Towards a Relevant Paradigm of Theological Education for an Effective Christian Mission in South East Asia: An Attempt at Re‐engineering the South East Asia Graduate School of Theology

The advanced theological education implemented in Asia through area cooperation in order to overcome the limitation of personnel, experiences and educational resources, i.e. South East Asia Graduate School of Theology (SEAGST), has come to a turning point under the influence of factors within and outside. The challenges of the popularity of religious studies in universities, and the readiness of many of the local theological institutes to offer higher theological degree programmes, raised questions about the quality and legitimacy of the current area setup (more and more participating schools are launching their own advanced theological degrees, which creates an overlapping of programmes). While recognizing the strengths of the current model for contextual concerns, the need for reviewing and re‐engineering the SEAGST to a more relevant model of theological education for the churches and societies in Asia has been discussed widely. This article proposes the idea of a supplementary centre or centres to the current area setup, so that the current strengths will be preserved and its weaknesses can be remedied.