ABOUT US - Ethos
|
ethos (e-´thos) n. |
GWC is a community of disciples of Jesus. We can no longer follow our master on the road as his first disciples did, but we have his teachings and his life story and we see ourselves as “apprentices” serving him as we are able now, and equipping ourselves to serve him better in the future.
GWC is a college. That is to say, it's a place where all present, both faculty and students, are colleagues with a common pursuit to know, understand, obey, apply and share the Word of God. We believe in “the fellowship of the Holy Spirit”. Although the academic standard of the college is demanding, there is comradeship in helping one another along. The staff and faculty are approachable and share a deep concern for the spiritual and general well-being of the students. There are regular devotional meetings, prayer times and fellowship group times that all help develop a sense of community.
GWC is multicultural. The “rainbow nation” is part of our conscious ethos. We are glad that God has brought us together from so many “peoples, nations, languages” (Daniel 7.14) because his ultimate purpose is a new creation which will be like that.
GWC is about ministry and mission. We believe that theology is about Christian living, worship, ministry and mission. So there is a buzz about ministry, mission, evangelism and church planting.
GWC is big on Biblical Theology. We want to understand the Bible as Jesus does. We believe the Old and New Testaments are one developing revelation of God to humankind. We want to grasp the big picture – to see how Old and New fit together.
GWC specializes in Biblical studies. We study the languages (Greek and Hebrew) and the background because we want a better understanding of the Scriptures. We train ourselves in the skills of interpretation (exegesis and hermeneutics) because we want to understand what God is saying and apply it to the issues of Africa and the world.
GWC is strong on Systematic Theology. We seek “the mind of Christ” and that requires both a biblical structuring of our thinking and that we seek the answers to all of life’s questions from the Word of God.
GWC believes in expository preaching. We put a lot of emphasis on training ourselves to be effective communicators of the Word and its truths.
GWC believes in mission. Part of our study program has to do with understanding the world we live in so we can address it better. History, Comparative Religions, Philosophy, Cultural Studies – these are important to producing Christians who can engage with their contemporaries.
GWC seeks to unite academic learning with practical ministry. All our students are engaged in ministry in churches and Christian agencies while they are at the college.