Last month, Carroll Institute graduated seventeen pastors and church leaders from its seminary program in Southwest China. President Gene Wilkes, and Senior Fellows Jim Spivey and Stan Moore, along with Dr. Steve Wells, pastor of South Main Baptist Church in Houston, traveled to China to participate in the graduation ceremony. They were joined by Larry and Sarah Ballew and Bill and Michelle Cayard who are CBF workers in China. During the graduation ceremony on Saturday, October 7, fifteen students received master’s degrees, and two students received undergraduate diplomas after completing twenty-four courses in theological studies. Dr. Stan Moore remarked:
The recent graduation of students in China was the answer to many years of prayer. Thanks to the commitment and vision of Bill and Michelle Cayard, Carroll began offering courses in China. Now, four years later, we were able to celebrate the accomplishment of these students. We praise the Lord for the opportunity to train spiritual leaders around the globe. What a joy to see the first-fruits of what God is doing through us in that great land!
Carroll’s China program began in October 2013 with a cohort of thirty students. Courses were taught by thirteen professors from Texas, West Virginia, Alabama, Southern China, and Macau. Most of them were taught on-site at two locations in central China; a few of them were online classes delivered ‘live’ from the United States. On this recent trip, Drs. Spivey and Moore taught intensive courses during the days prior to the graduation event. During the past four years, several students have translated and taught their course materials to leaders of dozens of churches in the surrounding countryside. Dr. Jim Spivey reported, “Those who did not graduate are continuing to work on another master’s degree and have been joined by new students who have formed a new cohort. Two students have begun doctoral studies at Carroll Institute in preparation for building a local faculty of professors who will teach graduate theological studies in Chinese.”
Dr. Gene Wilkes commented,
Graduation of the students in China was a historic event for both B. H. Carroll and those church leaders. To see the joy on their faces as they received their diplomas made the four plus years of hard work worth it. This was a team effort. The Cayards in country, Drs. Moore and Spivey, who have been with the program since its inception, and our partners in the US from churches like South Main in Houston have made this monumental event possible. We truly are equipping those called to serve Christ “in the diverse and global ministries of his church.”
Your prayers and gifts make a difference in the lives of our faculty and students in China. If you would like more information about how you or your church could scholarship a student in China, or in one of our other global programs, click here or call The Carroll Center at 972-580-7600.
