Chris Bruno

I have been involved with pastoral training on Oahu since 2011, working with several churches to launch new training programs. In 2017, my family and I moved to Minneapolis, MN so that I could teach at the Bethlehem College and Seminary (BCS). In 2021, I helped launch and facilitate an extension site of BCS on Oahu, building on and advancing my previous efforts to offer training opportunities for Hawaiian leaders. In 2023, with the help of BCS and local church leadership, the extension site began transitioning into its own entity, the Oahu Theological Seminary (OTS). There is a great need for church-based, in-person, theologically-faithful, and pastorally-sensitive theological training in the islands, and we’re eager to see how God will use our school to help meet those particular needs.

I am excited for the “principled catholicity” that we are working to promote at OTS. We recognize that in the Hawaiian Islands, no single denomination or network, let alone a single church, has the resources and ability to provide in-person theological training alone. However, as we link arms together, we can provide a great opportunity to equip pastors, teachers, and church leaders in the islands while allowing students to remain in their church and ministry contexts and be equipped in and for that calling.