Not at Our Doorstep, but in Our Homes: The World Is Here at Calvin Seminary

Have you heard the phrase “The world is at our doorstep!”?

In just a few words, it conveys an increasingly familiar phenomenon – the globalization of our world. (Cue the Disney song, “It’s a small world after all!”)

The phrase may be helpful, but I’d like to adjust it a bit to better reflect reality. The world is not outside our door – it is in the very house and home that God is building for us.

I am writing this blog from Korea and I will travel next to Indonesia. At both Baekseok University and Seminary as well as Sekolah Tinggi Teologi Reformed Indonesia (STTRI) I am welcomed by alumni of Calvin Theological Seminary. I am privileged to witness up close and first hand how God has used Calvin Seminary as a learning community that impacts the world.

I am normally not one to present lists, but I believe there is a deepening of appreciation and understanding by reading the lists below. I can tell you that the class of students who started at the Seminary this fall represent 34 countries of origin and 22 countries of citizenship, but there is a texture and context gained when you read through the countries that make up the backgrounds of our students.

As you read through these lists, I also invite you to make this part of your global heart and prayer life.

Would you join us in prayer for Ethiopia that is undergoing civil unrest and is under martial law?

Would you join us in prayer for Brazil that had the eyes of the world upon it for the Olympics, but continues to deal with political and economic struggles after the Olympics?

Would you join us in prayer for Indonesia where Christianity is the faith of the minority in the Muslim majority country?

And the list (and our prayers) can go on. Thank you for your prayers for our students and for the world that God so loves!

Fall 2016 Students – Calvin Theological Seminary

By Birth Country (34): Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Guatemala, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Myanmar/Burma, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States

By Citizenship (22): Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ethiopia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Myanmar/Burma, Nepal, Nigeria, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Thailand, United States