Tuesday, November 09, 2004

Southern grads to teach in Singapore
May 24, 2004
By David Roach

Hong Kong natives William and Kam See Fung recently graduated from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and will teach at Singapore Bible College. The school includes more than 500 students in both graduate and undergraduate programs.

Most graduates of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary will have the opportunity to impact a church for the Kingdom of God.

But William and Kam See Fung will have the opportunity to impact 500 churches in 30 countries upon their graduation from Southern this spring.

The Fungs, who are originally from Hong Kong, are scheduled to move to Singapore this summer where they will teach in the school of theology at Singapore Bible College. Singapore Bible College provides graduate and undergraduate education to 500 students who will eventually serve churches across Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia.

William received his doctor of philosophy degree in New Testament from Southern’s school of theology, and Kam See received her doctor of education degree from the school of leadership and church ministry.

“We’ve always had a burden not only to serve in a local church,” William said, “but we also want to train a new generation of ministers of the Gospel.”

The Fungs have a particularly strong desire to assist churches in China where many Christians are persecuted for their faith, Kam See said. By teaching Chinese pastors at Singapore Bible College, they will have an opportunity to build the church in China, they said.

“Through ministry and partnership with Singapore Bible College, we can eventually reach our goal of influencing ministers in Chinese ministers in China,” Kam See said.

Teaching Chinese pastors will not be easy though. In order to communicate with their students, the Fungs had to learn Mandarin, a dialect of Chinese with which they were unfamiliar. As children they learned to read Mandarin, but until recently the Fungs spoke only their native Cantonese dialect.

In addition to their teaching responsibilities in Asia, the Fungs will have an opportunity to use their newly acquired Mandarin skills across Europe during summer and winter breaks. Between semesters professors at Singapore Bible College travel to European countries to conduct seminars for Chinese pastors, they said.

Another important aspect of the Fungs’ ministry will be translating Christian books into Chinese, they said. One of the greatest needs among Chinese pastors is a larger body of theological literature, according to the Fungs.

“There is still a big demand for more Chinese Christian literature, especially text books for seminarians,” William said. “We hope to be able to contribute in that area too.”

According to the Fungs, Southern served as an ideal preparation ground for their ministry in Singapore. The professionalism and humility demonstrated by Southern professors has been a model for the Fungs’ teaching ministry, they said.

“The most impressive thing about Southern for me is the relationships (between students and professors),” Kam See said. “The professors are very humble, very professional, and yet they care for the students.”

The Seminary Wives Institute (SWI) has been a particularly helpful model effective ministry to ministers’ wives, Kam See said.

“I have been blessed by SWI,” she said. “We came here … and for the first year I did not enroll in any formal program. So I went to the SWI classes, and I was very impressed by people like Mrs. [Mary] Mohler and Mrs. [Sharon] Beougher.”

As the Fungs minister in Singapore, they look forward to using their Southern education to impact churches across Asia and throughout the world.

William said, “In Singapore we feel like we will be on the frontline of ministry for reaching different people groups.”

The Fungs will move with their two children: Kam Yan (12) and Wood Yan (10).