RCMI Newsletter May 2021
RCMI Ministry - Shiloh Bible School
Shiloh Bible School Student
Dear Friends of RCMI,
RCMI - Shiloh Bible School's Purpose:
Shiloh Bible College was established in the 1970s in Hong Kong and later extended into Mainland China.
To equip God's servants, both men and women, to become apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints for works of service, each according to their calling.
• Recognized Academic Degree Program with Certificates/Diplomas
• A Training Program Based on Local Church Authority
• Online Courses
Pastor Dennis Balcombe, RCMI Founder,
Teaching Bible School in Central China, 1987
A Bible School Student from Manchuria Shares:
I'm from northeastern China. I was in the first graduating class from Shiloh's Bachelor of Theology Degree Program. Before studying in Shiloh, I was serving as a Chinese house church preacher and had already received foreign theological training, but I'd encountered a lot of barriers trying to understand the language they used. So I thank God for Shiloh Bible College, whose students and teachers came from all over China and also from all over the world. We got an international perspective and environment and learned that we Chinese must work in unity. Through Shiloh, God provided a platform: His Kingdom people, His 'crack troops' meeting together, and we were to go out into the world as a great army to glorify the Lord's Name. My great hope is that more Chinese preachers and pastors will come and receive this kind of equipping and get access to God's unlimited blessing, so that we can be a blessing to China and the world.
Shiloh Bible College Graduates
Shiloh Bible College president Pastor Samuel Cheng, Pastor Dennis Balcombe, and Pastor Li with Bible College Teachers
Shiloh Bible College President Pastor Samuel Zheng Shares the Current Situation: Online Training -- A New Pandemic-Induced Opportunity
The global pandemic has changed many things. The freedom we once had to move around is now greatly restricted and has affected the kind of ministry we can do. Churches everywhere now use online broadcasts to conduct meetings and teaching.
We began using the Zoom platform for teaching and training in 2019. At that time, we used Zoom and LMS (Learning Management System) in combination because we had decided to supplement our main program with online activities. But when the pandemic broke out, our online training became the main training and not just a supplement.
In 2019 when we were teaching the course "Psalms - Selected Readings", we decided to try using in-person and online methods simultaneously. We had to overcome many technical problems, which we were able to do only by repeatedly having to solve them and learning from our mistakes. This experience turned out to be invaluable in meeting the challenges of 2020!
NEOLMS System Book Cover (Used by Shiloh Bible College)
The 2020 Situation
Travel became very restricted in 2020, so some inland Chinese churches asked me to conduct online training for them. This new effort helped me break free from limitations I'd had within myself. Through many years of trying to promote videotaped training sessions, I had run into a great deal of resistance because believers were accustomed to having a teacher there in person to teach them. But now, because of the restrictions everywhere, people willingly accept video and online training.
However, now that we are one year into the pandemic, the most important development in ministry training has happened in Revival Christian Church itself!
It used to be that each branch church had their own training sessions. Some believers attended training sessions from branches other than their own because of district divisions, traffic, travel times, etc. But now teaching courses and having meetings online, these problems are no longer a consideration. For example, the branch church I serve is Abundant Grace RCC branch (this is not a theology course). Everything is online, and we use videotaped sessions. Participants come not only from this branch; believers from other branches can register for the class also.
During 2020, we used both in-person and online methods in the theology courses we offered. The students were mainly believers and coworkers from the various RCC branch churches in Hong Kong as well as from the Guangzhou branch. Who could participate was limited by the fact that the training was conducted in Cantonese.
Pastor Wang Zuxiang Teaching "Basic Church History"
This Year's Theological Training
We've gained much from last year's experiences and are reorganizing our curriculum this year. We plan to use more Mandarin in our training.
We conducted two courses for this year's first season (March and April): "Basic Church History" and "The Book of Acts," both taught in Mandarin. Besides coworkers from RCC's various Hong Kong branches and the Guangzhou branch, participants were also from RCC branches in Taiwan, Japan, France, and elsewhere, plus a missionary working in Lebanon. We were all very excited that so many dear coworkers in different places can all meet together to study. This has not only been a time to study, but a time of deepening relationships and fellowshipping together.
Teaching, homework, quizzes, or tests -- everything has to be done online. Coworkers responsible for administration of theological training now have to upgrade their ability to use online teaching software. This is a new challenge and also a new opportunity!
Even though on the surface it seems our freedoms have been restricted, nevertheless because of the restrictions we can break through limitations imposed by old habits. It's just like Paul said -- "All things work together for the good of those who love God“!
Warm regards from RCMI Shiloh Bible College president Pastor Samuel Cheng
