SAN ANTONIO, Texas (ABP) — A graduate degree in leadership, focused on the Hispanic Christian community, will launch in January through the cooperative efforts of Dallas Baptist University and Baptist University of the Américas.
The two schools formally agreed Oct. 13 for DBU to offer a Master of Arts in Christian Ministry, with a leadership concentration, with all courses offered on the BUA campus or provided through online access from DBU.
DBU President Gary Cook and BUA President René Maciel signed the agreement as part of BUA Founders' Day celebrations, celebrating 64 years since the San Antonio school's creation.
"I'm tempted to say that the founders of the Mexican Baptist Bible Institute never would have dreamed of a day when a Latino-centric master's degree program would be housed at the school they founded," Maciel said.
"But that would be underestimating their vision and their proven record of outpraying any obstacles they faced. They didn't just dream for what they needed to become better ministers of the gospel—they dreamed of all that their ethnic and spiritual descendants would ever need. And in today's Texas, there is no greater need than Hispanic Christian leaders."
Cook, who noted he "fell in love" with BUA when he spoke in chapel in the late 1990s, said his interest in the cooperative effort was a natural outgrowth of what attracted him to BUA's unique educational focus.
"I know your leaders, I know your students and this is something DBU feels strongly is an idea from God whose time has come. We have many years of cooperative endeavors creating the good will and trust necessary to pursue this partnership," Cook said.
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Craig Bird writes for Baptist University of the Americas communications.