EQUIPPING FACULTY

Faculty Sponsorships

Imagine teaching in or leading a seminary in the midst of emerging cultural issues like poverty, war, disease, human trafficking and the dominant presence of other religions.

All too often leaders and faculty of our partner Bible colleges have come into their positions because someone had to step up and lead. At times they feel inadequate and overwhelmed by the demands of their roles. 

Key to helping these schools improve overall and multiply their influence around the world is supporting leadership and faculty through additional training.

We equip the equippers by sponsoring both current and future faculty members. Dedicated study time for faculty improves both their qualifications and capacity to teach and enthuses their students for mission.

Can You Help?

Please consider what your role might be in fulfilling this vision. The cost to train a faculty member varies based on region, program and other factors. Faculty sponsorships range from $5,000-$20,000 a year.

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We consistently receive updates from faculty highlighting the impact they are experiencing.

We have seen how investing in leaders like Saralen Tran and Cuong & Trang Le can have an enormous effect upon the churches in their communities.

Below you will find letters from faculty who have received sponsorships through reSource.

 

My name is Saralen Tran, from Danang, Vietnam. I graduated with a M.Div. degree at International Graduate School of Leadership (Philippines) in 2010. After 10 years of ministry, I am grateful for the opportunity to study further on the field of Christian education at Asia-Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary (APNTS) in the Philippines. My thesis of the prospective research is how better to do theological education with minority groups in Vietnam. This study will help fulfill my desire of learning and also contribute to building a more comprehensive educational model that is relevant to our ministry context.

I am a development worker with 10 years of experience at a Christian non-government organization. I manage different projects whose target beneficiaries are mainly women and children. Together with other Christian development workers, I provide training for church leaders and pastors for holistic development, church and community mobilization. As a part-time teacher at Hanoi Bible College (HBC), I do classes on Christian Education in practice. I also mentor a group of HBC female students to ensure that spiritual and mental support is given in time of needs. I love what I do, and I love to be around students and people in local communities. So, isn’t that enough? Why do I need to take a PhD program? Let me give some background.

Hanoi Bible College was founded by the Vietnam Evangelical Church (North) in 2013 and offers a five-year program for Bachelor in Theology Degree. The majority of our students are ethic minorities and 95% of those are H’mong. Although the students are intellectually smart, their limited capacity in learning has caused the teaching progress to be slower and made it difficult to measure learning outcomes. In response to this ministry context, I decided to pursue graduate studies to understand their ways of learning and how HBC’s methodologies can help its students learn better for life change. This PhD in Transformational Learning will provide me a great opportunity to do professional research on this educational transformation.

Also, since HBC has aimed to be one of the accredited seminaries in Asia, faculty development is part of its strategic focus. Beside my desire to meet this need, being sent by my school also enforces my long-term commitment to the teaching ministry as a fulltime teacher.

However, the above explanation does not fully express my motivation for studies. While becoming a professor, writer or gaining a next level of academic achievement can make me feel good about myself, they’re not really important. While I love being a learner of new things and interacting with other people, and while it may sound sophisticated if my vocational goal is set for something big and great that has a positive effect on others and changes lives, my ultimate goal is to demonstrate the fulfilled life that God has intended for me to live. So while APNTS will hopefully become part of my academic record, that is not all. There are still things to explore and our God is a Master Teacher of all things. As long as I live, “if it is the Lord’s will” I will live and do this or that (James 4:16).

Gratefully,

Saralen

We give thanks to the Lord for his indescribable blessings upon our life! We are also very grateful to reSource for their generous support! Without it I would definitely not have been able to complete my Doctorate Degree and my wife Trang her Master of Divinity with Librarianship program.

I had already received my Master of Theology in 2006 and was teaching in our church’s new seminary (the Institute of Bible and Theology in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam). It had just been reopened in 2003 after being closed by the Government in 1976. There is a great ongoing need for faculty development in our Seminary.

I had prayed and longed for continuing my doctorate in order to contribute to meeting this need and to also help the Seminary meet government requirements. I give thanks to God for answering my prayer through reSource. In the special context of our church and country, we had to go through a lot of steps in order to go abroad for studies. We also faced the problem that the Government of Hong Kong has a policy of not welcoming Vietnamese students. We praise the Lord for opening doors so we finally could do our advance studies.

There are also a lot of challenges for a doctoral student who writes a dissertation, and I am no exception. During the last two years of my study I had been suffering with headaches and dizziness. I praise the Lord for helping and guiding me to be able to complete the tasks of writing and successful defense. We give thanks that at the beginning of 2016 we started our teaching ministry at our church’s new seminary, the Institute of Bible and Theology in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. I am Assistant Professor in New Testament and Trang serves as Head Librarian. Praise the Lord!

Thank you very much for accompanying us with your love, prayer, and great help! We pray and believe that God will continue to bless this meaningful ministry of reSource so that there will be more and more young people who are equipped under your sponsorship to serve and glorify the Lord.

Sincerely yours,

Cuong and Trang Le (and son Andy)

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