KEST was founded in 1989 by a group of Ugandan Christian leaders to respond to the need for trained leadership in the context of a rapidly growing church in Uganda and the surrounding region. KEST is unique because it is evangelical and broadly interdenominational while seeking to balance excellence in ministry and academic study. Hand in Hand's involvement with KEST goes back to 2004
Since 1990 over 300 hundred leaders have graduated from various KEST non-formal programmes and KEST continues to provide Degree and Diploma qualifications for students from numerous African countries.
KEST is a correspondent member of the Accrediting Council for Theological Education in African (ACTEA.
The KEST Vision is as follows:
- 1. A church that reflects biblical vitality and joy, living out the meaning of the gospel in the spiritual, material and socio-economic realities of Africa.
- 2. A society that is progressively being renewed and transformed by the gospel and action of the church to reflect biblical values in all dimension of life, personal, social, political, material and economic.