A Day at NETS

Blog Post March 21

For today's blog we thought we would walk you through a typical day at NETS.  The Nazareth Evangelical Theological Seminary (NETS) opened its door in September 2007. NETS is an independent, inter-denominational evangelical seminary with links to and historic roots in the Association of Baptist Churches in Israel. NETS offers Bachelor of Divinity, Master of Theology, Certificate in Leadership Development and Bachelor of Theology in Arabic.  Since most of the students also maintain full-time jobs, ministry in a local church and are married with a family, the class schedules have to be creative and flexible, usually in the evening.  

So the day begins . . .

The building housing NETS is located in the American Quarter of Nazareth in a city of over 65,000 where 70% are Muslim and 30% are Christian.  It is located not far from Mary's Well and the rest of the historic center of Nazareth. Previously the building was the residence and ministry home used by Southern Baptist ministers serving in this area.

As the day begins the classrooms sit empty.

The library shelves are quiet.  NETS hosts the only evangelical theological library in all of Israel that is open to the public.

But for faculty and staff the day has already begun. 

Dr. Bryson Arthur, a native of Scotland and founder of NETS, serves as President and Professor of Systematic Theology.  Today he will teaching a course on suffering for the MA students.  He is a passionate visionary and keen theological mind.  

Azar Ajaj serves as the Vice President of the Seminary and a lecturer in Pastoral Studies and the Old Testament.  He will soon be taking on an expanded leadership role for NETS.   He is a native to Nazareth and brings a warmth and gentleness that provides great encouragement to students, faculty and staff alike but also a depth of wisdom that helps NETS make wise decisions.  A well respected pastor he now serves full-time with NETS.

Alex Miller is a distinguished teacher and in addition to serving as Academic Dean lectures in Church History and Theology.  His knowledge of Arabic makes him an invaluable resource to faculty and students alike.

Phil Hill (on the right in the photo) leads in Ministerial Formation and lectures in Pastoral Studies.  He is well-known  in the UK as well as Israel as a premiere preacher.  

Brent Neely is the product of ministering parents who served in a number of countries throughout Europe and the Middle East, which has instilled in him a great passion for sharing the gospel with all people.  In addition to serving as  a lecturer in New Testament, Brent has been actively involved in a church outside of Nazareth.  He will continue teaching a course on the Book of Ephesians.  He also brings a knowledge of Arabic which adds much to the fervor and passion he brings to teaching.

Philip Sumpter is a recent addition to the team at NETS.  He is a lecturer in Old Testament and is currently involved in the publication of his Ph.D. dissertation and translating a work written in German about theological understandings in this area into English!  Note that the facilities of NETS are stretched to their maximum and so Philip is working on his lesson material while enjoying the sunshine on the porch!

Bill and Marie Kirk are the newest additions to the NETS Team.  Bill is tutoring a student in the West Bank, working with the library and also mentoring several of the students in the MDiv and MA programs.  Marie serves as the Personal Assistant to Bryson.  They come to Israel after years in ministry in Scotland and other parts of Britain.

May Arthur provides a wealth of administrative  help for NETS.  She also helps to tutor students .  Her gift of hospitality is a blessing to the entire team.

Maye Ashkar serves as librarian for NETS.  Her grace and gift of helps assists students and faculty in finding the resource materials needed for their work.

Each Tuesday morning the faculty and staff gather for prayer.  Prayer for the staff, students, courses and the challenges facing NETS.  It is a deeply moving experience.  It is a time to pray.  Fervent pleading with God kind of prayer recognizing the incredible challenges and obstacles to do what NETS does in its setting but with complete confidence that NETS is in the stream of God's amazing activity in Israel!

So the day begins.  May and Marie are updating student information and responding to the numerous inquiries from potential students, potential partners, and various requests from local churches and pastors.

 But we do take time for a cup of Arabic coffee or tea!

 Here are four of the "leading ladies" at NETS.  In addition to Marie, May and Lynda, Ibtisam Ajaj has joined the group today.  She is a teacher and has tutored many of the faculty in Arabic.

 The day continues as pastors and other church leaders drop by.  Here Azar is joined by Bader Mansour, on the right, who serves as the General Secretary of the Association of Baptist Churches in Israel and Andrew Abu-Ghazaleh, Executive Director of International Leadership Seminars.

Ziad Farraj drops by for tutoring with Philip Sumpter as he works on his paper.  Ziad also serves as part of the leadership team at the Tur'an Baptist Church

Bryson is joined by Munther Na'um, chairman of the Association of Baptist Churches in Israel and a leader of the Council of Evangelical Churches in Israel.

Here are three of our students in the MA program from left to right, Samer Artouf, Hanni Sayir and Afif Saba.

Plus the library is no longer just quiet shelves but a buzz with activity as Brent coaches the students in how to do research on the background to the book of Ephesians.

It has grown quiet around NETS after a full day but relationships have been formed and strengthened, the word of God has been taught, deep theological issues have been considered and leaders in the evangelical churches of Israel are being trained all with attention to quality, excellence and high academic standards.    NETS really is an amazing place where God continues to do amazing things!

Please join Lynda and me in praying for NETS:

• Wisdom as it deals with the challenge of finances
• Vision as it anticipates significant leadership changes over the next several months.
• Recruitment of students with a passion for learning and serving
• The Filipino Leadership course and that it might be a pilot of a new and expanded role for NETS in training church leadership in Israel
• For Lynda and me as we enter the last half of our sabbatical time here that we might be attentive to what God has been teaching us and we might make a meaningful contribution to the extraordinary work of NETS.

Next blog we will pick up on more of our travels!