The Alex Steddom International Student Fund was originally conceived to support the financial needs of as many as four seminarians annually from theologically famished regions of the world at our Minneapolis campus.

We have entered a new phase of this endeavor. A sufficient number of prior years’ grantees have now returned or plan to return to their home countries soon such that the fund’s future use will focus more intently on advancing education in-country.

A larger portion of generous gifts will now go directly to the instruction of more students, on the ground, where they live, activating immediate gospel ministry where it’s needed, without gifts being diluted by the substantial expenses of international travel and U.S. costs-of-living.

REV. DR. DIEUDONNÉ TAMFU
Executive Director, Cameroon Location
Pastor, Eglise Baptiste Bethléem

God has been extremely kind to us, growing his church, Eglise Baptiste Bethléem, and the students of Bethlehem College and Seminary Extension Site. The Steddom scholarship has freed our students to focus on their rigorous studies while engaging in ministry that most directly prepares them to serve Christ and advance his cause in the long term. Their service at the school and church has freed me to focus on preaching and teaching as they take on other ministry responsibilities. I cannot thank God enough for your generosity. Your love has refreshed my heart and the hearts of many. May God richly bless you.

MBEMNGONG RICHARD NGEBI
M.Div. ‘24, Graduate Assistant

The work-study program came as a welcome relief for me. With this scholarship, I was able to have a regular monthly stipend which permitted me to study and still take care of my family while studying. Besides, this work-study has enabled me to invest more time in teaching students at Bethlehem College and Seminary while at the same time assisting in grading assignments for the professors who are not on ground here in Cameroon. I am very grateful to God for the contributors of these funds.

SHEY BERTRAND
Fourth-Year Seminarian

Close family and friends told me it would be the most unwise thing for me to do, quitting my job in a country where jobs are scarce, to become a seminarian. I would no longer be able to support my widowed mother and would instead depend on her for my upkeep.

Hebrews 5:4, which says, “And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was,” meant a lot to me, and I reflected on it frequently. If He was calling me, He would provide for me.

After arriving at school, I was informed about the Alex Steddom work-study scholarship and encouraged to apply. When I was chosen as one of the recipients, I was filled with gratitude because I experienced God’s loving kindness towards me, proving the authenticity of Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:31–32.

BRICE KAMENI
Fourth-Year Seminarian

We were called to campus for a foundational course on the theology of worship with Dr. Chuck Steddom, during which we graciously received books donated by the foundation. My first two years of study were very difficult for my family and me because the time devoted to my studies severely limited my ability to provide for our basic needs.

But during the year, I was approached by our dean, who explained that the Alex Steddom Fund was providing me with support for a work-study he considered worthy of a Bethlehem student: the revitalization of a church that had previously been poisoned by legalistic and prosperity-based doctrine. This work, which was compatible with my studies, helped me to put into practice what I was learning in school, to provide for my family’s needs, and buy a few necessary books.

KAYEH KELVIN RENWNI
Fourth-Year Seminarian

Your support of the Alex Steddom Fund has given me dignity, focus, and hope. This has told me that my calling matters to the wider Church, even when my family cannot provide financially. I take seriously the responsibility that comes with this support. I commit to academic integrity, spiritual discipline, and faithful service after graduation. My goal is to plant a gospel, Christ-centered church that will seek to spread the supremacy of Christ in the city of Buea in Cameroon.

EDISON DSOUZA
Pastor, Cross Cultured Church

I have now returned to Mysore and resumed the preaching ministry at Cross Cultured Church. By God’s grace, the years of study and formation have deepened my commitment to faithfully expounding Scripture, discipling believers, and the long-term work of strengthening Christ’s church in this region. Returning home has allowed me not only to re-enter pastoral ministry among my own people but also to engage in broader efforts in theological education among them and to found a classical Christian school in Mysore.

The provision of the Alex Steddom International Student Fund continues to be a cause for gratitude to God. Through the generosity of donors who supported this scholarship, I was able to complete my seminary education and immediately return to ministry without the burden of educational debt.

BOAZ PRINCE
M.Div. ‘26, Th.M. Student

I plan to continue my studies in the Th.M. program at Bethlehem Theological Seminary, going deeper into the word so that I can serve with greater precision and faithfulness. Alongside that, I plan to pursue a pastoral residency at Christ the King Church in Stillwater, MN—a season I expect to be deeply formative.

After this period of study and formation, my wife and I plan to return to India to serve the church there. The Alex Steddom International Student Fund made it possible for me to be here, to be trained, and to be sent. I am deeply grateful—not just for the financial gift, but for the confidence your generosity expressed that this kind of in-person training and formation matters.

AKINS PRIMUS
Second-Year Seminarian

To the generous donors that participate in the Alex Steddom International Student, my wife and I want to say a sincere “thank you” to you all. We look forward to investing this time of preparation and development at Bethlehem Theological Seminary to one day teach the Greek language, in our home country and wherever else in the world the Lord will lead us. For, we intend to spread a buffet of the immeasurable and surpassing worth of His Word, to all the world.

JORGE SALAZAR
M.A. ’25, Incoming Seminarian

I am an international student from Mexico with a burning desire for pastoral ministry. My father, a missionary and pastor in Canada, encouraged me to apply for pastoral positions at his church and other churches in the vicinity where they live—there is an incredible need for trained pastors in secular Canada. Having two degrees from Bethlehem College and Seminary in theology, he feels confident that there would be many churches who would hire me in a heartbeat! Nevertheless, as I told him, my pastors, and mentors, I know myself to still lack the spiritual maturity and depth to begin pastoral ministry. Thus, I applied to Bethlehem Theological Seminary and, by the Lord’s grace, they accepted my application.

After seminary, I hope to become a pastor of a local church for the rest of my life, serving my fellow saints until the Lord calls me home. I do not know whether God will call my family and me back to Mexico, up to Canada, to remain in the US, or send us abroad. Regardless of where he sends us, I desire to pastor a church, remain there, and serve global missions therein.

Our situation is complicated because, according to the legal limit for international students, I am only allowed to work 20 hours per week on campus, and my wife is unable to work at all due to immigration laws. Support from the Alex Steddom International Student Fund will flow to us as the Lord’s provision for our lives in this new stage of our walk with him, as he has always provided.

Bethlehem College and Seminary is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit institution. Contributions are tax-deductible. The Alex Steddom International Student Fund is a temporarily restricted fund that permits Bethlehem College and Seminary to borrow from it for other purposes, if necessary, at a market rate of interest.

Those interested in making larger transformational or legacy gifts of cash or securities may contact: Rick Segal, Vice President of Advancement, Bethlehem College and Seminary, 720 13th Ave. S, Minneapolis, MN 55415, 612.455.3420 ext. 1122, [email protected]. For recurring gifts, you may call 612.455.3420 ext. 1110 or email [email protected] to cancel or change your donation schedule or amount.