Costa Rica Partnership
to Train Hispanic
Ministers
A partnership with a
university in Costa Rica
to train Hispanic United
Methodist pastors in the
United States addresses
a critical new building
block in efforts to
develop educated leaders
for The United Methodist
Church.
Under an agreement
between Latin American
Biblical University and
the United Methodist
Board of Higher
Education and Ministry,
a pilot program will
launch in August with an
initial enrollment of
about 15 students.
"The signing of this
partnership is an
affirmation of the
global nature of
theological education
and training that is
integral to a leadership
development system which
transcends regional and
national boundaries,"
said the Rev. Jerome
King Del Pino, the
board's chief executive.
"The board seeks to
foster new and unique
opportunities for United
Methodist Hispanic
pastors to receive the
highest quality of
theological education in
preparation for the
challenges and
opportunities they face
in this 21st century."
The agreement will allow
U.S. pastors to complete
a bachelor of theology
degree at a
Spanish-speaking
university by receiving
credits through several
avenues, including
online courses,
on-campus classes,
College Level
Examination Program
tests and credit for
previous academic work
and course-of-study
classes.
"The purpose of this
partnership is to
empower the candidates
in fulfilling the basic
requirements for
membership in their
annual conferences and
to open new avenues for
additional theological
education at the master
of divinity level," said
the Rev. Saul Espino,
the board's director of
retreats and specialized
ministries support.
Latin American Biblical
University will design a
degree completion plan
for each candidate,
coordinate both distance
and residency courses
and monitor students'
progress. The school
will have final say in
awarding of academic
credits for
course-of-study work,
experiential learning,
training modules,
continuing education
workshops or seminars.
The Board of Higher
Education and Ministry
will coordinate the
program; provide
scholarships for
academic courses on
campus, lodging and
meals; monitor outcomes
on an annual basis; and
establish a timeline.
Professor Violeta Rocha,
president of Latin
American Biblical
University in San Jose,
said the university is
pleased with the
collaboration.
"The General Board of
Higher Education and
Ministry and the Latin
American Biblical
University have met the
challenge by designing a
university bachelor's
degree program in
theological and biblical
sciences, with
theoretical quality and
academic flexibility so
the pastors continue
their formation without
leaving their pastoral
work too much," said
Rocha.
The program reflects the
importance that both the
board and the university
give to the theological
formation of pastors in
ministry, she added.
Espino said the program
is unique and will
foster distance
education across borders
to take maximum
advantage of the
educational
opportunities in both
Costa Rica and the
United States.
Del Pino added the
agency places the
highest importance on
training a new
generation of
Spanish-speaking United
Methodist pastors. "This
agreement will take
advantage of multiple
educational modalities
in order to accelerate
the educational training
of UM Hispanic/Latino/a
pastors," he said.
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