Helping the Church in Chad rescue orphans and widows,
train leaders, and share
the Gospel

MISSION: SHALOM EVANGELICAL SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY (ESTES)

40 minutes' drive into the countryside outside the capitol city of N'Djamena, surrounded on all sides by fields of millet, are several loosely scattered bright-painted buildings that make up the campus of ESTES. Beneath a tree strategically positioned in front of the two adjacent lecture hall and administration buildings, are parked a couple dozen bicycles (the primary source of transportation) and a few motorcycles. Peer into the lecture hall and you'll find many of the 41 registered students receiving Bible training from one of the 5 full-time professors at ESTES. Across from the administration building is the newly constructed library building. Next to it is the computer building.. Follow the well traveled foot path that begins behind the library, and you will pass the dormitory on the way to the women's learning center. Approach the newly constructed women's learning center by day and you will likely encounter a dozen or so toddlers sitting on the front steps accompanied by their daytime caregivers playing games and singing songs. Inside the women's center you'll find the 30 wives of the male theology students being taught everything from reading and writing to sewing and basic hygiene, as well as budgeting, accounting and Biblical principles to save and use money. Wives of students are given the opportunity to receive parallel training to assist them in teaming up with their husbands as they prepare for the ministry. 

Students and faculty at ESTES demonstrate their enthusiasm and dedication for teaching and learning the Bible every day. Because basic living resources are scarce, meals are often not available and books and school supplies are few. Teacher's and administrators' salaries are sometimes unpaid for lack of funds. Some teachers and students have to travel great distances to get to and from campus. This is a particular hardship for the vast majority of teachers and students who are married with families.A long-term goal of Mission:Chad is to help build dormitories so students can concentrate on their studies unhindered by some of the harsh realities of life in Chad and provide motorbikes for teachers and administrators.

million Christians, the need for qualified pastors is tremendous. Mission:Chad endeavors to provide the necessary financial resources to ensure the continued and ever growing work of ESTES. Everything from professors' salaries, a visiting Bible professor, computer hardware, a sewing machine and even a motorcycle have already been provided by Mission:Chad donors. We praise God for an irrigation pump provided by our donors which is being used and has already produced the first crop of rice. Six of the students cultivated the rice and cared for it, and produced more than enough food to feed themselves and their families. In the future they hope to have enough excess to sell in the local market to earn money for school fees.

But the needs are great. More motorcycles and laptops are needed. The college needs to expand its programs to include doctorate studies. Scholarships for students are needed, as are additional structures to shelter the children in the women's study program and a central meeting place which could be used as an auditorium.

The only Protestant degree-granting
Bible school and seminary in Chad

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