May 26, 2022
Ken received his undergraduate from Trevecca Nazarene College in 1966; then continued to receive a Master’s in Science Teaching degree from Middle Tennessee State University. After serving as a youth pastor for three years, he and Linda were appointed to Africa in 1972. Ken taught in a Swaziland high school for a few months before language study in South Africa. On his return to Swaziland, he taught and served as Principal of Nazarene Teachers College for several years before receiving an assignment to teach at Swaziland Nazarene Bible College.
During his next furlough, he enrolled at Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City, MO in order to be better prepared to teach. Eventually, he received a Master’s in Religious Education. After returning again to Africa, he continued to teach at the Swaziland Bible College until elected as Principal. During the next 15 years, he came to realize that due to the lack of financial support it was difficult for students to study and acquire an education.
He became the Regional Education Coordinator for Africa in 2001 following Dr. Ted Esselstyn’s retirement. Ken realized to educate those called to ministry, in particular from the rural areas, scholarship monies would need to be raised. Those called to ministry just did not have the means to support their families, as well as finance a ministerial education.
In 2004, Ken and a number of leaders across Africa, and some from America, came together to develop a Comprehensive Strategic Plan for ministerial education. The leaders desired to develop a plan that offered the best direction for education in Africa. It was from the following questions they drafted The Plan: What should be the focus? What were the greatest needs? What would our African brothers and sisters say about all of this?
Out of Ken’s work in theological education, he developed a burden for raising funds to help provide scholarships for ministerial students. When he and Linda would come home on furlough, their top priority became raising money for such scholarships.
As Ken was preparing for retirement, he asked himself, “What can I do to stay connected to African education when I come from home from the field?” The answer to this question led to the birth of EDUF. Ken decided he would start a nonprofit organization to raise funds to scholarship African ministerial students. It was because of those who joined him in this endeavor that EDUF succeeded. Those who said yes and who served on the initial EDUF Board of Trustees were Frank Hallum, Frank and Sylvia Ruckman, Tom Nothstine, and Ted Esselstyn.
An answer to prayer was when Ken shared his dream of EDUF with his brother-in-law and Linda’s sister. They offered to grant a large donation for seed money to get the organization started. It was given from their own foundation that had been set up with profits from a successful business they had sold.
Ken’s vision for success was to have working chapters in each state. If EDUF could multiply its efforts, then it could multiply its funds. If each chapter would have one or two fundraisers each year, then more money could be raised for African ministerial scholarships and endowments. The key to success for the chapters was to have a managing partner to run the chapter. Some of these chapters thrived over the years and some, over time, became inactive. The current goal, according to Ken, is to find younger leadership to fill these positions.