New Full-Tuition Scholarship Awarded to French Evangelist

New Full-Tuition Scholarship Awarded to French Evangelist

Billy Graham Lausanne Scholar Raphael Anzenberger talks to the media following Grahams' death.
French Evangelist Raphael Anzenberger

Raphael Anzenberger is the first recipient of the Billy Graham Lausanne Scholarship.

Students enrolled in online graduate degrees eligible  

By Bob Holmes

The first recipient of a new Columbia International University full-tuition scholarship is a French evangelist and church planter who is equipping church leaders in Europe, Africa and Asia. Raphael Anzenberger was named the Billy Graham Lausanne Scholar for 2018 after the scholarship was established in partnership with the Lausanne Younger Leaders Network last spring.

“We believe in the vision and work of the Lausanne Movement, which was first initiated by the Rev. Billy Graham,” said Dr. Ed Smither, dean of the CIU College of Intercultural Studies and was instrumental in establishing the partnership. “Their work, including the vision to equip younger global church leaders, resonates with CIU’s core value of world evangelization.”

Anzenberger is pursuing a Ph.D. in Intercultural Studies and has been connected with the Lausanne Younger Leader’s Network for many years.

“We look for a global church leader with a proven track record of affirming the authority of Scripture and a passion to make Christ known among the nations,” said Smither. “We also look for someone with the academic abilities to complete one of our graduate or doctoral programs.”

Anzenberger, who also holds Doctor of Ministry and Master of Divinity degrees from CIU, calls it an honor to be the first recipient of the Billy Graham Lausanne Scholarship.

“CIU, Billy Graham and Lausanne have been part of my life since my early years of ministry,” said Anzenberger, who is also a former CIU Missionary-in-Residence. “There is full convergence between excellence in academic training, bold evangelistic enterprise and careful missiological thinking. I feel at ease at the intersection of these three God-given gifts to the Global Church.”

Anzenberger lives in Nice, France and oversees the French-speaking world at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries. He says his Ph.D. research explores national strategies for evangelism and church planting saturation.  

The Billy Graham Lausanne Scholarship Program will award a CIU full-tuition scholarship each year for the next three years. Students enrolled in a graduate online program offered in the colleges of Intercultural Studies, Education or Columbia Biblical Seminary are eligible to apply for the scholarship. Because these programs are offered completely online, the student may pursue them in their context of ministry without relocating to the United States.

CIU is experiencing growth in enrollment and has announced $25 million in expansion plans for the campus, including construction of the $20 million William H. Jones Global Business and IT Center. CIU is accredited by SACS-COC.