The Baptist World Alliance and Baylor University in Waco, Texas, are launching a new academic partnership designed to equip Baptist leaders for global service in a rapidly changing world.
This new BWA Program — announced during the 2025 Baptist World Congress in Brisbane, Australia — “will deepen Baptist identity, strengthen leadership development, advance education and cultivate global collaboration across the worldwide Baptist family,” BWA said in a news release. It is the first BWA Program at any Baptist university or seminary.
The program represents a significant investment in the future of Baptist leadership, BWA noted. While Baptist universities and seminaries have long prepared leaders within national and regional contexts, this new partnership “is uniquely designed to develop educational pathways, foster research and strengthen relationships as a BWA movement across 138 countries and territories,” BWA said.
Beginning Aug. 1, veteran Baptist educator and leader Stephen M. Stookey will serve as the inaugural BWA program director housed at Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary.
Strategic priorities
During its initial years, the program will focus on three strategic priorities:
First, it will “develop non-graduate certificates and micro graduate degrees. As the program grows, master’s and doctoral degrees may be added. Today it is estimated that 90% of pastors worldwide have received little or no formal theological education. This program seeks to address that gap.”
Second, the program “will establish a new BWA Global Baptist Education Network that will aim to connect more than 100 Baptist universities, seminaries and educational institutions worldwide. The network will strengthen relationships, encourage collaboration, promote shared learning and advance Christ-centered leadership development across the global Baptist family.”
Third, the program “will promote research, scholarship, and practical resources that deepen Baptist identity, strengthen historic Baptist convictions, and equip leaders to participate with more impact as they pursue God’s holistic mission around the world.”
Experience
Stookey earned a bachelor of arts in religion from Baylor University and both the master of divinity and doctor of philosophy degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Since 2023, he has served as the director of theological education and institutional engagement at the Baptist General Convention of Texas, which is also a BWA member partner. His previous leadership includes serving as dean of the School of Christian Studies at Wayland University, along with teaching, fellowship and educational consultancy roles in Cuba, Sierra Leone and the United States.
For more than 20 years, Stookey has been active in the BWA after attending the 18th Baptist World Congress in Melbourne, Australia. He has been a member of the BWA Academic and Theological Education Workshop, Commission on Baptist Heritage and Identity, Commission on Healthy Churches, Commission on Religious Freedom, and Commission on Theological Education. He is currently the vice chair of the BWA Resolutions Committee.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written and originally published by Baptist World Alliance.
