Simon Cox Blog: Preparing the Next Generation of Christian Humanitarian & Disaster Leaders

Wednesday 29 August 2018

Preparing the Next Generation of Christian Humanitarian & Disaster Leaders

Wheaton College’s Humanitarian Disaster Institute welcomes first M.A. students to campus.

Almost a year ago, we announced the launch of our new M.A. in Humanitarian & Disaster Leadershipat Wheaton College Graduate School, and this month we were able to welcome our first cohort of students on campus.

The goal of this program is “to prepare the next generation of humanitarian and disaster professionals to lead with faith and humility, utilize evidence-based practice, and serve the most vulnerable and the Church globally.”

This program, which is part of the newly launched School of Mission, Ministry, and Leadership, comes from the Humanitarian Disaster Institute (HDI), the first faith-based academic disaster research center in the country. HDI’s mission is to help the church prepare and care for a disaster-filled world.

We could not be more excited about the 18 students who make up this first-ever cohort. They bring with them a wealth of experiences, backgrounds, passions, and dreams, and it's incredible to see just how clearly God has directed each of their paths to bring them to this program.

We look forward to sharing their stories over the coming weeks and months, and to seeing how they are shaped as they prepare to go out and serve the church and the vulnerable around the world.

“I am so impressed by the quality of this group of students,” said Kent Annan, who as Director of Humanitarian & Disaster Leadership provides leadership for the M.A. program. “From the moment they arrived on campus, it was clear that they not only are passionate about loving and serving the vulnerable, but are intellectually curious about understanding the complexity of how to do this well.”

HDI Founder and Executive Director Dr. Jamie Aten added,