Report from Guizhou Theological Training Center

by Global Ministries | published on Oct 10, 2014

Guizhou Theological Training Center is a growing Bible school that the China Christian Council has been supporting since it was founded in 1993. The center is located in Guizhou Province which is among the western provinces impacted by the 2008 earthquake, as well as the record snow and ice that fell in early 2008. These events contribute to the ongoing challenges of life in this rural province. The need for pastors, plus the economic realities in Guizhou Province make scholarship aid for theological students a necessity.

Guizhou Theological Training Center
China Christian Council
2009 Report

Founded in 1980, the China Christian Council (CCC) aims to be the umbrella organization for all Protestant Christian churches in China and seeks to unite Chinese Christians around their belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. It works to provide settings of theological education and for the publication of the Bible, hymn books, and other religious literature. It encourages the exchange of information among local churches in evangelism, pastoral work, and administration. It has formulated a church order for local churches and seeks to continue to develop friendly relations with churches overseas.

Christianity is growing rapidly in China. There are currently 30 million Christians in China. Every day six new church buildings are opened. One new church was built to hold 3000 members and when it opened its doors for the first service, 10,000 were waiting to worship. In China, Christians gather in more than 14,000 churches and 30,000 home meetings for worship, prayer, and Bible study. Since the seminaries were shut down during the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, and only began operating again in the 1980s in 18 seminaries throughout the country, there is still a serious shortage of pastors which is a critical problem for the church in China.

In November 2009 Global Ministries received word from the directors of the Guizhou Theological Training Center. There currently are 127 students in four groups. Some are in the three-year course while others are in a preparatory class for students who are very young and whose previous education is not much beyond middle school. Most of the students come from the Miao, Yi, and Buyi ethnic minority groups, while others are Han. The students come from poor mountain villages and even the monthly amount of $22 for their meals at the school was a challenge for them to secure.

Thanks to the support from Global Ministries and the Tuthill Commission of the Illinois Conference of the United Church of Christ, Guizhou Theological Training Center selected an additional 20 students from each class and provided these 80 students with additional scholarship support ranging from $59 to $73 per person. This allowed 80 of the poorest students to proceed with their studies and preparation to lead Chinese churches.