Calling all School of Theology Alumni! There is something exciting for you to look forward to in 2022.
In 2022, City Harvest School of Theology will be offering its alumni two courses on the topics of Protestantism, Evangelicalism and Pentecostalism.
“The goal of the course is to connect and communicate with the alumni, to form a community and to eventually serve the cause of spreading the gospel and making disciples of all nations—the same four C’s we seek to accomplish with the newly launched SOT Alumni Portal,” shares Cindy Ng, manager of SOT.
Since 1994, the full-time Bible college has been training students from all around the world via on-site classes, ministry activities and overseas mission trips. It has trained more than 8,000 students from 41 different nations.
However, when COVID-19 cases started increasing in 2020 and cities closed their borders to travellers, the school had to bring its lessons online and subsequently stop its on-site lessons for 2021. The school has since turned its attention to the alumni.
In September this year, SOT launched the SOT Alumni portal to provide a platform for the school to reconnect with its graduates. The portal is bilingual—English and Mandarin—and it features devotions by pastors, stories and testimonies from the alumni, as well as a section providing tips from both SOT staff and alumni that will encourage readers. Members can share their stories or submit a prayer request on the site as well.
UNDERSTANDING PROTESTANTISM, EVANGELICALISM AND PENTECOSTALISM
Explaining the purpose of the courses offered in 2022, Cindy says, “The alumni are back in the marketplace now. Some may be busier as they have started a family and a career; some may be caught up with business and become spiritually dry. These courses are a way for them to continue feeding on the Word of God.”
CHC is a Protestant, Evangelical and Pentecostal church. That is why understanding Protestantism, Evangelicalism and the Pentecostal church—the three topics discussed in the two new courses—is important.
The core of Protestant teaching lies within the Five Solae, which provide a summary of Protestant theology. In essence, Protestantism is characterised by its emphasis on the Bible as the sole source of the infallible truth and the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith alone.
Evangelicalism is a movement born out of Protestantism that emphasises conversion experiences, the centrality of the Cross, the reliance on Scripture, missionary work and social engagement of the gospel, rather than the sacraments and traditions of the established churches.
In the first course, students will discover the brief historical development of these Christian movements, their current development and different forms, and why CHC considers itself as a protestant and evangelical church.
The second course focuses on what is a Pentecostal church means. The course will touch on the brief history of Pentecostalism and explore the distinctive of Pentecostal theology, such as the baptism in the Holy Spirit, the necessity of spiritual gifts and operations, and the Arminian view on election. These doctrines will give students a clearer understanding of the “why” and the “how” of CHC’s approach in its mandate, ministry and missions.
Each course will be held online via Zoom on Wednesday evenings for two hours over a period of 10 weeks. It will be followed by an examination and also a book reading if the alum is taking the course as a credit course. An alum may choose to sign up for only one course, or both courses. The lessons will be conducted in English, with simultaneous Mandarin, Bahasa Indonesia and Japanese interpretation.
The first course, “Introduction to Protestantism and Evangelicalism”, commences from Mar 30 to Jun 14, 2022. The second course, “Introduction To Pentecostalism” commences from Jun 29 to Sep 14. For more information, log on to the SOT Alumni Portal.
