After decades since its formation, the Global Theological Seminary (GTS) has been awarded full tertiary accreditation by the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC).
This was confirmed by the seminary’s Rev. Dr. Komi Hiagbe on Saturday, June 8, 2024, at the 9th graduation ceremony of the school at the Global Evangelical Church (Adonai) in Madina.
Rev. Dr. Hiagbe noted that in 2013, after the school finally moved to its current place of operation, Adenta West, the school began seeking accreditation under the leadership of the late Rev. Prof. Elom Dovelo and was denied the opportunity in 2016 because the school did not meet the standards to operate as a tertiary institution and was asked to work in a bigger and larger environment.
The Rector said that they listened to the advice of GTEC and went ahead to buy new premises where it currently operates at a cost of US$400,000, following which the seminary was given accreditation.
He revealed that before the accreditation was granted, the school could only offer certificate programmes, but now that the accreditation is at hand, Rev. Hiagbe said the accreditation will help them train leadership for the Global Evangelical Church first and foremost and also other members of the Christian community in Ghana, particularly so-called one-man churches.
“The seminary itself had been ongoing since that time, and we had moved from one venue to another until 2001, when we moved to the Adenta premises, and by 2013, we began thinking of accreditation, then under the leadership of the late Rev. Prof. Elom Dovelo. We made our first attempt in 2016, and the National Accreditation Board, now the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission, has failed us because we did not meet the standards. They asked us to look for new premises, and so the church had to buy new premises to house the seminary at the cost of US$400,000. That is where we are operating now, and it is from there that GTEC granted us full accreditation. So far, this has been our journey from 1991 to 2023, and now we are in 2024,” the Rector explained.
“So far, we believe we may not have the exact numbers, but over 2,000 people have graduated from the seminary, mainly in certificate programmes. By that, I mean, because we were not accredited, we were not allowed to offer diploma programmes, so all our programmes up to this time have been certificate programmes in Christian ministry, Christian service, lay counselling, and Biblical counselling, among others,” he added.
He gave a brief explanation of why there was a need for the church to have its own school where it could train men and women to manage the affairs of the church.
According to him, the seminary actually began operation in 1991 after a breakaway from the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. He said after the split, it became necessary for the church to raise pastors to man the ever-increasing congregation, and that in August of that year, 31 pastors were taken to the Presbyterian Boys’ Senior High School in Legon to be trained in a one-month programme to become pastors to serve the church.
He said that there have been different kinds of training at Maratha University College and Christian Service University College.
He explained further that the seminar was giving training along with the other universities, just that it kept changing its location until 2001, when they moved to Adenta West, where the school is permanently situated.
For his part, the Moderator of the Global Evangelical Church, Right Rev. Samuel Dzomeku, admonished every Christian who believes that there is a call from God upon their lives to seek theological education to make them better people who will interpret the Bible in God’s way for people to understand God’s word and be led in the ways of God.
He emphasised that, just as individuals pursuing earthly disciplines must undergo proper training and obtain necessary qualifications, the same applies to those who wish to pursue Christian ministry.
The Moderator also ceased the opportunity to call for peace among Ghanaians before, during, and after the elections, praying that God will give the country the right person to lead.
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