SBC held our 70th Founders’ Day on 19 August 2022, marking the start of our 70th anniversary celebrations. One interesting item was the Scripture reading by current students related to our alumni—their second generation. This gave us a glimpse of God’s blessings flowing from generation to generation in and through the SBC family.
The Bible testifies that God called himself the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Exod 3:6, 15–16; 4:5; Acts 7:32). This name of God reveals that future generations receive blessings through God’s covenant with his people. God’s ‘family tree of blessings’ can be traced through the family histories and genealogies of Israelites and Christians, as well as the generations of disciples from the apostolic church to any local church today.
How has SBC’s own tree of blessings grown over these 70 years? To prepare for our anniversary celebrations, I have been browsing through the College newsletter articles written by our past principals, board members, deans, lecturers, alumni, and donors. They show our family tree of blessings branching out in the following ways.
Generations of faculty members and principals
Four generations of faculty members and three generations of principals have been educated and mentored in SBC. At Founders’ Day, we welcomed former faculty members, including our Principal Emeritus Rev. Dr. Michael Shen, Dr. Violet James, Rev. Dr. Andrew Hwang, Dr. Ng Peh Cheng, and Mrs. Leong King Ting. Their former students became faculty members, namely, myself, Rev. Dr. Grace Tan, Dr. Lee Chee Chiew, Rev. Dr. Elijah Liang, Dr. Chu Mei Chuan, Dr. Cynthia Chang, Dr. Myrleene Yap, Dr. Virginia Tsai, and Dr. Peter Ho. And now our students have joined us as lecturers, including Mr. Joshua Chang, Ms. Belinda Tan, Ms. Jean Luah, Ms. Esther Tan, Ms. Penny Quek, and Ms. Sally Liu, with more in our faculty-in-preparation scheme.
Generations of alumni and students
We have graduated 69 batches of students who have nurtured their congregation faithfully. Many of our alumni have witnessed their church members go through theological training at their alma mater. I myself was very encouraged to see my lead pastor, Rev. Dr. Daniel Y. M. Chua, and his wife, Pastor Ong Hoon Choo, at Founders’ Day. They mentored my wife, Mrs. Yvonne Chia, and me during our youth. I also saw Rev. Dr. Jervin Lim, Rev. Lui Meng Hong, and Pastor Liu Wei, whom I ministered to as a young pastor in the 1990s. Currently, their church member Mr. Tan Yee Kiat is a freshman at SBC.
Generations of supporters and donors
I was overjoyed to see many old and new friends of SBC join the celebration in the spirit of thanksgiving. Some form the second and even third generations of supporters and donors since our founding. I wondered at how this partnership for theological education has lasted for generations. I was amazed that some of our elderly donors even sent their young ones to join Founders’ Day—a new face introduced himself, “My father sent me to know SBC in person”; another young man exclaimed, “I have witnessed what my uncle told me about God’s work in SBC!”
Dear friends, praise the Lord that the family tree of God’s blessings is growing tall and strong! Thank you for labouring with us to advance God’s mission through theological education!
