SERVING CHINA AND THE CHINESE CHURCH

Dr. Jason Yeung,
Associate Professor of Theology and Director of Chinese Culture Research Center

During the past two decades, and after China adopted a more open policy, the Church in China has witnessed an enormous growth. Today, the conservative estimate is that there are over 40,000 churches and meeting points throughout China. Tens of millions of Christians worship publicly every Sunday. Moved by a common love, many churches and organizations outside China are eager to participate in the building of the fast growing Church of God in this vast country. CGST naturally shares the same desire. However, instead of engaging in direct mission in China, CGST prefers to speak of serving China via a number of diverse and creative avenues. Our Chinese Culture Research Center is directly involved in the following activities:

1. Building relationship and networking with Chinese seminaries and churches
CGST faculty, staff, and students make regular visits to seminaries and churches in the mainland. In collaboration with our school's "China Theological Development Program", our Research Center has been maintaining frequent exchanges with some seminaries in China. In the last two years, we visited the following seminaries: Guangdong Union Theological Seminary in Guangzhou; East China (Huadong) Theological Seminary in Shanghai; Fuzhou Theological Seminary in Fujian; Yanjing Theological Seminary in Beijing; Zhong Nan Theological Seminary in Wuhan, and Sichuan Theological Seminary in Chengdu.
As director of the Research Center, I have been invited to lecture at Guangdong and Huadong, and have presented several volumes of books to Guangdong.

In China, many seminary faculty members are also pastors at various churches. Recognizing the importance of nurturing China's seminary faculty and pastors, we decided to invite some to CGST for professional development. This past January, Mr. Huang Jixin of Guangdong Union Seminary became our first student from the mainland to study for the Th.M. degree. In September 2002, another faculty from Guangdong Union, Ms. Huang Aixi, will be here for her Dip.C.S. studies.

2. Offering courses in selected universities in the mainland
After my initial visit to Zhongshan University, Guangdong in 2000, CGST was asked to send faculty to Zhongshan to teach courses in Greek and Hebrew. Since September, 2000, over 10 students from Zhongshan have taken Greek from Dr. Peter Chang, Professor of New Testament. Beginning July, 2002, more than 30 students will benefit from the teaching of Dr. Jeffrey Kung on Hebrew culture, and in the following semester, Dr. Kung will teach another course in Hebrew.

3. Engaging in scholarly exchange with Chinese universities
Over 40 universities in the mainland maintain schools or departments of religion or Christian studies. These universities offer valuable opportunities for serious studies in Christianity. Among the faculties and students are a significant number of Christian lay leaders who want to equip themselves for different forms of ministries. CGST has been privileged to engage in scholarly exchange with a selected few of these universities.
Two of our faculty, Dr. Samuel Ho, Assistant Professor of Theology and myself separately lectured at Zhongshan University in Guangdong, Capital Normal University in Beijing and Wuhan University. In fact, Capital Normal University has formally appointed both of us as visiting professors. I have also accepted the invitation from the Department of Christian Studies at Wuhan to be one of its doctoral program external examiners. Activities such as the above will not only improve exchange and communication between CGST and the respective institutions, they will also promote studies of Christian theology in China. In December, 2002, our Vice-President Carver Yu will deliver a series of lectures on Christianity and Literature at Capital Normal University in Beijing.

4. Developing teachers from Chinese universities by providing scholarships for them to study at CGST in Hong Kong
Commencing in September, 2002, three faculty members from Central University for Nationalities in Beijing will each visit CGST for 6 months for special studies. Our school is also actively pursuing similar arrangement with Sichuan University. In September, 2002, Mr. Pu Rongjian, former professor at Anhui Hefei University of Science and Technology of China, will hopefully begin his M.C.S. study at CGST.
By providing training in theology and the Bible, we are convinced of our significant roles in helping shape and develop the faculties of China's schools of religion and Christian studies. CGST is committed to this service in the future.

5. Accomplishments of our Chinese Culture Research Center
Our Center was established in 1995. We now cherish the following as our major directions:

a. Consolidation of existing research projects. The Center's researcher, Dr. Samuel Ho and the two research assistants, Mr. Siu-Lun Lau and Mr. Wai-Luen Kwok, have been involved in a number of research projects. These include: a study in the early church history of Hong Kong, 1842-1866, which was completed recently; a biographical study of Chia Yuming, a well-known Chinese theologian; the social concern movement of Hong Kong's evangelical churches in the 70's and 80's; and a project on the history of Ying Wah College and Ying Wah Girls' School.

b. Publications. Published or due to be published are these volumes from our Research Center staff:
Jason Hing-Kau Yeung, Searching for Truth in a Secular World: Christianity and Modern Philosophies (2002);
Siu-Lun Lau, Ying Wah Girls' School, the Blessed Years: 1900-2000 (2001);
Siu-Lun Lau, Century of Excellence: The History of Ying Wah College (2001);
Wai-Luen Kwok, Union and Separation: Chia Yu Ming, Fundamentalism and the Chinese Church Union Movement (to be published in July, 2002).

The Center has also financed the translation and publication of a book by one of our faculty, Dr. Kevin Cheng, Associate Professor of Theology, entitled Tang Junyi and Barth: A Comparative Ethics, translated by Wai-Luen Kwok and published this April by Joint Publishing (H.K.).

Lastly, Dr. Samuel Ho's Visions of the Sublime in Chinese and American Landscape Painting, has been translated into Chinese, and will be published before the end of this year.