July 10, 2007 | By Michael McCormack
NEW ORLEANS – Theological education is challenging enough.
For many Korean students at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS), though, theological education is harder still because it’s in a language not their own. But thanks to an expansion of the Korean language program offered at the seminary’s North Georgia Hub, all that is changing.
New Orleans Seminary has for years offered courses in languages other than English, including Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole French and Vietnamese. And in 2003, seminary trustees approved the formation of the Korean Theological Institute.
“The Korean people group are a significant part of the Christian community in the United States and around the world,” said seminary provost Steve Lemke. “It is crucial that we train effective leaders for our Korean churches.”
The Korean program has grown from offering undergraduate and graduate certificates in New Orleans and at the North Georgia Hub to providing full Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees to Koreans in the Atlanta Metro area.
“The offering of an undergraduate and a graduate degree program in the Korean language is an exciting opportunity for the North Georgia Hub as we fulfill the NOBTS mission to make theological education as available as possible,” said Steve Echols, NOBTS regional associate dean for Alabama and Georgia.
Last year at the North Georgia Campus, located at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church, the seminary offered certificate programs in Korean for both undergraduate and graduate students. Echols said that the program had about 15 students last academic year when international students could obtain a student visa only if they planned to study at the seminary’s main campus in New Orleans. Now approval has been secured for students to obtain visas to study at the North Georgia extension center as well, and the number of students is expected to go up.
“In South Korea, many students from the Korean Baptist Theological University/Seminary want to come here to study,” Deok Jae Lee, director of the Korean program, said.
But the program has more than just an international appeal. Its location in the Atlanta area is quite strategic.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Atlanta’s Korean population ranks tenth in the country at just over 22,000 people. By word of mouth in local Korean churches and through advertising in Korean newspapers, enrollment numbers are on the rise.
From a combined count of 15 undergraduate and graduate students last year, the Korean program is anticipating close to 30 graduate students and about a dozen undergraduate students for the 2007-2008 school year. Lee explained how significant the program is for local Koreans.
“They came to America a long time ago, but they have a problem reading and writing in English,” Lee said. “There are many students who want to join in the Atlanta Metro area.”
This fall, the program will offer five undergraduate classes and four graduate classes. Lee will teach several classes, but Korean Ph.D. students will also gain valuable experience as they teach in their own tongue. In this way, both students and teachers involved in the program will be better prepared for future ministry opportunities.
“I think that current students will be leaders in their countries and in other seminaries,” Lee said. “It is a wonderful mission strategy.”
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