Baptist Theological Academy
Budapest, Hungary
Dr. Daniel Sanchez, Dr. David Mahfouz, Dr. Harry Lewis, Peter Vavrosky, Dr. Richard Blake, Dr. Akos Bukovsky, Dr. Mészáros Kálmán (rector), Peter Balla (finance)
In 2018, the GTI (GLD) team received a request from BTA: “We wish to enter into the Cooperative Agreement with Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.”
Response: The GTI/GLD partnership is based upon a five-year planning model. This reflects a year-1 “planning and budgeting” period, and a four-year execution time frame (essentially a four-year cohort or program cycle). This five-year time frame is built upon the execution of a strategic planning effort and the production of a five-year plan on the part of the seminary partner. At this time, we no longer are entering into a signed agreement but will agree to a partnership based on “cooperation.” (Brent Ray note September 2018).
During the Pandemic, the partnership was put on hold and then the relationship renewed in 2021. Dr. Harry Lewis, Dr. David Mahfouz, and Dr. Daniel Sanchez have served as visiting professors (The Gospel of John; Baptist Distinctives; Missions). Dr. Richard Blake of Xtend Ministries (SWBTS alumni) has taught preaching classes. Dr. Malcom Yarnell participated in a conference which focused on the Anabaptist heritage of the Carpathian Valley.
History
“In the spirit of the Baptist Creed, the 115-year-old Baptist Theological Academy educates Christian professionals who are ready to adapt their personal lives to the guidance of their Lord Jesus Christ, who is called to service. With those who do not have such a calling, but are strained by its absence, our aim is not only to make them acquainted with the fundamental truths of the Christian faith and the nature of its cultivation, but also to be ready to represent them authentically in all spheres of public life.”
BTA was established in 1908 and is an accredited institution.
Cooperative Agreement
See the info above.
Library
KOHA and a Writing Lab have been implemented at BTA. The Library has 25 thousand books. An EBSCO link has been provided for this campus.
Technology-implemented
Moodle Server for online content (classes) management
Big Blue Button for video conference, recording, and playback (live feed or recorded classes, conferences, etc.)
Koha Library Server (permitting online access to a vast digital library of resources)
MySQL Server (which system manages all of the database needs of the school)
Translation Project
The Baptist Distinctives authored by William Pinson have been translated into Hungarian and a book will be published in 2024.
Consoritium
Preliminary meetings were held in March of 2024 to discuss the consortium. A follow up meeting will take place in 2024 to finalize the first meeting. Dr. Billie Hanks has provided Discipleship materials to this school and will host a meeting at Doxology of this group for the formation of the Consoritum at Doxology. TBD (February 2024).
There were discussions of launching a masters degree program in English. SWBTS can possibly help with this venture
Scaffold/Stairstep for future professors
There are three potential PhD students who have been in preliminary meetings with SWBTS. Wilkinson, Williams, Mahfouz, Sanchez, and the registrars office participated in the discussion.