By Dr. Paul Cornelius, Regional Secretary, ATA India

The second stage of the VSI engagement with the India cluster took place over a period of two weeks, from August 26 – September 6, 2019.  The team, consisting of Dr. Emmanuel Bellon (Vice President, Scholar Leaders International), Dr. Theresa Lua (General Secretary of ATA International), Dr. Linzay Rinquest (Principal of Cape Town Baptist Seminary) and Dr. Paul Cornelius (Regional Secretary, ATA India), visited four schools for these Strategic Planning sessions.  These four schools are as follows: 

  • Shalom Bible Seminary, Kohima – August 26-28
  • Oriental Theological Seminary, Bade – August 28-30
  • Asian Christian Academy, Hosur – September 2-4
  • Centre for Global Leadership Development – September 4-6

These were days of intense and focused conversations around the key areas of mission, vocation, prophetic voice, curriculum, faculty development, teaching and learning, technology, finance, partnerships, leadership and governance.  All four institutions were able to formulate, with the team’s guidance, key strategies to guide them for the next 3-5 years.  Each of the leaders gave testimony to the value of taking the time to chart their institution’s growth and direction.  

The SLI/ATA partnership is proving to be fruitful in our endeavour to enhance ATA’s Value Added Services.  Our goal is to take this engagement to more ATA member institutions in the future.  We are grateful to God for Dr Emmanuel Bellon and the SLI team who are committed to helping us in South and South East Asia.