Dear Friends of EuNC,
Several weeks of 2019 have already gone by. It is almost springtime and the change outside is becoming more and more visible: first blossoms, butterflies, warm sunlight. As EuNC we do not want to change – we want to continue to make change possible. In other words: We want to continue to enable Christlike disciples for ministry. Even though we have to go through several seasons in life we want to invest into many springtime moments in the life of our students and faculty. This In Touch is supposed to give you a glimpse of where this has already happened this year, knowing that “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion” (Philippians 1:6).
Impressions from Faculty Assembly
Photo Credit Faculty Assembly: Hans-Günter Mohn
EuNC Faculty Assembly in the Netherlands
This year’s Faculty Assembly and Board of Trustees meeting of European Nazarene College took place at the Netherland’s Salvation Army retreat centre in Ede, right in the centre of the Netherlands. On Monday, the Board of Trustees met for its annual meeting. Highlights included the newly started Learning Centre in Croatia, the submission of the selfevaluation report to the accrediting agency for approval of the new bachelor’s equivalent programme, a meeting with the leadership of our region, fields, and districts to start the process of developing a new strategic plan for 2020-2030. On Tuesday we could welcome 23 participants from the Netherlands district in the all-day seminar with Dr. Joe Gorman from Northwest Nazarene University on the topic “Reflections on Living a Healthy, Happy, Holy Christian Life“. All participants enjoyed it greatly and found it relevant for their lives and ministry. Wednesday afternoon was spent in the city of Amsterdam. Some of the participants visited the Rijksmuseum and others were part of a boat tour on the canals. A great time of fellowship and discovery! As participants departed on Thursday, the delegates from the CIS Learning Centres stayed another day to meet for discussion and planning in their five Learning Centres. All in all it was a wonderful and blessed time – important for EuNC to fulfil its mission of enabling Christlike disciples for ministry.
Graduation in the Netherlands
One of the highlights at Faculty Assembly was the graduation of Peter Wilson with the Diploma in Christian Ministry. After years of studies, Peter finished well – and we could celebrate this moment with repre-sentatives from the Netherlands district and faculty from all over Europe. Moments like these remind us what EuNC is all about: helping our students fulfil their call by God and therefore enabling Christlike disciples for ministry!
God Still Calls – Book Review
European Nazarene College grieves the death of Mrs. Alice E. Johnson (1923-2019). Alice was the wife of Dr. Jerald D. Johnson for over 70 years. The Johnsons were instrumental in opening the work of the Church of the Nazarene in northern Europe (Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark) and the founding of European Nazarene College. Alice was one of the teachers of the “Bibelschule” in Frankfurt, one of the two roots (together with the school in Italy) of what would later become European Nazarene Bible College. At these beginning times of theological education she was a great mentor to students and their spouses and had a great influence on many lives.
One such influence happened through her daughter, Dr. Carla (Johnson) Sunberg, who together with her husband Chuck opened the work in the CIS and started theological education, out of which developed the present EuNC learning centres in Russia, Ukraine, Armenia and Central Asia.
As one of the pioneers of the work of the Church of the Nazarene in Europe, Alice is remembered by many as an incredible woman of God who used all of her talents to bless and minister to others. We are thankful for her live and ministry – and pray for Dr. Johnson and the extended Johnson family.
A Word from the Rector
As you can see in this first newsletter of the year: Faculty Assembly and the Board of Trustees meeting are the highlight as EuNC begins the new year. I feel that this is appropriate because we are reminded what EuNC is all about: fulfilling the mission of enabling Christlike disciples for ministry. For this we need to train our faculty, be accountable to what has happened in the past year, discuss what needs to be done in the future, pray for wisdom and God’s guidance and last but not least worship together Jesus Christ, the “author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). Thank you for joining us in this endeavour and for all your support!
Let us keep in touch!
Klaus and Martina Arnold