WAKE FOREST, N.C. (BP)–A new Bible institute and master’s-level school in El Salvador is being initiated by a Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary professor.
Gerald Cowen, senior professor of New Testament and Greek and former dean of Southeastern’s undergraduate college, hopes to begin the school this fall at Vida Nueva Baptist Church in San Salvador, capital of the Central American nation.
“The group in El Salvador with whom I will be working has the vision and the leadership to impact all of Latin America,” Cowen said in an SEBTS news release. “This is our goal.”
Cowen, who will serve as the first president, plans to work toward a fully accredited program of study.
Southeastern will partner with Cowen’s theological initiative by assisting the school financially in building its library as well as by sending professors to teach on an annual basis.
Daniel Akin, president of Southeastern Seminary, said Cowen is well prepared and equipped for this new assignment.
“Gerald Cowen has a passion for evangelism and theological education,” Akin said. “I have seen him weep for lost souls, and I have watched him train students out of his Greek New Testament for 20 years. He has a great heart for Mexico and all of Latin America. Having served as dean of our college for more than a decade, Gerald also has the administrative skills and experience to make this institute and seminary a success. We are delighted to partner with Dr. Cowen in this exciting adventure.
“The prospects for providing theological training for ministers in El Salvador and beyond to all of Central America is an awesome prospect,” Akin added. “Gerald Cowen is the right man at the right place at the right time.”
Bruce Ashford, director of Southeastern’s Lewis A. Drummond Center for Great Commission Studies, noted that Cowen has worked in Central and South America for many years, leading mission trips that have led to thousands of professions of faith.
“The Lord has blessed the work of his hands and will continue to do so as he builds a Great Commission Bible college and seminary in San Salvador,” Ashford said.
David Nelson, dean of the faculty at Southeastern, also voiced a vision for theological education in that part of the world.
“Southeastern has an ongoing commitment to helping to provide theological education in strategic locations around the globe for the sake of the Great Commission, and this partnership enables us to extend that ministry even further,” Nelson said.
Cowen was commissioned along with others heading to the mission fields during a Southeastern chapel service in April. Cowen arrived at Southeastern in 1992 from Criswell College in Dallas. He holds master of theology and doctor of theology degrees from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
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Based on a news release from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.
