Logsdon in Israel: an interview with Azar Ajaj

Our seminary and Logsdon have partnered together for some time. Recently, a student from Logsdon interviewed our seminary president, Azar Ajaj, and wrote an article summarizing what he learned.

Here is a section:

The focus of NETS is unique in the fact that it “is the only [Arabic] Evangelical college in Israel,” according to Ajaj. This fact allows NETS to specifically focus on training those individuals who know their cultural context the best: indigenous Christians centered on presenting the Good News of Jesus Christ in a relevant way to their community.

Read the whole interview HERE.

Student News: the ordination of Ziad Farraj

NETS is proud to share that Ziad Farraj has been ordained to be a pastor for the Association of Baptist Churches in Israel, where has been called to pastor for one year the Baptists congregation in the city of Rama.

Ziad is in the final stages of completing his Bachelor of Divinity.

2013, the year in review

Our seminary president, Azar Ajaj, has composed this summary of some of the significant goals that we have accomplished at NETS throughout 2013. Download the PDF of the progress report HERE.

Throughout 2013 we also published three Mary's Well Occasional Papers, which you can download here:

MWOP 2:1, by Philip Sumpter, "Bibliography of Arabophone Christianity in Israel and Palestine".

MWOP 2:2, by Azar Ajaj, "Nazareth Evangelical Theological Seminary: the first six years".

MWOP 2:3, by Brent Neely, "Caesarea and the Mission of God".

We also saw in 2013 the establishment of our presence on Wikipedia (in English, at least), and sharing a number of old and hard-to-find documents through our blog.

Our seminary also saw some key changes in personnel, with the departure of our founding president, J. Bryson Arthur, and the appointment of our second and current president. Also, Phil Hill returned to Wales and Alex Miller to the USA. But 2013 also saw the addition of Andraus Abu Ghazale as our new director of ministerial formation, and a new initiative to visit local biblical and historical sites under the direction of Kamal Farah which has been well-received by local Christians.

We look forward to more accomplishments in 2014.

Review of our Sabbatical program

Rob Sylvester recently took part in our sabbatical program. Here is what he wrote about his experience:

My sabbatical month in the Holy Land has been a wonderful and memorable experience, with many highlights along the way.  It has lived up to the title of ‘Come and See’ and provided stimulation for body, mind and spirit.  There have been excellent presentations/seminars by leading Arab and Messianic Christians, visits to many of the famous sites throughout the country, opportunities to worship at a variety ofchurches, and visits to local projects and Christian communities/missions.  I have hiked in the countryside, swam in Lake Galilee and the Dead Sea and jogged through the streets of Nazareth.  Throughout, there has been time for personal prayer, reflection and meeting with the Lord.  A particular joy has been to meet with local believers and hear their testimonies of the goodness and faithfulness of God at all times, so that I comeaway with a deeper appreciation of the challenges and issues they face, combined with a renewed trust and hope in the plans and purposes of God for his people here.

Learn more about our program by e-mailing us at info [at] nazarethseminary [dot] org.

Transitions: a new president for our seminary

Our founding president, Bryson Arthur, has accepted the position of academic dean at Jordan Evangelical Theological Seminary, in Amman. Our seminary is happy to announce that Azar Ajaj, formerly vice president for administrative affairs, is our new seminary president.

Best wishes to Bryson and Azar in their new positions.