A total of 26 students and 20 mentors from all over the country, and the world, attended the first session of the Ethnic Immigrant Institute of Theology (EIIT) held Aug. 23-25 on the campus of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. The EIIT students were introduced to the program and its first course, “Lutheran Theology and Practice I,” taught by Dr. Charles P. Arand, professor of systematic theology.

While on campus, both students and mentors engaged in orientation sessions to Web-based learning and educational technology such as audio-conferencing, e-mail and accessing the Concordia Seminary Web site (www.csl.edu). Also, mentors took part in training sessions to acquaint them with the support role they will offer to the students.

EIIT is a collaborative effort between Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS) Board for Mission Services, the students and the mentors, as well as members of the ethnic communities being served and the students’ LCMS districts. It is a specialized program leading to ordination for men engaged in pastoral missionary contexts in ethnic immigrant and urban cultures. Students are preferably first-generation immigrants leading immigrant-based churches. The program consists of distance education, contextual mentoring and regular on-campus (Seminary) modules.

For more information about EIIT, contact Rev. Yohannes Mengsteab, director of the Ethnic Immigrant Institute of Theology, at (800) 433-3954, ext. 1336, or yohannes.mengsteab@lcms.org.