P r a g u e – That’s not what the students of the International Baptist Theological Seminary (IBTS) had expected: The 24 students from 13 European countries, Israel and the USA had their diplomas handed over by David Coffey (Didcot), President of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA). Five students received a Master of Theology degree, 12 graduated with a Certificate in Applied Theology, and seven more were accepted into the next stage of their Masters programme. In his sermon, Coffey, the retiring General-Secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, underscored the significance of mission. He encouraged the graduates to apply their knowledge in building the kingdom of God.

Those present at the festivities included the British ambassador Linda Duffield, Ekaterina Barancheva, Third Secretary in the Russian embassy, as well as Tony Peck (Prague), General-Secretary of the European Baptist Federation (EBF). IBTS-Rector Keith Jones (Prague) thanked Coffey for participating in the graduation and presented him with two books published by IBTS: "Theological Education as Mission" and "Mission in the Former Soviet Union".