Recently, I had the opportunity to participate in a visit and study activity at the Shanxi Provincial Bible Training Center, located in Taiyuan City. During our visit, Elder Wang Xiaohua, the staff member in charge of the school, provided us with an overview of the school's general situation.
The Taiyuan Christian Training Center, which Taiyuan CC&TSPM established at Jinyuan District Church in 2005, was the center's predecessor. In 2009, it was demolished and subsequently rebuilt in an area of approximately 3.7 mu (0.61 acres). In 2013, the Shanxi Christian Training Center and Taiyuan Christian Training Center merged to form the Shanxi Christian Training Center. However, in June 2017, due to the reconstruction of the river, the load-bearing walls of the training center's teaching buildings, student dormitory buildings, and churches sank, rendering them structurally unsound and unsafe. Consequently, the dilapidated buildings were demolished, and the center was relocated to Beihexia Village.
Situated in the provincial capital, the training center aims to provide further educational opportunities for grassroots church volunteers by offering courses on Bible knowledge, church history, theological doctrine, church management, and sacred music etiquette. It has trained more than 300 students and has been instrumental in sending students to tertiary institutions such as Nanjing Union Theological Seminary and Yanjing Theological Seminary.
Approximately a dozen pastoral staff from Taiyuan CC&TSPM primarily deliver the courses. Besides a three-year training class, this year a one-year training course has been opened, and the probationary period for the program is two months. Upon completion of the study period, graduates receive either a graduation certificate or a completion certificate.
Presently, the training center operates on leased premises and requires donations to rebuild. In this regard, the center's co-workers have proposed a reconstruction plan to the Taiyuan Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
- Translated by Abigail Wu
