‘Remain Resilient’

Former Vice President Joseph Nyumah Boakai has reminded graduates of the  Liberia Baptist Theological Seminary to remain resilient in their educational sojourn amid hardship.

Of the 41, thirty-three (32) candidates got admitted into the Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree program in Theological Education, while nine (9) enrolled into a BA degree program in Religious Education with an emphasis in Elementary Education, Early Childhood Education and Secondary Education, respectively. 

Boakai, himself a staunch Baptist, delivered the keynote address at the opening of the convocation and third matriculation ceremony of the LBTS, noted that to study the Bible is to be influenced and empowered by the Words of God, the Almighty.   

“I urge you to still remain resilient – continue to take risks, fear no failure, and reinforce your ability to overcome adversity. As a Baptist deacon myself, I further call on you, in these troubling times, to rededicate yourselves to the Lord Almighty, for He is in control,” he said.

Mr. Boakai, who is also the standard-bearer of the Unity Party and executive member of the Collaborating Political Parties, reminded students that the country needs good leaders, especially Christian leaders, in this world now more than ever before because many things in life have gotten complicated. 

“So, fellow students, as you enter your respective programs to earn bachelor’s degrees either in theology, in religious education, or in divinity, I want to assure you that you have not made a mistake in matriculating at the LBTS – it is the Baptists’ Pride. You have made the right choice. The mission of LBTS as an institution of higher learning is comparable to any other such institution in the world,” he said.  

According to him, Liberia needs good leaders, especially Christian leaders, in this world now more than ever before because many things in life have gotten complicated. Performing the matriculation ceremony in the presence of Dr. Samuel B. Reeves, President of the Liberia Baptist Missionary and Education Convention (LBMEC), Dr. Momolu A. Massaquoi, President of the LBTS, told the audience that his dream for the institution is to take it beyond Monrovia.

He said LBTS now has plans for a mobile training center to provide training for those in other parts of the country who are not able to relocate to Monrovia for the full training. “We want to make it one of the best in West Africa,” he said. 

Dr. Massaquoi said the basic purpose of the LBTS is to provide theological education and professional training for Christian ministries in and out of the church of Liberia after God and the rest of the world.

He concluded by saying, “I Dr. Momolu Armstrong Massaquoi, President of the Liberia Baptist Theological Seminary, acting under the authority invested in me by the Board of Trustees, do hereby promise that I will faithfully execute the duty invested to me in conducting the affairs of the LBTS in accordance with the chapter, constitution and the By-Laws of the great institution.”
Meanwhile, the event was attended by LBTS faculty, Mrs. Kartumu Boakai, Baptist prelates, families, relatives, and well-wishers, among others.