JSM-Langham Receives the Byang Kato Award

Douglas Carew, John Stott and Chris Wright with the Kato Award

The Byang Kato Award is given during the Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology (NEGST) annual Recognition and Awards Ceremony held in June. It is awarded to an individual and to a group who best champions the vision of the founder of NEGST, Dr. Byang Kato. This year, John Stott and Chris Wright accepted the award for JSM-Langham.

Kato was concerned about the quality of African Christianity at a time when the evangelical churches in Africa saw little or no need to provide training for their pastors beyond the certificate or diploma level. He often spoke of what he saw as a coming crisis of “Christopaganism.” He was convinced of the need for African biblical theologians with advanced training who would provide leadership to combat this trend. It was Kato’s vision that drove the birth of NEGST.

Langham Partnership International (John Stott Ministries in the U.S.) has been a strategic partner and a key supporter of the NEGST mission to promote excellence in African Christianity. Through this long-term support and partnership, including the John Stott Foundation scholarships, many have graduated from NEGST and taken positions of leadership and influence across Africa.

Over the years JSM-Langham (and the Foundation for Advanced Christian Training, or FACT, which merged with JSM) have supported the scholarships of nine faculty members (including Emily Choge who is moving over from Moi and the two current scholars Abiola Mbamalu and Andy Alo) and has provided tremendous support to the library through the programs of Langham Literature, formerly the Evangelical Literature Trust (ELT). JSM has been with them from the beginning; John Stott and other Langham Staff members have made regular visits to NEGST, even before its inception.