A Milestone of the “Faith, Hope, and Love Project”: The New Academic Building
The new academic building is part of the seminary’s “Faith, Hope, and Love Project,” which was put forward by President Joshua Cho in the Diamond Jubilee Thanksgiving Worship on February 20, 2011. President Cho stressed the need to build up a disciple community marked by “faith, hope, and love” on the basis of having the same mindset as Jesus Christ. Among others, the implementation of specific ministries includes expansion of the faculty, development of the graduate programs, reforms to and development of the lay believers equipping programs, as well as the setting up of theological research centres.
With the gradual implementation of the “Faith, Hope, and Love Project,” the existing campus could not meet the seminary’s needs. In 2016, the Board of Directors agreed to carry out the Extension Project of the Sai O Campus (Phase 3), to tie in with the future developmental needs of the seminary and increase its education and academic strengths. The extension works include the construction of a new four-story academic building on its Sai O campus, with a gross floor area of nearly 930 square meters (about 10,000 square feet).
During the six years from its preparation in early 2016 to the completion of the new academic building, as well as the subsequent issue of the Occupation Permit in late April 2022, the seminary has witnessed the abundant grace of God and the love of brothers and sisters toward God and the seminary. The new building marks HKBTS’s march into a new stage of the “Faith, Hope, and Love Project.”
Enriching the Academic Ambience: The Integrated Study Centre
The seminary’s graduate programs have been well-received, and the number of students taking these programs has been increasing in recent years. In addition to the Master of Theology Program, the seminary introduced the Doctor of Theology Program in 2013 to nurture teaching and research talents for seminaries in Hong Kong, the Mainland, and Southeast Asia. To date, the seminary has nurtured two Doctors of Theology. In view of this, the seminary has an even greater need to set up a study centre to provide a venue for both individual research and group discussions for students who have deeper pursuits in the theological field.
Against this background, the Integrated Study Centre was set up on the second floor of the new academic building. In addition to a classroom, there are facilities including three group study rooms, one seminar room, two graduate student carrels, and a small pantry, offering more spacious rooms for individual studies or idea exchanges and knowledge exploration with fellow students. Among others, the two graduate student carrels provide a total of 8 dedicated spaces for graduate students so that they may focus on their academic research and the writing of dissertations. This is believed to be good news for our graduate students. It is expected that the Integrated Study Centre can create a better ambience for academic research and optimize the learning environment for our students.
Promoting Research and Exchanges: The Integrated Theological Research Centre
The third floor of the new academic building is entirely dedicated for use as the Integrated Theological Research Centre. The centre was set up to bring together Christian experts and scholars from various fields, church leaders, and pastors, along with our faculty, to pursue truth, exchange ideas, discern Jesus Christ’s mind, and help the church to respond properly to the specific problems faced by us currently by means of solid theological reflections.
The Centre houses the Hong Kong Baptist Archive Centre, the Advanced Theological Research Centre, and a Grand Conference Hall. Working side by side with the Hong Kong Baptist Archive under the existing library, the Hong Kong Baptist Archive Centre will continue to promote the study of Baptist history. The seminary will actively liaise with long-established local Baptist churches or even overseas Baptist missions to collect valuable materials related to the history of local Baptist churches to enrich the stock of the two archives, preparing sufficient reserves for related research. As for the Advanced Theological Research Centre, it will collect and compile important academic literature and materials to create conducive conditions for advanced theological research. The Centre’s Grand Conference Hall, which can accommodate 80 persons, is expected to provide a venue for local and international academic conferences, pooling local and overseas scholars together for academic interflows.
Pooling of Wisdom across Sectors in Response to the Needs of the World
Talking about the Grand Conference Hall, both Associate Deans were full of ideas. Prof. Wong said that, in discussing the development of the building, President Joshua Cho and they hoped that the new academic building would become a place where local and overseas Christian scholars could have exchanges and reflections about theology. Prof. Wong also believed that the Grand Conference Hall is an ideal venue for hosting international conferences for the interflow of ideas. Despite being under the impact of the pandemic, which makes it difficult to invite overseas scholars to come to Hong Kong in person, it is still possible to let them share or teach via video conferences.
Prof. Wong also pointed out HKBTS’s long-term emphasis on interdisciplinary team teaching. Contemporary theological education has always been split into individual disciplines. The Bible, theology, and practical subjects are being taught as separate, unrelated disciplines. However, with the changes in our environment, many complicated issues have arisen in society, which require in-depth reflections from multiple perspectives. Prof. Wong said that both President Cho and they had been pondering over whether the opportunity could be seized to set up an interdisciplinary platform for the seminary to be more responsive to social problems and needs. This may be achieved through partnership with various sectors, educational work or the publication of books and periodicals, moving from the Bible to theology, and further to practical theology, which means the application of theological teaching to help the church to respond to the needs of the times. In his opinion, cooperating with different professionals will strengthen the seminary’s study and application in the area of practical theology. It is believed that this will help the church in a more effective way. For example, many people have been suffering from emotional problems in recent years owing to the building enclosure and quarantine measures during the epidemic. Considering the problem from a purely psychological perspective may not suffice; it is believed that it may help the public and Christians to respond to the practical situation if the problem can be approached from a theological perspective as well. Prof. Wong has seen a number of pastors seeking guidance when faced with social issues. He believes that the seminary could take up more on this front, and such a role could not be fulfilled with biblical knowledge alone. So he hopes that the seminary will have more cooperation and communication with churches and other sectors in the future.
Interactive Exchanges and Strengthening Local Pastoring
In addition to the pooling of international scholars for the promotion of the seminary’s education and research, and interdisciplinary exchanges and cooperation, Prof. Ng said that strengthening the teaching of local practical pastoring is also a direction for our future development. The seminary hopes that local pastors and HKBTS alumni will be invited to gather at the Grand Conference Hall of the new academic building to share and discuss pastoral issues.
Additionally, Prof. Ng said that President Cho and they hoped that the Grand Conference Hall would also become a platform for the connection, sharing, and interflow of ideas and research among pastors and alumni. Prof. Wong agreed with this view very much, believing that the creation of an interactive exchange platform will allow pastors and alumni undertaking different ministries to share their experiences and learn from one another. To cite an example, there are alumni serving their churches in youth sports ministries, trying to contact young people and share the gospel with them through sporting activities. They can share their successful experiences with other participants on the platform, exchange ideas with one another, and develop content together. Prof. Wong also said that some alumni missed the Spiritual Formation Camp organized by HKBTS and the Grand Conference Hall might also be used to run similar activities for alumni, who can enjoy more in-depth sharing especially after they have acquired practical pastoring experience.
Prof. Ng added that this kind of interflow will also bring together pastors shepherding similar target groups so that they may share their pastoring stories with one another. Afterward, our teachers may teach relevant academic theories for discussion. The seminary may organize this kind of small-scale meeting for pastors and alumni serving different communities. For example, starting with the issue of youth pastoring, youth pastors may be invited to discuss the difficulties in shepherding young people today. He believed that exploration of such issues as the difficulties and ways of pastoring the youth under the impact of the pandemic and the emigration wave would stimulate a lot of interactions and discussions. Besides becoming a platform for the connection and interflow among alumni, the Grand Conference Hall may also serve as a venue for the “President’s Classrooms” in the future, offering a spacious and comfortable discussion venue for the President and alumni, and church leaders.
An Academic Path with Dual Emphasis on Theory and Practice
Both Associate Deans stressed that the direction of HKBTS’s academic development must tie in closely with its mission statement—“Today’s Seminary, Tomorrow’s Churches.” Therefore, the seminary will never conduct purely academic research. Our research will be aimed at serving the churches ultimately. From this, we can see that the future direction of our education and research will be to keep up with the needs of society with a dual emphasis on theory and practice so that churches may be helped to respond to the needs of the times more appropriately by putting their faith and theological knowledge into practice. It is our vision that the new academic building will become a “great melting pot” for the pooling of theological knowledge and the application of wisdom, which will promote interflow and interaction between overseas and local scholars and among church pastors, group people together for deep reflections on theology and figure out with churches a way to practice our faith when faced with different social issues.
With the digitalization of our library resources and the increase in library stock, the completion and opening of the new academic building, and a renewal of the faculty, we are looking forward to the great enhancement in HKBTS’s teaching and research capacity, which will make the seminary more qualified to make a far-reaching and long-lasting contribution in such areas as local and international theological research, the nurturing of servant-leaders for churches, the development of practical theology, and responding to church and societal needs.
