Educating Church Leaders in Mission Lands

NEWS FROM THE ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN MISSION CENTER (OCMC)
http://www.ocmc.org
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Educating Church Leaders in Mission Lands
June 29, 2005

The Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC), St. Augustine, FL - The Orthodox Christian Mission Center’s Theological Education Program provides Mission Student Scholarships to help train leaders for the Orthodox Church in mission lands. This program offers financial assistance to students as they prepare to become the Church’s future leaders.

Many recipients of the OCMC Mission Student Scholarships have become priests; some have positions assisting their hierarchs; others have become teachers who are training the next generation of priests to serve our Lord. These theologically trained Church leaders are spreading the Gospel in their native languages and changing lives as they introduce people to Christ.

For example, Nigeria, a country in West Africa, is truly an Orthodox mission land. The Church in Nigeria was established in 1985. By 1988, the first indigenous clergy were ordained and began sharing the Orthodox Faith in this largely non-Christian nation. Today, there are around 50,000 Orthodox in Nigeria but, there are still only 13 priests, most of whom serve multiple parishes. OCMC is committed to helping train the leaders that are so urgently needed.

Thanks to the generosity of OCMC donors, the Mission Center is able to give scholarships to students in Nigeria. Five scholarship recipients studying under the guidance of His Eminence Alexander, Metropolitan of Nigeria, will be finishing their studies this year. These men are already making a significant impact in their homeland; some are ordained and serving parishes, others are leaders in youth associations and involved in Church administration.

They join former OCMC Mission Student Scholarship recipients who are building up the Church in places like Kenya, Korea, Indonesia, South Africa, and Uganda. Please consider making a donation today to help the Orthodox Christian Mission Center continue to offer scholarships to ensure that these future leaders of the Church can be fully equipped for the ministry to which God has called them. Designate your check to “Mission Student Scholarships” to help train even more Church leaders in mission lands and send it to the Orthodox Christian Mission Center, PO Box 4319, St. Augustine, FL, 32085 or go to www.ocmc.org.
 
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The Orthodox Christian Mission Center: Helping Orthodox Christians respond to Christ's call to preach, teach, baptize, minister to the poor and make disciples of all nations as the official international mission agency of the Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA).
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