will encourage continued financial support. This program has been funded for the past year (2021–2022). Funding is needed for subsequent years.
Local Support: Local financial support is not anticipated. Any support will come locally from the encouragement of the faculty and the exegetical department.
Approach and Effectiveness: Both of the seminaries of LCMS expect pastoral students to pass Greek and to use Greek in New Testament courses. The cost of a Greek New Testament and language tools are normally within the means of American students. It is not so for African students, nor are they readily available. Use of the Greek New Testament for exegetical course is essential to fully reaping the benefits of instruction. Furthermore, without a Greek New Testament, the use of Greek will cease in the pastor’s daily practice. The value of The Greek New Testament: A Reader’s Edition is that it contains the full and actual text of the UBS Greek New Testament with textual notes, and a full lexicon. One book replaces the need for a Greek New Testament and a Greek lexicon. It has superb portability.
Evaluation: Students will be expected to pass both Greek and begin the Greek Reading course before receiving a personal copy of The Greek New Testament: A Reader’s Edition. Reserve copies, checked out by students from the Martin Chemnitz Library will be used during the courses for students who opt out of Greek Reading. These copies have already been purchased and are in the library. Use of The Greek New Testament: A Reader’s Edition during New Testament courses is essential to learning.
