Peacemaking and Non-Formal Training
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” (Matthew 5:9)
Peacebuilding and conflict resolution have always been an integral part of the education students receive at the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary. In 2015, the seminary took peacebuilding beyond the classroom setting through three initiatives carried out by its Institute of Middle East Studies that targeted divided religious communities at different social strata.
In 2020, ABTS adopted a new strategic direction where we developed our understanding of peacebuilding into a culture of peacemaking and worked to place it at the center of our ministry. In the words of Bassem Melki,
In 2020, ABTS adopted a new strategic direction where we developed our understanding of peacebuilding into a culture of peacemaking and worked to place it at the center of our ministry. In the words of Bassem Melki,
“God is a peace-loving God, and a peacemaking God... God’s children ought to have the character of their Father. What He loves, they ought to love... That is why, at ABTS, we want to challenge our students, faculty, staff, leadership, board, and partners, to walk the talk. Every member at ABTS becomes a peacemaker. We need to work on restoring a culture of love, a culture of unity, and a culture of peace. Peace “making” is what the children of God are best at doing or should be doing. Peacemakers change the world, mend relationships, reconcile, destroy enmity and racism, heal wounds, and restore families, communities, and nations.”
Most recently we saw the Lord leading us to focus on developing biblical/contextual theories and workshops that contribute towards equipping the Arab Church to respond to the needs of its community in an effective and impactful manner. These resources are made available as part of our Non-Formal Training program. Currently, workshops are being offered under three categories: Peacemaking, Khebz w Meleh youth peacebuilding initiative, and Non-Formal Theological Training: