The Bible school in Kidugala was founded in 1953, by then offering an eight-month long training course for local schoolteachers engaged in pastoral duties. The institution developed over time and in 1957 it accepted three students training for the ordained ministry. The number of courses and programmes increased and diversified, further nurturing the idea that students joining the Bible school later would continue with further theological training.
The fact that Kidugala, at the time, was a pivotal ecclesiastical and educational center in the Southern Highlands was not a coincidence but directly linked to its mission history. The Berlin Mission established one of its mission stations in Kidugala already in 1898 in accordance with the traditional missionary strategy; establishing a church, a school, a medical clinic, and some houses for missionaries and their local co-workers on the compound.
The institution expanded significantly in the early 1980s. Kidugala Lutheran Seminary, owned and run by the Southern Diocese of the ELCT, was formally founded in 1982, offering a broad range of courses within the field of theological education. In the academic year 2017/2018, the institution offered residential training for 104 ministerial students from various dioceses of the ELCT. At present, it offers a three-year programme for evangelists and an additional two-year programme for those students in training for the ordained ministry.
The Theological section often known as Kidugala Bible School – offers courses for future evangelists and pastors. In addition to the ministerial courses, the Theological section provides a number of ‘Artistic courses’ such as a two-year programme for Church Music, Technical training courses in carpentry, tailoring, and cooking; specialized courses in entrepreneurship within the field of agriculture; and courses in ‘Green Theology’ and ‘Ecology’. Personal communication with Rev. Obias Kilagwa, Principal of the Kidugala Lutheran Seminary – Theological section, March 27 and March 29, 2018.