On Saturday, May 29th 2021, Asia Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary held the 36th Commencement Ceremony online – without the pomp and pageantry, without the robes, the handshakes, the hugs, and the handing of diplomas, of traditional graduations.
The speaker, Bishop Efraim Tendero Global Ambassador for the World Evangelical Alliance, encouraged the students. We are very excited to say we had our first Graduates from new programs Masters of Arts in Intercultural Studies and the Doctor of Ministry in Transformational Ministry. We had one graduate in each of these degrees.
Two students (one from Peru, and one from India) earned the Doctor of Philosophy degree, a program offered in partnership with the Asia Graduate School of Theology – Philippines.
Indeed, our graduates are from around the world. We had 9 each from the Philippines and Myanmar, 7 from South Korea, 3 from the United States, 2 from both India and Japan, 1 each from Peru, Pakistan, Nicaragua and Bangladesh. We had graduates from 10 denominations in 11 programs. The best statistic this year is that on our 36th Commencement we had 36 graduates.
Like the rest of the world, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted many opportunities for our students this year, but students found creative ways of not only studying but ministering to each other on-line. Our PhD programs are thriving.
During this pandemic APNTS has expanded impact and its reach around the world. Usually we had students in our classes representing two or three continents. Professors became more and more adept teaching via Zoom. Students learned how to do research with on-line resources. Of course we miss the face to face relationships!
Distinctive to this graduation is that it happened amidst the Myanmar coup d’etat. Our 9 Myanmar graduates will not be able to return to their home country soon, and will consider pursuing other programs and opportunities. They remain anxious regarding family and friends in Myanmar.
APNTS is immensely proud of its graduates this year. They have persevered during an incredibly challenging year and we watch as they march towards their dreams and God’s purpose in their lives.
