The Evangelical Covenant Church is spotlighting its Hispanic Center for Theological Studies (CHET), the denomination's seminary devoted to equipping Latino pastors and leaders, through the story of a minister who found his way onto its campus almost twenty-five years ago. CHET trains pastors in a setting designed specifically for first-generation immigrants learning to navigate theological education in the United States.
The Covenant is a multiethnic denomination in which Latino congregations are a growing and increasingly central part of the family. The denomination frames CHET as a way to remove barriers to formation without sacrificing academic quality — an institution that is academically sound, biblically faithful and affordable for leaders who might otherwise struggle to find a path into ministry training.
Carlos Ortiz immigrated from Mexico at twenty, a year after coming to faith, and first heard of CHET through a radio mention of a worship event at Pepperdine University; he showed up on campus the next day. He later earned a Master of Divinity from Fuller Seminary, trained as a chaplain and coach, and was ordained in 2017. Ortiz describes CHET as the foundation for everything that followed, and argues that accessible theological education matters now more than ever as Latino churches face growing fear and uncertainty around immigration policy and need leaders who can shepherd people with wisdom, courage and a deeply biblical understanding of justice and human dignity.
Source: Evangelical Covenant Church / Covenant Companion — covchurch.org
