In January 2002, a missionary team in Uganda had the vision to open a Christian university. Ten years later, the missionary team realized its dream as LivingStone International University opened its doors in Mbale, Uganda.
Meeting temporarily at the Messiah Theological Institute in town, the school enrolled 32 students as its first class in January of this year. The university offers degree programs in communications and media technology, information technology, business administration and Christian ministry to fulfill its stated mission of “saturating every sector of African society with ethical, empowered, employable Christians.”
The school admitted its second class of students this month.
According to Interim Vice Chancellor Phillip Shero, a Harding alumnus, the Churches of Christ have focused their missionary involvement in Uganda in rural areas, and their ministry encompasses nearly 500 churches and more than 20,000 believers. Shero said his mission team wanted to reach those in rural areas and to equip those who will be able to “affect the trajectory of the culture or the society” to be leaders.
“It’s kind of like the difference between Peter and Paul,” Shero said. “Peter was a fisherman and he was filled with the Spirit and very effective, but it was Paul who could… go before leaders and talk to philosophers on Mars Hill. We need educated people as well as the grassroots people. We see the university as providing leverage for Christians to get into positions of influence in education, in health care, in business, in government, in law, and be able to be salt and light, to be leaven that changes the course of the whole society.”
Uganda has the world’s youngest population, but there are not enough universities to accommodate all of the students, so LIU is helping to fill this need, Executive Director Craig Smith said.
Already recognized as a leader in technology by the government and local newspapers, the school provides each student with a Kindle Touch and has a 1 to 1 computer-to-student ratio. LivingStone International has already achieved academic accreditation in East Africa and is working toward U.S. accreditation.
The students have devotionals, daily chapel and Bible classes. Shero said the students have taken on leadership roles in these areas almost since the school’s beginning.
Smith, who works at LivingStone University Partners, the U.S. administrative arm of LIU based in Fort Worth, Texas, visited the school in June. He said the students are doing very well there.
“It was really an inspiration to me to see what God is doing in their lives,” Smith said. “The chapel service was vibrant, full of energy. The students were talking about how much they had learned academically. I talked to the professors about how much progress they had made in one semester … the progress in their writing, their critical thinking.”
According to Smith and Shero, the administration of LivingStone International is trying to anticipate which fields of study will be most needful in Uganda so that it can expand its degree offerings. Some of the fields under consideration are education, health care and agriculture.
Smith said it is uncertain when the permanent location for LivingStone International will be constructed and that it will depend on the school’s growth and its ability to be self-sustaining.
For more information visit livingstoneuniversity.org.
