Stephen Tong
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| Stephen Tong | |
| Born | 1940 Fujian, People's Republic of China |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Reformed evangelist and theologian |
Stephen Tong (b. 1940) an Indonesian Reformed evangelist and theologian. He has preached to more than twenty million people since 1957. [1]
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Born in 1940 in Fukien, China, Rev. Dr. Stephen Tong currently resides and ministers in Jakarta, Indonesia - the world's most populous Muslim nation. In his ministry spanning 50 years, given his start at age17, he has introduced 29 million people to Christ.
He graduated from Southeast Asia Bible Seminary in Malang, Indonesia and later he served as faculty of his alma mater teaching theology and philosophy for 25 years. He was founder and professor of the Reformed Evangelical Seminary in Jakarta. He has guest lectured at many leading theological seminaries in Asia. As a world renowned evangelist, this servant of God has preached in Asia, Europe, Australia, North and South America.
Removing barriers to Christian faith while leading people back to Christ via unified biblical principles marks his vision and mission. As an evangelist firmly rooted in Reformed theology, he has influenced hundreds of thousands to become full-time ministers of the Gospel.
Fulfilling the Cultural Mandate, he has also served as a composer, a conductor, an artist and an architect. He has an extensive knowledge of the arts, music, philosophy, science, antiques and architecture. He has composed more than 200 hymns and has designed more than 30 buildings all over the world.
Presently, he is building Reformed Center in Jakarta which he designed himself; it is one of the largest Chinese Christian evangelical church facilities in the world, with 600,000 square feet of space. He has written 75 books, including "Theology of Evangelism", "Strategy of Evangelism", "Between God and Man", "Holy Spirit and Gospel", "The Examples from Christ", and "Culture and the Fall".
He is the founder and the President of the Stephen Tong Evangelistic Ministries International (STEMI) which has established offices in the US, Europe, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Taipei. He is a member of the International Consultants of the Lausanne Committee of World Evangelization.
He has been the keynote speaker at the World Reformed Congress in Johannesburg 2006, Second Lausanne Congress in 1989, International Prayer Assembly in Seoul 1985 and as the Seminar Leader in Amsterdam 1988 (sponsored by Billy Graham Association).
In 1996, Rev. Dr. Tong founded the Reformed Institute for Christianity and 21st Century in Washington D.C., to equip Christians for global evangelization by training them in the areas of Reformed theology, apologetics, evangelism, and the critical study of Eastern and Western cultures.
In 1990, Rev. Dr. Tong founded the Indonesian Reformed Evangelical Foundation.
Since 2000, Rev. Tong has preached expository sermons on the Gospel of John, Book of Romans, Hebrews, James and other topics in Jakarta, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, and Taipei every week.
- In 1986, Stephen Tong founded STRI (Evangelical Reformed Seminary) in Surabaya. This was followed by the establishment of further branches of STRI in Jakarta (1987) and Malang (1990).
- 1996, he founded the Reformed Institute for Christianity in Washington D.C.[2]
In 2006, Stephen Tong launched a series of worldwide seminars in attempt to debunk the claims in the Da Vinci Code.[3] He also started the Reformed Institute of Christianity Summer Courses in the same year.[4]
The Indonesian Evangelical Reformed Church has expanded to include branches in many parts of the world including Europe (Germany), North America, and Indonesia. One of his current ambitions is a project to build a new building for the Reformed Church in Jakarta, which will include a 4000-capacity auditorium, concert halls and many other facilities. It is scheduled for completion in December 2007.
[edit] Special interests
He is known to have deep interest in classical music, art, philosophy, and architecture.[5] His knowledge in these fields is always incorporated into his sermons and seminars.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Dr. Stephen Tong, Pendeta, Ketua Sinode GRII | Ensiklopedi Tokoh Indonesia
- ^ Dr. Stephen Tong, Pendeta, Ketua Sinode GRII | Ensiklopedi Tokoh Indonesia
- ^ http://english.gospelherald.com/article/education/701/section/evangelist.stephen.tong.pinpoints.da.vinci.code.falsities/1.htm
- ^ http://english.gospelherald.com/article/education/700/section/stephen.tong.reformed.theology.summer.course.to.open.in.n.america/1.htm
- ^ Stephen Tong Resource - About Stephen Tong
[edit] Awards
In 1985, he was awarded an honorary doctorate in leadership in Christian evangelism from the La Madrid International Academy of Leadership in Manila, in the Philippines. Since then he is usually formally referred to as "Rev. Dr. Stephen Tong", despite the usual practices of a honorary degree.
[edit] References
Stephen Tong Resource - maintained by Elder Yong Teck Meng, Tong's translator in Singapore
[edit] Related external links
- (Chinese) Stephen Tong Evangelistic Ministries International
- Stephen Tong Resource
- (Indonesian) Indonesian Evangelical Reformed Church
- Stephen Tong DC Rally 2007 (September 21st - 23rd, 2007)
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Stephen Tong |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Reformed evangelist and theologian. |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1940 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Fujian, China |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
