The ECWA Theological Seminary, Jos, (usually called JETS) is wholly owned and operated by the Evangelical Church Winning All. In the early 1970s the need arose in ECWA to start a theological institution with the distinctive purpose of meeting the contextual needs of both the church and contemporary African society. While discussing the theological education needs of ECWA, it was realized that one seminary could not meet ECWA’s future leadership training needs.
A Curriculum Consultation Committee was formed comprising ECWA educators, church leaders and Professor G.O.M. Tasie, the former Dean of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Jos. It met on a number of occasions at ECWA Headquarters between 1979 and 1980 with the aim to provide guidelines towards the setting up of a distinctive theological seminary and curriculum.
JETS’ philosophy of theological education and curriculum attracted the first principal of the Seminary, Professor H. W. Norton, the former Dean of Wheaton College Graduate School. He headed the new Seminary from 1980 to 1983.
The early programmes of JETS (Pastoral, Education and Communication) were developed based upon research undertaken in early 1980 to determine the basic areas of need in the church and society. Three basic areas of needs were identified:
- the need to train competent pastors for the church;
- the need to train Christian educators for teaching ministries in public and church institutions; and
- the need to train Christian communicators and workers for society.
In the early 1990s, following extensive curriculum development efforts, the Post-Graduate Diploma in Theology (PGDT), and Evangelism and Missions programmes were started to open doors for many who do not have theological background but wanted to explore theological education. The additions helped greatly to address the need of evangelizing unreached peoples in West Africa and it replaced the Communication programme. Over the years more programmes have been introduced: The Youth Ministry, which is at the undergraduate level. At the graduate level, M. A. Biblical Studies (OT/NT), M. A. Missions and Intercultural Studies, M. A. Theological Studies, M. A. Biblical Counseling and Psychology, M. A. Leadership and Administration, M. A. Pastoral Studies, and MDiv. At The postgraduate level, ThM was introduced and later the Ph.D and D.Min.
The JETS Women’s Institute that was introduced in 1982 serves the purpose of training students’ wives in literacy, Bible knowledge, basic counseling and hygiene skills as well as home management. Many women have passed through the institute and are now complementing the ministries of their husbands.
From the late 1990s into the early 2000s, JETS saw the need to open up Extension Centers in Bauchi, Jos, Kaduna, Suleja, Zaria and Mangu. Presently, however, only Kaduna and Abuja Centers are in operation. In 2014, JETS started the ECWA College of Education, Jos (ECoEJ).
Despite the continuous economic depression in Nigeria, infrastructural development has slowly but steadily progressed at JETS. The school, which started with one office block that served multipurpose functions, can now boast of a magnificent library building, sufficiently furnished classrooms, staff and student accommodation buildings, centralized water distribution system, uninterrupted solar power supply, campus-wide internet connectivity, and notable ongoing projects for a conducive learning environment.
JETS is strategically positioned for “visibility” in both sacred and social interactions and at both local and global settings. First, JETS trains ECWA pastors for the ECWA churches in many parts of the world- Nigeria, Kenya, United Kingdom and USA. Second, JETS regularly train scores of pastors from other church denomination- Cameroon Baptist, Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN), and few Anglican Dioceses in Nigeria. Third, International Students that do residency programmes in JETS come from Liberia, Cameroon, Chad, Ghana, and Kenya. Furthermore, since 2011 JETS has been partnering with the English and Portuguese Speaking Africa (EPSA) arm of International Fellowship of Evangelical Christians (IFES) to train staffers from Ghana, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, South Sudan, Liberia, eSwantini, Botswana, Kenya, Angola, Gambia, Senegal, and Sudan.