The
International Graduate School of
Leadership was built on the vision
of its founding organization, Campus
Crusade for Christ, to help train,
develop, and mobilize Christian leaders
around the world to fulfill the Great
Commission of Christ. This commitment
to develop men and women as effective
leaders led Campus Crusade to establish
the Institute of Biblical Studies
(IBS), a short-term, graduate level
training for deepening participants’ knowledge
and application of the Word of God.
In
1973 IBS was allowed by the State
of California to grant certificates.
In 1978 it expanded to become the
International School of Theology.
At the same time, efforts began to
establish similar schools in Africa
and Asia. The Campus Crusade leadership
in Asia started assembling faculty
and administration for the establishment
of a school in Baguio City, Philippines.
In 1980 Dr. Somdee Poosawtsee of
Thailand was chosen as Director of
ISOT-Asia and Dr. Ananda Perera of
Sri Lanka was selected as Dean. Under
their leadership the school officially
opened on October 5, 1981
To
have greater impact in a more strategic
location, ISOT-Asia moved to Manila
in 1990. In 2006, to emphasize its
thrust toward the development of
leaders for the Asian church, ISOT-Asia
changed its name to International
Graduate School of Leadership. IGSL's
campus now has over 10,000 sq. m.
of dorms, offices, library, and classrooms
on a one-hectare property in Manila,
Philippines.
The
school has grown significantly. The
resident school population now includes
about 200 students from 20countries.
One-half of the degree students come
from outside the Philippines, many
from countries most in need of hearing
the gospel of Christ. Others prepare
themselves as missionaries to Asia
through the Master of Divinity Intercultural
Studies major, Master of Transformational
Leadership, and Teaching English as a
Second Language (TESL) program.
Over
its 25-year history, the variety
and scope of its programs, the number
of faculty, and the corresponding
impact of the school have all greatly
increased. Extension programs now
reach almost 2,000 people each year
through short-term training programs
for rural pastors, seminars for Christian
leaders in various Asian countries,
and evening classes in Metro Manila.
IGSL’s
graduates serve in significant ministries
around Asia. They participate in
urban church planting, tribal outreach,
ground-breaking gospel teaching among
unreached peoples, rural pastors
training, missionary training and
mobilization, and Bible school leadership.
Ninety-seven percent (97%) of IGSL’s
graduates continue in full-time ministry.
By God’s grace, IGSL continues
to fulfill a strategic role in equipping
Asian Christian leaders to help fulfill
the Great Commission in our generation.
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