Certificado en Ministerio

by Ángel Gallardo

The Certificado en Ministerio (CEM) is a fully virtual program intended for Spanish-speaking ministers and lay leaders who are interested in obtaining theological education. Most CEM students are currently serving in a church leadership role; a few enroll simply out of a desire to gain a deeper understanding of their faith. The program was originally designed to be the Spanish-language compliment to the English-language CIM program.

Currently, the CEM program has approximately twenty students. Close to 60% of our students live in the U.S.; others reside across Latin America in places such as Cuba, Columbia, Mexico, Guatemala, and Brazil (which, of course, makes scheduling synchronous sessions a breeze!). The CEM is fortunate to count on a diverse faculty—those on the Austin Seminary faculty and adjuncts who live across the country.  During the 2022-23 academic year, CEM students had the opportunity to take classes with Dr. João Chaves (mission and evangelism) and Dr. Gregory Cuéllar (Old Testament). Looking to the future, I hope to include some of the incoming Austin Seminary faculty in the teaching rotation.

In the last year, I have had conversations with representatives from local synods to explore how we might partner to better serve students who are interested in becoming commissioned ruling elders. I am encouraged by the shared commitment to equip the next generation of Spanish-speaking Christian leaders. I suspect that the demand for Spanish and bilingual theological education will increase with time, thus I am grateful to be part of a community that is ready to meet the challenges and promises that lay ahead.