Established 1975 Website www.cgst.edu Founded 1975 | President Stephen Lee Phone +852 2337 4106 | |
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Location Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong Address 5 Devon Rd, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong | ||
The China Graduate School of Theology (CGST) is a theological seminary in Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong. The President is Stephen Lee, who succeeded Carver Yu in 2013.
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CGST is accredited by the Asia Theological Association to offer Master of Christian Studies, Master of Divinity, and Master of Theology degrees. It is also a member of the Association for Theological Education in South East Asia.
History
CGST started in 1975. In the mid 1960s, a group of students at Westminster Theological Seminary developed the idea of establishing "an indigenous, inter-denominational, evangelical and graduate level theological institution for the purpose of training university graduates to serve the churches in China and to evangelize around the world." This group included Jonathan Chao (who became the first President) and Che Bin Tan. Tan had noticed that "in America, seminaries assume that the spiritual needs of students will be met through their church involvement". Thus, "a major aim of CGST, in reaction against the perceived neglect in America of the students' spiritual growth, has been to incorporate the spiritual dimension more effectively in the lives of the students." CGST has also been "working at specialized approaches to reach blue collar workers," including the composition of Christian hymns "using well known Chinese folk tunes".
According to its mission statement, CGST upholds the "absolute truth of the Bible's inerrancy", and "works toward a contextual theology that is relevant to and brings transformation to Chinese culture." It also values expository preaching and spiritual formation.
CGST has two campuses close together: Devon Campus on Devon Road, and Dorset Campus on Dorset Crescent.
The institution previously published a journal, the China Graduate School of Theology Journal (CGST Journal or CGSTJ). It was founded in 1986 with Wilson Chow as the editor-in chief. Publication ceased in 2013, due to a perceived need to "build up new and effective ways for conducting and publicizing theological dialogues."