In early 2018, a conversation began among the Presidents and Academic Deans of ABTS, Bethlehem Bible College (BethBC), and the Evangelical Theological Seminary of Cairo (ETSC) to explore the possibility of launching a collaborative PhD program in the Middle East. It quickly became clear that the time was right, as there was a growing need for an accessible, contextual, and high-quality doctoral program to serve the Middle Eastern Church. This initiative also holds significant potential to benefit the global Church by focusing on areas of specialization rooted in the region.
Evan Hunter of Scholar Leaders facilitated the initial discussions. We are grateful to Scholar Leaders and the many partners in theological education who have supported and strengthened this initiative. In November 2018, a consultation was held at ABTS, bringing together academic leaders from the three seminaries, along with several invited consultants, to help design the best model for the program.
A key resource in these discussions was the book Challenging Tradition: Innovation in Advanced Theological Education, co-edited by Perry Shaw and Havilah Dharamraj. The book challenges the Western linear-empiricist model of doctoral education. Three of its contributors participated in the consultation: Joanna Feliciano-Soberano, Dean at Asian Theological Seminary in the Philippines, Perry Shaw, then Professor of Education at ABTS, and Evan Hunter, Vice President at ScholarLeaders International.
From 2018 to 2022, the three seminaries worked together to develop the structure and content of the collaborative PhD program. In February 2022, their Presidents and Academic Deans met in Istanbul to review and assess the progress.
Later in 2022, the seminaries began discussions with the Protestant Theological University in Amsterdam (PThU) about potential partnership. These conversations continued in January 2023 during a meeting in Jordan. That same month, faculty from the three seminaries participated in PhD supervision training in Amman, provided by Langham Partnerships and ICETE.
Throughout 2023, the seminaries and PThU worked together to refine various elements of the partnership. During this time, the three seminaries adopted the name Middle East Graduate Theological Consortium.
In January 2024, the presidents of the Consortium signed a memorandum of understanding with PThU as a formal partner in the new collaborative PhD program. This marked a major step toward the full development and future launch of the program.
