Nairobi school continues to be very strategic for Africa

Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology (NEGST) in Kenya was founded in 1983. Since then, the interdenominational school’s 524 graduates have been serving in 36 countries. NEGST engages in research and publication to address the concerns and needs of African Christianity. Lack of leadership, poverty, HIV/AIDS and corruption are a challenge for Christians in Kenya. NEGST has mobilized churches to combat rising crime through evangelism on the national level and has worked with partner churches in community-based initiatives, such as rehabilitating the city’s police station.

The Church and wider community benefit from the school’s practical outreach, engagement and leadership. Following Kenya’s post-election violence in December 2007, for example, NEGST gave temporary refuge and humanitarian assistance to more than 50 affected citizens in the nearby towns, while donating food and material supplies to slum churches sheltering displaced persons.

NEGST is now offering its first PhD program in Biblical Studies and Translation Studies. 239 students are enrolled in extension programs, and online courses are offered as well. The school is developing a Center of Peace and Reconciliation Studies and an MA degree in Organizational Leadership, while their Institute for the Study of African Realities is also preparing to hold programs on ethnicity, peace, healing and reconciliation.

In November 2005, TIME Magazine named graduate Dr. Peter Okaalet as one of the nine heroes of Global Health. For the last 12 years, Dr. Okaalet has been working with pastors and their congregations to bring a holistic approach to fight HIV/AIDS in the Church and society, redefining their response to the epidemic. Running workshops across the globe, he has been instrumental in establishing Master’s degree programs and other curricula in pastoral care and HIV/AIDS in 14 African seminaries.