Kiwi dream serves Bible college

In 1957, two Mt Albert Baptist teenagers were given a dream while at Easter camp. Garth and Ruth Morgan prepared and trained, and facilitated the development of the income earning and community service departments of Christian Leaders’ Training College of Papua New Guinea (CLTC). They lived in PNG for 18 years and, since 1989, Garth has been the Council Treasurer, returning to PNG 2-3 times a year. Garth and Ruth, now at Tauranga Central Baptist, are still journeying with their God given dream and mentor the 100% nationalised staff in the finance, business, agriculture and service related departments of the College from their Tauranga based office. Garth says, “A God given dream never leaves you where it found you. It inspires you to be the person God purposed you to be.”

Another 180 Kiwis, many of them from Baptist Churches, spent years working to develop CLTC during the decades of the 1960s to 1990s. During 1971, for example, twelve NZ Baptists were living at CLTC.
CLTC is an evangelical, non denominational, tertiary level, Government recognized college. It was established in 1964, on 413 acres, in the Wahgi Valley - 60 km east of Mt. Hagen. Non-residential branches were established in Port Moresby and Lae in the 1980s. Students come from PNG, the Solomon Islands and other South Pacific Island nations, representing thirty different church denominations. The certificate to master’s degree courses include Biblically based programmes in theology, ministries, missions, women’s work, leadership, and rice growing. CLTC requires the whole family to come for its residential programmes and provides educational opportunities from preschool up. It also provides technical and agricultural training for the staff in its cattle and poultry income earning and community service programmes, which provide all the essential services for the 600 plus community. Over three hundred students are currently enrolled on the three campuses. Distance learning has been available in some programmes since 1972, with 1000 students enrolled in 2009.

Graduates of CLTC can be found throughout PNG and the South Pacific as pastors, Bible School teachers, community leaders, Bible translators, youth workers, denominational leaders, PNG parliamentarians and missionaries in Asia. CLTC has been training PNG families for Baptist mission work since 1965 and there has been an unbroken line of leaders and presidents of the Baptist Union in CLTC Council membership since the college was registered as a charitable organisation in 1973.
The College still requires outside financial help to upgrade facilities and develop initiatives. Income earned from its agricultural stewardship subsidises about 70% of the operational costs for the training programmes. The remaining 30% is funded by student fees, donations and student sponsorships.
For more information contact grmorgan@xtra.co.nz. or go to www.cltc.ac.pg