Theological education among Latin American Baptists began during the epoch of colonial missions as a part of the long-range strategy developed by missionaries primarily from North America. Beyond translation, contextualization had little importance in those beginning stages. Over time, the seminaries were nationalized, yet today the earlier patterns of non-contextualization are still in evidence in many of these theological institutions. The weaknesses of the uncontextualized models are most obvious where theological training is offered to indigenous church leaders. In those circumstances, despite the cultural differences, there is little intentional adaptation for the particular needs of the indigenous student's ministry context. Sadly, adjustments for the students' ministry language are also lacking. The students, all of whom are bilingual and literate in Spanish, are expected to learn in Spanish. A less visible but nonetheless important problem can also be observed among the majority culture students. Too often lesson plans are repeated year after year, resulting in a loss of effectiveness. Cultures never stop changing, and failure to contextualize continuously curricula, courses, and classroom procedures is likely to result in irrelevant training rather than effective ministry. Intentional application of contextualization principles and practices is frequently absent in theological education among Baptists in Latin America. Likewise, an appreciation of the importance of contextualization is often lacking among the North America providers of theological education resources. Therefore, as globalization provides more and more opportunities for cross-cultural theological education, contextualization becomes increasingly important (and its absence increasingly critical) for everyone involved. The thesis of this investigation is that the application of the principles and practices as well as the attitudes and values of contextualization to the cross-cultural theological education process will significantly enhance the understanding and applicability of the cross-cultural learning experience. At the same time, contextualization can help to minimize syncretism and irrelevance--the unintended but natural consequences of globalized theological education. Further, the application of contextualization principles and practices can result in an intercultural dialogue within the framework of a shared biblical worldview. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]