Singapore. : TWR Brings Radio Seminary Programme to Singapore

Thursday, Sep. 30, 2010 Posted: 11:33:41PM HKT

(Photo: TWR)

For almost a decade, Trans World Radio (TWR) has been providing leaders of churches all over China with intensive seminary training free-of-charge. Now, the Seminary On The Air (SOTA) radio programme is ready to equip Chinese-speaking Christians in Singapore. 

SOTA provides an alternative for those who are unable to attend classes at a theological seminary. It is also a boon for those who are unable to regularly attend a church, TWR said in its response to media queries on the programme.

The radio programme, which starts at 11 p.m. locally every weekday, is suitable for Chinese Mainlanders in Singapore. Many of them are construction workers or working in the food and beverage industry.

TWR said: "Although the initial purpose (of SOTA) was to train and equip church leaders, it has since garnered widespread interest from Chinese-speaking Christian believers across the globe."

The three-year SOTA programme has a modular curriculum. This means that it is suitable even for those who are not able to complete the entire curriculum, the Christian mass media ministry added.

Asked why TWR decided to bring SOTA to Singapore at this time, the ministry expressed that it was "mainly in response to the need of discipling and reaching the growing numbers of Chinese-speaking believers and migrant Chinese workers in the region with the teaching of God's Word."

The programme is being run on FM 102.3. Each daily session lasts for 45 minutes. Sessions are conducted in Mandarin.

SOTA's Singapore coverage was made possible by a partnership between TWR and FEBA Ltd. The latter is a Singapore Christian radio ministry. 

TWR says the story of SOTA's launch in Singapore is not very different from what happened years ago in China. 

The seminary programme on radio was started in March 2001 amid a dearth of training opportunities for church leaders in China.

TWR said: "Every day, many Chinese men and women come to Christ, but their spiritual leaders often lack the resources to adequately care for them.

"Bibles and Christian literature are hard to come by, and going to a seminary is only a dream except for a few pastors and lay leaders."

Due to the lack of sound teaching and materials, incorrect teachings have been infiltrating the house church movement. This has resulted in heresy, confusion and cults among China's Christians, the ministry added.

So TWR started the seminary level, three-year radio programme to systematically train church leaders. 

The aim of SOTA is to equip church leaders to fulfil the Great Commission. It seeks to do this by providing regular discipleship programmes through radio and the Internet. TWR also conducts periodic inland training for church leaders. 

The overall goal is that leaders will grow in their intellectual grasp of the Bible and produce the fruit of the Holy Spirit in their ministry and lives.

Since its inception, SOTA has taught biblical doctrine and life applications through shortwave radio, the Internet (SOTA Online – http://www.sotaonline.net) and intensive in-person training for over 1,000 church pastors and lay leaders.

Source:TWR Brings Radio Seminary Programme to Singapore http://bit.ly/asPhta

(Yimber Gaviria, Colombia)