First Teaching Church Cohort Graduates with MA Degree
On June 22, a graduation ceremony was held at Willingdon Church in Burnaby, B.C. for MB Seminary’s 2025 graduating class. This was the first cohort of students to complete their entire graduate degree through our Teaching Church partnership with Willingdon Church. Six students earned their Master of Arts in Transformational Leadership:
Roman Bondartchouk
Ruben Heyn
Ernie Kashima
Daeyoung Lee
Blair Staples
Sudianto Wijaya

In addition, seven graduate students were recognized for completing their Ministry Foundations Certificate, which is comprised of 12-credits and also satisfies the requirements of the MA degree.
A Teaching Church is a partnership between MB Seminary and the local church. This collaboration provides leaders, students, and other learners with seminary-quality education and training that is contextualized to a specific congregation. Learners can enrol as academic students to earn undergraduate credits, graduate certificates, or even a master’s degree right in their home church! Alternatively, learners can choose instead to participate in the teaching portion of the course for their own personal interest, helping them to serve God and their church more effectively.