Echo Spring 2021 - 44

orty-one graduates from the Classes of
2020 and 2021 celebrated an amazing
milestone at the LBC | Capital - Uganda
Commencement ceremony on May 29
in Kampala, Uganda. Two leaders provided
Commencement addresses to students and their
families, while LBC | Capital President Dr. Thomas
L. Kiedis gave the charge to the graduates via
video.
The Pastors Discipleship Network
(PDN) aims to equip ministry leaders
across Africa to proclaim the gospel
and to better serve their churches
and communities. This spring, PDN,
which has been in partnership with
LBC | Capital since 2015, celebrated
a milestone as a graduate became a
professor.
Edward Kibirango ('19), after
graduating with a Master of Arts
in Contextualized Pastoral Ministry
in Uganda, is a new PDN adjunct
faculty member. Husband to Esther
and father to four children, Kibirango
is a pastor and elder at Deliverance
Church Kasanga in Kampala, where
he oversees the Compassion
International Child Development
Center. He is pursuing a Doctor of
Ministry degree from LBC | Capital and
is co-teaching the " Issues in African
Pastoral Ministry I " course, which
deals with two critical contextual
issues facing the African church
today: the prosperity gospel and
poverty and dependence.
At the core of PDN's DNA is " training
the trainers " -a model that leverages
exponential growth. Before students
begin the program, they understand
the expectation to pass on what they
learn to other Christian leaders. Pastor
Kibirango is an example of this vision
being fulfilled.
Through the PDN partnership, LBC |
Capital equips African pastors to earn
a master's degree as they continue
the important work of spreading the
gospel around the continent and
pass on the Good News to future
generations..
(To learn more about PDN and
opportunities to sponsor an African
pastor, visit lbc.edu/uganda.)
44 ECHO
Luke Jaymin, M.A., a Pastors Discipleship Network
(PDN) board member and Senior Pastor of
Nakawa Pentecostal Church, along with guest
musicians provided the prelude, while Dr. Edison
Kalengyo, Associate Professor of New Testament
& Grants Manager at Uganda Christian University
gave the invocation. Dr. Esther Zimmerman,
Interim Chair of the LBC | Capital Church &
Ministry Leadership Department read Scripture
from 2 Timothy 2:1-15, and Joseph Musaalo,
M.A., Chairman of the PDN Board of Directors,
welcomed graduates and their families and
introduced the first Commencement speaker,
Peter Kasirivu, M.A., Founding Pastor of Gaba
Community Church, Founder and President of
African Renewal Ministries and Founder and
Chancellor Africa Renewal University.
Robert Blanks, LBC | Capital Program Director
for Pastoral Ministry and the Master of Arts in
Contextualized Pastoral Ministry, bestowed the
Servant Leadership Awards and Pastor Peter
Kasirivu Awards and presented the candidates for
graduation. An LBC | Capital tradition, graduates
also received the Servant's Towel, followed by
remarks and a benediction from the second
Commencement speaker, Dr. Richmond
Wandera, PDN Founder and President.
Taking place on the Pastors Discipleship Network
campus, the day was marked by celebratory
African drums and dancing. Congratulations,
graduates!
LBC | Capital celebrated the graduation of 16 Master of Arts in Formational Leadership students at New Hope Christian College in
Eugene, Oregon, on March 19. Serving as the Commencement speaker was Dr. Wayne Cordeiro ('19, first row, second from right),
President of New Hope Christian College, Senior Pastor of New Hope West and Founding Pastor of New Hope Oahu in Hawaii. Cordeiro
also introduced LBC | Capital President Dr. Thomas L. Kiedis (first row, far right), who gave a special greeting to the graduates. Dr. Guy
Higashi (first row, far left) is the MAFL Coordinator in Oregon. Ten graduates hail from Hawaii, with two from Pennsylvania, one from
Colorado, one from Oregon, one from Tennessee and one from Washington.

http://www.lbc.edu/uganda

Echo Spring 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Echo Spring 2021