Who we are
AGST Alliance is a theological training venture seeking to glorify God by offering quality post-graduate programs for church leaders and theological/Bible college faculty in South East Asia, to equip them for more effective Christian ministry and mission.
AGST Alliance was established in 2004. Programs in Christian education, ministry, transformational development and theology are offered. Further programs are being developed to complement those already available in our region.
Why we exist?
There are many institutions offering theological training in SE Asia, each with its distinctive contribution. So what’s special about AGST Alliance?
AGST Alliance’s programs are aimed at Christian leaders in our region. A primary focus is on equipping the teaching faculty, current and potential of our member seminaries, with higher qualifications. But a good number of our students are leaders who don’t expect to teach in a seminary.
It’s well-recognised that the growth of the church in Asia is often hampered by Christian leaders who go overseas to study, and then fail to return. Or they return, but with a different agenda from that needed in their own country. So one of AGST Alliance’s main concerns is to train Asian Christian leaders in their own context, sensing the heartbeat of Asia.
Values
AGST Alliance endeavours to demonstrate excellence in the values adopted by members of Asia Theological Association:
Theological Values
- Biblical Grounding – We seek to demonstrate a biblically informed theological basis for our engagement in theological education and to allow every aspect of our service to be rooted and nurtured in this soil.
- Theological Contextualisation – We are concerned to ensure our theology reflects Asian concerns and patterns of thought, methods of communication, and images and illustrations.
- Christian Mind and Lifestyle – We seek to model patterns of holistic thought that are centred around biblical truth as the integrating core of reality and life.
Educational Values
- Instructional Variety – We will seek to ensure our teaching/learning methods are diverse, flexible, innovative and contextualised.
- Lifelong Learning – We will equip our students for a lifetime of ongoing learning and development.
- Integrated Program – We will endeavour to combine the spiritual and practical with academic objectives in an holistic integrated educational approach.
Administrative Values
- Sound Management – We commit ourselves to wise stewardship of our human, material, financial and spiritual resources for strengthening the Church.
- Student-Centred Development – We seek to ensure that our administrative procedures, teacher selection, physical plant and pastoral services are all shaped by a focus on developing our students.
- Faculty and Staff Development – Faculty and staff have a pivotal role, so we recognise the need for their continuing development.
- Program Accessibility – We seek to make ministry training available in ways that are appropriate to our situation and context.
- Strategic Flexibility – We seek to respond creatively and flexibly to the Church’s leadership needs.
- Continuous Assessment – We seek to be rigorous in identifying objectives and assessing outcomes, and adjusting our programs accordingly.
- Operational Contextualisation – In structure and operation we seek to demonstrate that we exist in and for our contexts.
Relational Values
- Church Orientation – We seek to orient our self in terms of the Christian community we are serving.
- Community Life – We will demonstrate Christian patterns of community.
- Servant Moulding – We seek to ensure are our students are moulded into styles of leadership appropriate to their serving roles within the body of Christ.
- Asian Diaspora – We seek to help our students learn equipping strategies for Asians in their many various multi-cultural contexts.
[This material has been adapted from Asia Theological Association, Manual for Accreditation, Revised January 2010.]