AIU’s Strategy for Enhanced Impact

Africa International University (AIU) is strategically positioned to respond to this critical need. Over the last forty-one years, AIU (earlier on as NEGST) has produced hundreds of graduates from all over Africa and the rest of the world. AIU’s alumni membership boasts of leading figures in local churches/ denominations, local and international missions’ agencies, leading universities, theological education, business and entrepreneurship, politics, and governance, etc. From them continue to come stories of significant impact in the church and the wider society.

However, these numbers remain insignificant in view of the current local and global need. To meet the current needs, AIU needs to scale up its impact by training more and training them better. This means increasing its reach while retaining the commitment to excellence that is part of the AIU heritage.

For this to happen, AIU seeks to:

Train More Pastors:

There is need for more workers for the local church and mission agencies in Africa. AIU seeks to double its regular student population in the next five years. It also intends to provide retooling and certification to 40,000 pastors annually in the next five years. This need is more than urgent. African governments are closing or threatening to close churches under untrained pastors, and the youthful congregants are quickly seeking other alternatives where their need and search for authentic faith can be met. In this regard, AIU has received invitation by the Evangelical Fellowship of Rwanda to train over 5000 pastors towards a bachelor’s degree in theology.

Train More Theologians:

Over the years, NEGST at AIU has carved a niche for itself as a premier evangelical school of theology in Africa. To meet the current needs of the church globally, AIU is committed to retaining her leadership in theological education by enhancing its reach and quality. AIU seeks to train and graduate over 50 PhDs annually in different fields of theology, who would then be useful in meeting the huge training needs for the church in Africa and globally.

Train More Market-Place Leaders:

Since it expanded its scope from only theological education to offering Christ-centred education in other disciplines, AIU has produced many graduates with the knowledge, skills, and open doors to serve Christ in various sectors. The current trends and realities in world missions indicate that a growing proportion of missionaries go forth as professionals in other areas, using their careers to unlock doors and support their missional engagement. This means that training the African missions force require training in other disciplines as well, in addition to theology. This informs AIU’s strategy to grow its number of non-theology programs and students. AIU’s next frontier will be the launching of schools of law and health sciences.

Invest in Research and Scholarship:

Theological scholarship is an intensely contested space, from where global Christianity is shaped. From collaborative projects like the Africa Study Bible and Africa Bible Commentary, to individual publications, AIU has been at the cutting edge of theological scholarship in Africa. At the present time, this engagement needs scaling.

Strengthen Integration of Faith and Learning:

AIU has been known not just for academic excellence, but also for holistic formation through integration of faith into the curriculum, as well as through a robust community life. As the number of students grows and online learning becomes the preferred mode for most students, AIU is committed to ensuring that holistic formation remains an integral part of its education. This calls for enough lecturers to retain a personal touch with students, investing in faculty development, refining the virtual platforms, and also having space within the campus to accommodate more students continually and for periodic residencies.

HOW WE SCALE

Train More. Train Better. Reach Further.

Train More Pastors

Double enrolment in 5 years. Certify 40,000 pastors annually and train 5,000+ Rwandan pastors toward a BTh with Rwanda’s Evangelical Fellowship.

Train More Theologians

Maintain AIU’s leadership in theology by expanding reach and quality, training 50+ PhDs annually to meet the church’s global needs.

Train More Market-Place Leaders

To meet rising demand for marketplace ministry, AIU will expand non-theology programs, including new Schools of Law and Health Sciences.

Invest in Research and Scholarship

Expand African theological scholarship through research, publications, and collaborations that address African realities and shape the next generation of Church leaders locally and globally.

Strengthen Integration of Faith and Learning

Embed faith in learning while expanding faculty, mentorship, online platforms, and campus space for holistic student formation.