Covenant College is
part of Covenant College Zambia Trust, registered with the Registrar of Societies
in Zambia. It is situated 400km east of
Lusaka on the Great East Road, close to the town Petauke. The College was started in 2001 because in
the Eastern Province there are a lot of lay pastors who are enthusiastic about
preaching the word of God, but they never had the opportunity or means to go
and study somewhere. Some of them did
not even have the opportunity to finish school.
They are a lot like Apollos in Acts 18:24-28.
Many of them are good preachers, but they
have never learned how to use their God-given gifts and knowledge. The work which Covenant College does, through
the grace of God, is therefore very important. They equip pastors (like
Priscilla and Aquila did with Apollos) so that they understand the gospel in
the right way, and preach it in the right way.
In this way there are more and more pastors who
preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to their own people, and consequently the
church of Zambia grows in quality and in quantity.
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| David Lachman, presently the only full-time lecturer, with his wife and child |
Mission Statement
Covenant College strives to glorify God as an interdenominational
training institution, on a Reformed basis, which assists local churches with
the training of their pastors and men who have pastoral responsibilities,
mainly focusing our efforts in the Eastern Province of Zambia, seeking to
strengthen the church of Jesus Christ and extend the Kingdom of God.
Who do they train?
They aim
to train male church leaders who have not received adequate pastoral training.
These men must already be involved in pastoral work. Their church must
recommend them for training.
They value a good relationship with local churches. They encourage them
to send students to Covenant College and accept the graduates for ordination in
their respective churches.
Why do they train?
The
college’s desire is to assist churches by training their leaders. They pray
that the training the students receive will lead them to increasingly glorify
God, grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, show true faith
and sanctification, become better witnesses of the Gospel by their words and
example, and enable them to equip the members of their churches for ministry
inside and outside the church.
The college believes that the Word of God should take full control over
religion, culture, and the daily life of every Christian. For a pastor to lead
his people into this reformation of life, he needs to be trained in explaining
and applying the Bible.
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| Students in class during a normal day of lectures |
What do they teach?
Their
curriculum focuses on the main theological subjects. They aim to give the
students a thorough understanding of the Bible as a whole and as individual
books. Using Systematic Theology, they stimulate a consistent understanding of
Biblical truths. They teach the students about the history of the worldwide,
African and Zambian church. They concentrate on practical subjects: preaching,
pastoral work, missions, and governing the church.
All the teaching is based on the Bible. Their interpretation and
application of Scripture is guided by several Reformed Confessions. These are
the Westminster Standards, the 1689 Baptist Confession, the Thirty-Nine
Articles, and the Three Forms of Unity. They do not force these confessions on
their students. Instead they show the students the value and usefulness for
their theological development.
The character of
their training
Covenant
College approaches teaching comprehensively. Teaching should encourage spiritual
growth, instil a servant’s attitude, develop intellectual gifts, and shape
practical skills. Under practical skills they concentrate on farming, so that
pastors are better able to support themselves and their families. When they develop such skills, their life and
business becomes an example of Christian stewardship and responsibility for
their church and community. They are
also mentored with pastoral sessions and visits to the churches in which they
are serving.
We offer three year courses at Diploma and Certificate level. For the
Diploma, we are accredited with Mukhanyo Theological College in South Africa. For the Certificate some teachers teach in
both English and Chinyanja.
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| Children being taught in a community school supported by Covenant College |
Other ministries
Each year there are
women’s meetings at the College for the spouses of the students. The wives of the missionaries discuss the
women’s work in the churches and other relevant topics. These meetings are very special for the
women.
Not only
is the training of pastors important, but also to bring the gospel to
children. Every Saturday children from
the villages around the college come for the children’s ministry. Miss Marjanne Hendriksen takes the lead in teaching
them songs based on Scripture, telling them stories from the Bible and helping them to colour a picture about the story. During the semester some students and
teachers from community schools help her.
Together
with Zambian helpers Miss Hendriksen also visits community schools in the area
and gives the teachers training in how to give Christian education to the
children.
Most of
the pastors training at Covenant College are tentmaker pastors who make a
living through farming. Because of this
they are also given training in farming.
The College itself is situated on a farm and provides food for the
students who live there and receive training during the week. The farm is also a good example of how to
farm, and they are privileged to have a good agriculturalist, Mr Phil Bailey, who
takes the lead in this ministry. Recently
Jackson Kasolo, a Zambian from the Copperbelt, joined him in leading this
ministry. He also stays on the farm with
his family. They do not only train the
students, but also teach the rest of the community good farming methods. A lot of people from the nearby villages are
employed as pieceworkers on the farm
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| Phil Bailey with his "Farming God's Way" team on the farm |
The
college tries to keep contact with the students who graduated. Therefore they have conferences where they
provide them with further training. They
also invite pastors who have not yet studied at the college to encourage them to
come for studies.
Currently
there is one permanent lecturer at the College, Rev. David Lachman. He is sent by the Free Church of Scotland
(Continuing) and also stays at the college with his wife and two children. He
is assisted by 3 local teachers.
For more
information contact Rev. Lachman at dlachjr@gmail.com or visit the
website http://www.cczt.org
