Update and Prayer Request - September 2020
Tuesday, September 8, 2020
Brothers and sisters in the Lord,
Last year at this time I wrote about the special 50th anniversary year that our seminary was celebrating. Little did any of us know that our golden anniversary year would also include a global pandemic. Yet in our heavenly Father’s providence, as the coronavirus spread from country to country, and from city to city, no one’s life was left unaffected. Like so many other schools, CRTS ended the previous semester on Zoom in the midst of a lockdown. Shortly thereafter we had to start preparing for the possibility that not all of our students, especially the international ones, would be able to come to Hamilton in September.
In the meantime, that possibility has become reality: six of our international students could not enter the country since processing their visas has been delayed due to COVID-19. However, they will be joining us online. New video and audio equipment has been installed in the building to make all of this as seamless as possible.
So, we welcome 28 students to CRTS this September. This is the highest enrollment we have ever had. We praise our faithful God for this! Seven of them are new students in the freshmen class. Looking at the numbers in more detail, 23 of the 28 are full-time MDiv students, two are in the Bachelor/Diploma program, and three are visiting students in the MDiv program.
Another significant development over the past months is that the re-accreditation process was blessed by the LORD, and we received the maximum re-accreditation term, a ten-year period.
So, as we begin our new academic year, we respectfully ask your prayers for a number of things:
- Sincere gratitude that seven new students are beginning their studies at our seminary.
- Thankfulness to the LORD that, in spite of the global pandemic, we may open the doors of CRTS again and welcome most of our students back into our classrooms on campus. Let us also pray that everyone may remain healthy so that the instruction may continue unhindered.
- Pray to the LORD for wisdom and strength as both faculty, staff, and students adjust to the reality that six of our international students are learning online.
- Thankfulness to the LORD that CRTS could be re-accredited for a ten-year period.
We remain very appreciative of your dedication to, and support of, the seminary.