Ninety Nine Year Lease on 17 Acres

Because Andrew and Esther Park demonstrated success in building TCBC, in 2008 the Tanzanian government granted them a ninety-nine year lease on seventeen acres of ground near the town of Muhaza to build a high school to be known as Living Stone Seminary. The name is a reference to 1 Peter 2:4-5 where Peter invites people to become living stones like Jesus in order to be part of his church here on earth.

The academic building is now under construction with an estimated final cost of $750,000. The school is scheduled to open in 2011. When completed, it will have dormitories for students, housing for faculty, an auditorium, a science building, and a cafeteria. It will be a private school where parents pay tuition for a quality education. Upon opening, LSS will have about six teachers, but when completed will have a faculty of from twenty to thirty and a student body of about six-hundred. Students of all faiths will be accepted, and all the classes will be taught in English. The teachers will be recruited from both the United States and Korea.

Living Stone Seminary was conceived in 2004 as a way of meeting two needs. First, it would provide a good education for the children of Tanzania. At present, it is estimated that only about one percent of Tanzanian children graduate from high school. The government tries to build schools, but the quality of the facilities, and the education they provide, are both poor. For Tanzania to successfully emerge from the poverty and corruption that now strangle social and economic progress, the country needs educated and ethical leaders, and LSS will train Christian leaders to work for the nation.

The second goal in establishing LSS is to generate revenue for the operating expenses of TCBC. So whatever tuition money remains after the needs of LSS are met will be used to support TCBC.

Most recently on February 24, 2010 the corner stone for Living Stone Seminary was laid by the Regional Officer of Tanga. About fifty government officials came to celebrate the occasion which was broadcast on local television. Also, the Muheza district is in the process of giving thirty more acres of land for the future development of LSS.