EMF graduation
On Friday 29 June, all this year’s full-time students at the European Missionary Fellowship’s (EMF) School of Biblical Studies received certificates at a graduation ceremony.
The ceremony, held at EMF’s headquarters in Welwyn, was attended by friends and supporters of the Mission and relatives and friends of the students.
The students successfully completed an intensive six months of studies to help them understand the Bible and theology better. They learned that theology is not just about finding the right combination of words, but about knowing and serving God with more trust and joy.
The meeting, chaired by EMF’s director Martin Leech, included a report on this year’s course by the principal, Jörg Müller, who compared the delicious physical food provided by EMF housekeeper, Jean Woods, to the substantial spiritual food served up by the 21 lecturers.
The individual courses included systematic theology, church history, hermeneutics, evangelism and an historical survey of the Bible. Two of the lecturers, Stan Evers and Peter Kinley, prayed for this year’s students as they return to their home countries.
Tamàs Baksai-Szabó has returned to Hungary to complete his university course in Budapest and serve his home church as a presbyter and youth leader. Alina Sidak and Luba Umnova have gone back to their home church in Odessa, Ukraine, and will continue to be involved in Sunday school work and evangelism.
Nadia Malafeeva will revisit St Petersburg, Russia, before seeking further training, while Pastor Joseph Sugei Attah has returned to Nigeria to head the theological seminary of the Christian Evangelical Fellowship of Nigeria.
All the students were sponsored by churches and friends in the UK in their studies at EMF. The need for sponsorship is ever present in the current economic crisis.
Peter Milsom, director of UFM, drew the meeting to a close as he centred our thoughts on the phrase ‘God is faithful’, from 1 Corinthians 1:1-9. He reminded us of God’s faithfulness to the church in Corinth and to Paul, applying these lessons to ourselves.
The afternoon was rounded off with photographs in the spacious grounds of Guessens, as afternoon tea and conversation was enjoyed by all present. More information from 01438 716398 or hq@emf-welwyn.org
Jörg Müller
