TANZANIA PASTORAL CONTINUING EDUCATION
Summary
This project exists to support local Tanzanian pastors as they further their education at Babati Bible College. As pastors grow in their academic competency, they more effectively serve their congregations and promote and mentor emerging leaders for the Church of God of Tanzania.
Cost
The total project cost is $7,850 per year in order to provide 18 student scholarships.
Project # 42.40476
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
The Church of God began work in Tanzania in 1959 and has grown to almost 400 congregations with over 16,000 believers. With a growing church, better trained and educated pastors are needed to continue the momentum of growth.
Vision
Vision
Many Tanzanian pastors lack secondary school education, Bible school training, and/or further theological study that would equip them personally and further their impact as pastors in their communities.
STRATEGY
The goal for this project is to provide pastors with financial assistance to enable them to further their education and to better equip and resource them so that they might mentor and equip a new generation of emerging leaders in the church.
There are currently 18 pastors enrolled at the Church of God Bible school in Babati, Tanzania and receiving support through this project.
The Church of God in Tanzania
The Church of God began work in Tanzania in 1959 through the efforts of Stan and Marion Hoffman. It has been home to many Church of God missionaries over the years who have worked in the areas of pastoral training, primary and secondary education, and evangelism.
The National Assembly of the Church of God in Tanzania is almost entirely self-sufficient. Not only that, but they also have a focus on evangelism and are passionate about reaching out in areas of the country where they do not currently have a presence. There are 395 churches and 16,408 believers (2026).
The Church of God in Tanzania has nearly 400 churches!
The Widening Education Gap
A large percentage of the 420 pastors in the Church of God of Tanzania have very low education. Although many have attended Bible school at some level, they lack both advanced theological education and regular academic experience. Many of the pastors have a regular education level of 4th-7th grade and no secondary school experience at all.
As the younger population of churchgoers grows in their level of education, even in small villages, the older generation is left behind academically. While the pastors continue to need Bible and pastoral training, they also need and desire to advance their academic experience in secondary school to remain relevant.
It is becoming more and more difficult for pastors to maintain their credibility in their communities when the younger generation of believers have passed them by in every academic metric.
A more educated pastoral leadership community in the Church of God will be a more strategic, creative, and critical thinking community of leaders.
Pastors who are poured into continue to give back to the church. Those pastors have become the decision makers and the directors for ministry throughout the Church of God of Tanzania. They have utilized their experience and education to invest in others in the Church and have contributed to the Church of God in Tanzania becoming increasingly self-sustaining and self-propagating.
STUDENT TESTIMONY
OBADIA ALOYCE JUSTIN
Praise be to the Lord Jesus Christ. My name is Obadia Aloyce Justin, a resident of Babati in Manyara Rigion, and a faithful member of the Church of God Tanzania Babati Town.
Before I share my educational journey testimony, first of all I like to give thanks and glory to Almighty God for how far He has brought me from the beginning of my educational journey until now, it is by His grace, love, and protection that I have been sustained. To Him alone be all the glory. Therefore; I humbly present the testimony of my educational journey as follows:
After completing my Secondary Education in November 2019, I enrolled in the Bible College of the Church of God of Tanzania Batati Town to pursue studies in Bible and theology, this institution as now known as KALAMU (Kanisa la Mungu la Tanzania) Central School of Theology (KCST). I studied there for two years (from September 2020 to July 2022), when I successfully graduated with a Certificate in Christian Ministry Education.
Thereafter, by God’s grace, I was selected to further my theological studies at the Diploma level. I joined Kima Internationa School of Theology (KIST) in Kenya, which is currently known as Trellis International Training College (TITC). My studies took the duration of three years (from September 2022 to September 2025), culminating in the successful completion of an Advanced Diploma in Bible and Theology.
I sincerely thank God and the Church of God of Tanzania for trusting me and grating me this great opportunity. I am also deeply grateful to all our sponsors for their support. Throughout my entire period of study in Kenya, I never experienced any financial challenges regarding tuition fees, as all expenses were fully covered until the completion of my advanced Diploma in September 2025.
Currently, I am at home serving the Lord as a Sunday school teacher for children in my local Church and as a Bible School Instructor at KALAMU Central School of Theology. Looking ahead, it is earnest desire that God may open a further opportunities for advanced learning, so that I may continue to grow academically and serve more effectively in His Ministry.
I extend my heartfelt appreciation to everyone who supported me along this journey. May God richly bless you all!
Will you join Global Strategy in preparing a path for the next generation of leaders?
Ways to make a difference
- Online—Visit this link
- Check—Make checks payable to “Church of God Ministries” and specify “Tanzania Pastoral Education - 42.40476” in the memo line
For more information, contact Global Strategy Projects at 800.848.2464 or GSProjects@chog.org.
