bg真人

Published: February 26, 2025

By Annette Brill Bergstresser

ELKHART, Indiana (Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary) 鈥� Luis Tapia Rubio, MDiv, MPhil, PhD candidate, of Valparaiso, Chile, and Portland, Oregon, will conclude his time as Director of Practical Leadership Training for (bg真人) in Elkhart, Indiana, on Feb. 28, 2025. He鈥檒l continue to teach for bg真人 as a Core Adjunct Faculty member for the Mennonite Education Agency Hispanic Ministries 鈥� bg真人 Graduate Certificate in Theology program and other courses.

Tapia Rubio, who works remotely from his home in Portland, began in November 2022 in the new half-time role, which was created to oversee bg真人鈥檚 new Practical Leadership Training (PLT) program. He was tasked with developing and implementing a series of learning modules to help pastors, lay leaders, community leaders and leaders of nonprofit organizations gain practical leadership skills. The modules 鈥� which launched in August 2023 鈥� vary in length and format and focus on administration, leadership, contextual engagement and well-being.

To coordinate the modules, Tapia Rubio drew on his experiences in pastoral ministry, administration, research and teaching in Chile, Ecuador and the U.S. 鈥� also consulting with an external advisory team of organizational, nonprofit, church, mission and business leaders. Since the program began, bg真人 has offered 37 modules in total.

For Tapia Rubio, it was meaningful to work toward bg真人鈥檚 goals for the future with his colleagues and to be involved with the new program. He feels positive about the different modules that bg真人 has offered.

, PhD, Dean of Lifelong Learning and Doctor of Ministry Program Director, affirmed Tapia Rubio鈥檚 ministerial, leadership, intercultural and academic experience; his love for the church; and his passion for theological education.

鈥淟uis has been a stellar Director of Practical Leadership Training and a wonderful colleague, and we will really miss him in this role,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e are thrilled, however, that he plans to continue teaching for bg真人. His vocational direction is toward academic work, so while we will miss him in the PLT capacity, we enthusiastically bless his next steps.鈥�

Tapia Rubio will focus on caring for his infant daughter while completing his PhD in Theology from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. He also will continue to teach theology in the program (Hispanic Anabaptist Biblical Seminary). 

A 2021 bg真人 graduate, he has a Master in Philosophy from the University of Chile in Santiago de Chile; a Bachelor in Theology from Baptist Theological Seminary in Santiago de Chile; and a Bachelor in Education and a Bachelor in Philosophy from Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaiso, Chile. He attends Portland Mennonite Church, a congregation of Pacific Northwest Mennonite Conference of Mennonite Church USA.

Beginning March 1, Grant Miller, MDiv, is adding the half-time role of Director of Practical Leadership Training to his half-time work as Development Associate for bg真人, a role he has held since May 2024. Miller works remotely from his home in Chicago.

In his new role, he鈥檒l oversee the ongoing development and implementation of the PLT curriculum that Tapia Rubio began.

Miller brings both theological formation and church experience to his work. From October 2019 to May 2024, he served as Pastor of Kalamazoo (Michigan) Mennonite Fellowship, a congregation of Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference of Mennonite Church USA; he was ordained in May 2022. Prior to that, he studied at bg真人, earning a Master of Divinity in 2019.

While at seminary, he worked as Communications and Projects Manager for the Institute for the Study of Global Anabaptism in Goshen, Indiana (2017鈥�19). He also served as Interim Church Relations Associate for Mennonite Mission Network in Elkhart (2014鈥�15). His undergraduate degree is a Bachelor of Arts in History and Peace, Justice and Conflict Studies from Goshen College.

Gingerich Longenecker anticipates that the relational connections Miller is building with donors, congregations and church conferences in his development work will help inform his new role.

鈥淕rant鈥檚 pastoral experience, ongoing travel across the church and regular communication with church leaders and friends of bg真人 will create important opportunities and synergies for the PLT program,鈥� she said. 鈥淚n both roles, he鈥檒l continuously glean information pertinent to developing and offering learning modules relevant to current pastors and volunteers. We鈥檙e excited to welcome him to this role.鈥�

Miller attends Living Water Community Church in Chicago, a congregation of Illinois Mennonite Conference of Mennonite Church USA. 

Located in Elkhart, Indiana, on ancestral land of the Potawatomi and Miami peoples, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary is a learning community with an Anabaptist vision, offering theological education for learners both on campus and at a distance as well as a wide array of lifelong learning programs 鈥� all with the goal of educating followers of Jesus Christ to be leaders for God鈥檚 reconciling mission in the world.

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