Steve and Gayle King understand two critical needs in Africa’s missions frontier: partnerships and training. They learned this when civil unrest and wars forced them out of their original mission field of Liberia. The importance of leadership training and greater nationalization of ministries came sharply into focus. Both measures help nationals be ready to take over ministries when missionaries must suddenly depart.
That’s why Steve and Gayle founded the Baptist Theological Institute (Institut Théologique Baptiste—ITB) in 1999. Choosing the rapidly growing city of San Pedro was strategic. Smaller rural institutes started by past missionaries could train limited people groups well, but ITB’s student body encompasses five to six Ivorian ethnic groups and other nationalities.
The first class of five full-time students graduated in 2005. The Kings’ focus has been on building quality in their student body, above quantity. Particularly with ITB’s senior classes, Steve devotes large blocks of time to finding out where they are in their Christian walk and encouraging them to use biblical truths to work out difficulties. Steve likes this method, patterned after Christ, who knew His students through walking and talking with them in everyday life.
Several students came from the Kings’ first church plant, Grace Baptist Church in San Pedro. Emmanuel Gueu and his wife Eunice were saved through Grace Baptist, and Emmanuel has been a full-time professor at ITB since 2005. Bertin Tougnon was in ITB’s first graduating class, and he and his wife Agnes have become Grace Baptist’s first missionaries. They plan to start a church four hours from San Pedro in the town of Divo.
Steve and Gayle planted Fundamental Baptist Church on the ITB property and organized it in January 2010. Parfait Samati, a 2009 ITB graduate, and his wife Raouline serve there. Steve is discipling Parfait to assume leadership of the church.
In addition to discipleship, Steve and Gayle have put great effort into sustainability for the institute. They developed a Christian bookstore/copy center/cyber café on the property to provide jobs for students and income for ITB. This Business Center has proven to be a strong lighthouse for the lost in their community.
This article was adapted from one that appeared in the summer 2010 issue (“The New Africa Is Coming”) of Baptist Mid-Missions’ Advance magazine.