I sometimes get asked that question in the U.S. when I mistakenly use “FATEB” [pronounced: FAH-teb] in a sentence. “FATEB” is the French abbreviation for the seminary where I teach in Bangui, Central African Republic. In English, we refer to the seminary as the Bangui Evangelical School of Theology: BEST. In French, it is la Faculté de Théologie Évangélique de Bangui: FATEB.

But the real answer to the question about FATEB is a lot deeper. During our semester break, I was out observing our student teachers in their assigned schools. I also took the time to speak with the directors of these schools, all of whom are BEST graduates and my former students. One man, not many years into his ministry, said that he had recently realized that when Christians in Bangui spoke about “FATEB” (or “BEST,” if you will), they were not talking about our campus, buildings and courses; they were talking about our graduates. To them, FATEB is represented by those graduates in their ministries.

And it is true: our graduates are the best publicity the seminary can offer. In the past week, I have seen many of our graduates, from A to Z (Abel to Ziboulou), in at least one of their ministry settings. There is so much for which to thank the Lord. These men and women are serving the Lord faithfully, often with minimal financial and infrastructure resources, but desiring to do the best they can to bring God’s Word to bear on the lives of the people they serve.

Who Are These Student Teachers?

Our Master’s degree program is geared to prepare graduates who are capable of being well-qualified teachers for these lower-level theological institutes. Not only do they have a good grasp of one academic discipline (Old Testament, New Testament, Systematic Theology, or Missions), but they also are trained in teaching skills. Whatever they do in the future (and many are involved in several ministries at once, due to the overwhelming need for trained leaders), these teaching skills and grounding in biblical teachings will enable them to be good communicators, able to apply God’s Word to the needs of the people. This year we have 16 student teachers, assigned to six different schools, preparing themselves for future service.

Pray

SIM’s motto is: “By Prayer.” We recognize that nothing of lasting value is accomplished without God’s hand being in it. Prayer is our acknowledgement of our dependence on our heavenly Father. Join me, please, in praying for these items:

1. Praise the Lord for making it possible for me to return to the ministry at BEST and contribute to the training of men and women who will serve the Lord.
2. Pray for our student teachers to be good communicators and models and to grow in their teaching skills.
3. Pray for the courses which need to be taught before the end of the school year in July. During these months we also have many visiting professors to fit into the schedule.
4. Thank the Lord because our electricity situation is better than that of many areas in the city. Between the power supplied by the city and the seminary’s generator, we often have almost 21 hours of electricity a day. That is a real blessing. Pray that these conditions may continue.

Go

We are always looking for seminary professors to join our staff at BEST

Thank you for your partnership in the ministry here. Your prayers and your gifts are so very important to the ongoing work here. May the Lord bless you and encourage you as you participate in training leaders for the evangelical church in French-speaking Africa.