Faculty
Who are the Strengthening Ministries Training Institute Faculty?
The teachers at Strengthening Ministries Training Institute have extensive postgraduate training in Biblical Counselling and are certificated with the Association of Certified Biblical Counsellors (ACBC). They are doctrinally aligned with the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith and committed to the sufficiency of Scripture in helping their students discover God’s answers to life’s problems.
Dr. Wayne Mack
Professor Emeritus
Dr Wayne Mack is a graduate of Wheaton College, Philadelphia Seminary and Westminster Theological Seminary. He has also done extensive graduate studies at La Salle University, Eastern Baptist Seminary, Wheaton Graduate School and Trinity Evangelical Seminary. Dr Mack was chairman of the graduate and undergraduate Biblical Counselling programmes at both The Master’s University and The Master’s Seminary in Los Angeles, California. Dr. Mack has been inducted into the highest level of membership with the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors and has authored twenty-six books on counselling issues.
Dr. Sybrand de Swardt
Dr. Sybrand de Swardt has been the pastor of Lynnwood Baptist Church since 2009. He preaches expositionally and does extensive counselling and teaching on counselling related issues. Sybrand has received a Master of Arts in Biblical Counselling from The Master’s University. He also obtained a Doctorate of Educational Ministry from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in which the project developed a thirty-hour contextualised biblical counselling course.
Dr. Glenn Dunn
Glenn Dunn has been the Pastor at Cornerstone Bible Fellowship (CBF) in North Ridgeville, Ohio since 2004. Glenn has an BA in Communications with an emphasis in Public Relations from Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio, a MA in Religious Education with an emphasis in Theological Studies from Grand Rapids Baptist Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and a D. EdMin in Biblical Counselling through Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.
Dr. Jim Newheiser
Jim Newheiser is currently the Director of the Christian Counselling Programme as well as the Associate Professor of Counselling and Practical Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina. He is both a Certified Counsellor, Fellow, and Board Member for The Association of Certified Biblical Counsellors (ACBC). He is presently serving as a Council Board Member for The Biblical Counselling Coalition, and he was formerly a Board Member with the Fellowship of Independent Reformed Evangelicals.
Dr. Tedd Tripp
Tedd Tripp is the President of a non-profit organisation called Shepherding the Heart Ministries. Tedd has both developed and taught materials for this ministry and is known around the world for his best-selling child rearing book, Shepherding a Child’s Heart, and as the presenter of Shepherding a Child’s Heart Ministries.
Tedd Tripp is Pastor Emeritus of Grace Fellowship Church in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, where he served from 1980 until 2012. Tedd was married to his wife, Margy, in 1968; they are parents of three adult children and 9 grandchildren.
Dr. Nicolas Ellen
Nicolas Ellen is the Senior Pastor of Community of Faith Bible Church and a Professor of Biblical Counselling at the College of Biblical Studies, both in Houston, Texas. He has served in full time ministry as a Christian Education Director, Associate Pastor, Assistant Pastor, and Senior Pastor for the past 19 years also in the Houston, Texas area. He has developed a biblical counselling training center called Expository Counselling Center, LLC.
Dr. Edward Wilde
Edward Wilde received his JD from the University of San Diego in San Diego, California and his MA in Biblical Counselling from The Master’s University in Santa Clarita, California. Edward has been a member of the bar since 1989 and a professor at The Master’s University since 2002. He has been published in the Whittier Law Review, UCLA Entertainment Law Review, Intellectual Property Law Journal, and has written articles for the ABA, California State Bar Intellectual Property Bar Journal and The Los Angeles Daily Journal.
Dr. Jennifer Chen
Jennifer Chen has a PsyD and MA in Clinical Psychology from Fuller Graduate School of Psychology in Pasadena, California, an MA in Marriage and Family Therapy from Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, California, and an MA in Biblical Counselling from The Master’s University in Santa Clarita, CA. She has taught and provided supervision as a PsyD for 10+ years. She has coauthored multiple articles published in academic Psychology journals.
Beth de Swardt
Beth de Swardt has a MA in Biblical Counselling and worked in campus ministry for 5 years after receiving her degree. She also taught women’s ministry classes in the Biblical Counselling Department of The Master’s University for 9 years. For many years, she was involved in helping to lead the Women’s Ministry at Calvary Bible Church in Burbank, California. She came to South Africa in 2005 to work with a ministry helping children with the HIV. In all of these positions, she was actively involved in teaching, counselling and discipling women.
Dr. Andrew Rogers
Andrew and his wife, Jenny, live in Anaheim Hills, CA and have four children. Andrew has been in ministry for over 27 years as a pastor, professor, and missionary. He is a pastor at Kindred Community Church and serves as Executive Director of Overseas Instruction in Counseling, a ministry devoted to training biblical counseling trainers around the world. He is a Fellow and Board Member with ACBC.
Dr. Daniel Berger
Dr. Daniel R. Berger II is the founder and director of Alethia International Ministries (AIM), where he continues to speak around the country at various conferences and ministries. He is also an experienced pastor, counselor, school administrator, and the author of numerous books on Christian counseling, practical theology, education, and the history and philosophy of the mental health construct. Daniel attended Bob Jones University and Florida International University, where he earned four degrees in counseling and theology.
Dr. Bill Hines
Bill Hines, B.A. Political Science, M.A. Religion, M.A. Counseling, D.Min. Biblical Counseling is the President of Covenant Ministries, Inc., a biblical counseling and education ministry in Ft. Worth, TX. Bill is the author of: Leaving Yesterday Behind; Curing the Heart (with Howard Eyrich, D.Min.); Homework CD for Biblical Counseling, (with Howard Eyrich, D.Min.); Paul the Counselor (with Mark Shaw, contributing editors), The Pursuit of Perfection (with Mark Shaw) and numerous articles on the Christian life.
Pr. Mike Brunk
Mike Brunk received his BA in Zoology from Ohio University in 1979. He served as an Elder in Athens (Ohio) Bible Church until 2001 when he and his family moved to South Africa to serve as a church-planter in the Kathorus region of Johannesburg. He currently serves as the senior pastor of Kathorus Bible Church. In 2013, he completed the two-year SMTI programme with Dr. Wayne Mack in Pretoria. He completed his MABC from Faith Seminary, Lafayette, Indiana, in 2020. He is a certified counselor with ACBC.