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| GENERAL NEWSLETTER6: 26 August 2010 |
Special Announcement: SATS Launches “Farming God's Way”
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When we heard two years ago about the incredible work that Farming God's Way (www.farming-gods-way.org) are doing, we were convinced that we should get involved and offer this programme as a distance education course. Since then we have been working closely with the man driving the project, Grant Dryden, to produce a 12 credit course which can be taken either as a stand-alone (i.e. you do not need to enrol for a whole qualification), or as part of one of our qualifications.
Grant and his team spent the whole of 2009 producing a highly professional DVD series which takes viewers through a step-by-step programme. When this is coupled with the comprehensive workbook and a series of practical assessment tasks, students are assured of an amazing journey which revolutionises traditional agricultural approaches. Most importantly, the whole experience is rooted in the biblical principles of farming the way God wanted us to.
Why is SATS offering an agricultural course, you may ask? We, the body of Christ have been given a Godly mandate through Isaiah chapter 58:6,7 which says that the kind of fast that God has chosen is to loosen, remove and break the yoke of poverty, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and to shelter the homeless. There are about 750 million small scale subsistence farmers in Africa struggling in abject poverty.
Farming God's Way offers an amazing solution to this poverty crisis by equipping the poor with the knowledge required to bring them out from under the yoke of poverty, with what they have in their hand. Dixon Shuwali, a small scale farmer in Malawi, increased his yield from 5 bags to 45 to 54 to 69 bags over 4 years and his life has become a testimony of hope to many.
If we, the wider body of Christ, embrace this tool we can make a difference and Africa can be transformed from the begging bowl to the bread basket of the world. Beyond the shores of Africa, this course can be implemented just as successfully to further enhance agricultural strategies.
The South African Theological Seminary is so convinced about the need for this course that we are making it available FREE to those who would like to do it without receiving credits. The only cost will be for the set of DVD's, namely R350 plus postage. To order, please email grace@sats.edu.za. For those who want to earn the credits, please fill out the application form at www.satsonline.org/application_u.php. The total cost, including the DVD, is R1700 if you take the printed version, or R1500 if you take the download version. If you would like to have a look at the course simply click on www.satsonline.org/content/have-look-our-free-courses
Dr Reuben van Rensburg
Principal
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Watch out for a new feature on the landing page of www.satsonline.org, called "Pastor to Pastor". Pastors often need practical advice on topics they were never taught about and this regular column will provide just that. The Lead elder of the Lonehill Village Church, Dr Christopher Peppler has written the first article entitled ROADS. He will be a regular contributor to the column and many others will also contribute from the lessons they have learnt.
We would like you to tell us what your needs are in this area so please use the comment box and facility to inform us.
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Additional facilities on MySats
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The programming of new facilities on MySats, which will give our students even more functionality is proceeding and is about to enter the test phase. Watch this space!
What are our graduates doing?
Recently we conducted extensive research to find out what our graduates are doing and the results are really interesting:
54% of the respondents said that they are in full-time ministry. What is noteworthy is that only 22% of our students are in full time ministry when they enrol, which of course implies that 32% progress to full time ministry; 22% are in part time ministry (the definition used in the research implied more than being a lay member of a church who is involved in some sort of ministry. It includes bivocational pastors, or professionals who are extensively involved with church or para-church ministries). The rest (24%) are not involved in ministry.
Progress with the French translation
Our French translators are still hard at work to ensure that we will be able to offer the first three years of our BTh programme early in 2011, in French. We have also appointed four French Supervisors for the Postgraduate students and early indications are that there will be strong interest from the francophone community.
Lausanne at SATS
SATS will be hosting a GlobaLink site for the Lausanne Conference from 27-29 October at the Rosebank Union Church in Johannesburg. During these three days we will be showing key presentations from the actual conference which takes place the week before in Cape Town, but we will also have an opportunity to discuss and debate the critical issues with a view to feeding back to the main conference. SATS is currently sending out invitations to key leaders.
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