About Us

General Information

Caribbean School of Theology (CST) is a mobile modular seminary, which offers advanced studies for Christian leaders, pastors, missionaries and those involved in teaching and administrating training programs. A board of directors, representing the participating Caribbean countries and an administrative committee, governs CST, which is guided by its constitution and curriculum.

CST is unique in that it brings together a pool of experienced ministers–students creating a dynamic and practical learning environment. Faculty travels to different geographic regions in the Caribbean offering a complete academic year of biblical and theological studies in a modular format. Students follow a program of studies, which includes attending on-site modules. A student may commence his or her work with CST in any one of the modules and continue until completing the program.

Students demonstrating a desire to serve their church and community are encouraged to apply. Courses provided will enhance the continued educational goals of national church leaders and Bible school teachers.

The national church hosts each regional module and seeks to provide students with food and lodging at a minimal cost. Local churches promote modules and assist with expenses.

CST maintains its office in Springfield, Missouri, USA. Official student records are maintained and correspondence is directed from the CST office.

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Our Mission

We are dedicated to the fulfillment of 2 Timothy 2:2 ESV

“…and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”

The Caribbean School of Theology of the Assemblies of God operates in the Caribbean region in cooperation with the Assemblies of God World Missions (AGWM), U.S.A.

The Specific Objectives of CST are:

To provide pastors, evangelist, missionaries, teachers, national church executives, and other leaders with further training beyond the Bible school level close to where they live and work.

To give specialized training to those with administrative responsibilities and for those involved in Christian education both in the local church an in the Bible school.

To offer ministers advanced studies through modules that require only one to three weeks of absence from their responsibilities per module, followed by immediate application in her or his place of ministry.

To provide Christ-centered curricula that recognizes the Bible as the inerrant and authoritative rule of faith and conduct and which are designed to enrich the life and ministry of the student.

To encourage a spiritual environment in which the student will have opportunity to develop the entire being as a person of God.

To increase appreciation for a biblical sense of values and to give precedence to the importance of worshiping God in spirit and in truth.

To enable the student, through evangelistic emphasis, to cultivate a Christ-like spirit of concern for those who do not know Christ, and a spirit of commitment to exert every effort and use every means to bring the lost to Christ.

Doctrinal Statement

Statement of Fundamental Truths is the official delineation of the Assemblies of God’s 16 doctrines. These truths are non-negotiable beliefs that all Assemblies of God churches adhere to.

READ THE STATEMENT

Our History

The Caribbean School of Theology (CST) is an outgrowth of its predecessor, the Advanced Ministerial Training Institute (AMTI), which was organized in the early 1970s for the English speaking Caribbean under the Latin American Board of Directors now called the Latin American Advanced School of Theology (LAAST). The formation of the school occurred in direct response to the felt need expressed by national church leaders in the Caribbean. Graduates of the national Bible schools moved into positions of leadership of young churches and growing national church organizations. Their request to the Assemblies of God World Missions (AGWM), then known as the Division of Foreign Missions (DFM), for help to better equip themselves for the work of the ministry precipitated the development of CST.

The August 2–6, 1982, plenary session of LAAST ratified the decision for AMTI to function under its own Board of Directors in the Caribbean. Language and cultural differences were among the reasons noted.

Milton Kersten served as President from 1985–1994. Lewis McCown served as Academic Dean from 1987–1994, and Ronald Hittenberger served as Academic Dean from 1994–2008. Lewis McCown served as the CST President from 1994–2009. In October 2008, David Swafford became the Academic Dean of the BA program and in July 2009, Dr. Mike Peterson assumed the position as president. The Latin America Caribbean Regional Director, David Ellis, serves as chairman of the Board. Each participating country has a CST Board member: the National Representative.

CST continues its development in a partnership of Caribbean national churches and AGWM. Its modules are now a regular part of participating national church calendars. An educational agreement between CST and Global University (GU), USA was negotiated in 1993, which gives students the opportunity to earn an accredited MA degree. The formation of a consortium of Caribbean Bible schools with CST is in place to implement that option.