Greetings! It is with great excitement that I write to you as the new Chairperson of the School of Theology (English) Alumni Committee. Having benefited from the college’s robust academic teaching and life-giving friendships, the Alumni Committee and I look forward to build on and chart new ways in which we can connect and support the alumni through lifelong learning, gatherings, and events.
SBC and its alumni are in an exciting season of reinvention and innovation. In this new season, we seek to highlight the stories and contributions of our alumni, recognizing the vital role we play as ambassadors of Christ and as a bridge between the College and the wider Christian community.
Alumni are the third-most important asset an institute of education has next to its students and its staff1.? One of the ways this vision is taking shape is through ministry-focused events, where we encourage alumni to not only attend but also contribute as speakers, workshop leaders, and resource partners to address current ministry needs of the church. We have so far engaged with alumni to reach out to the elderly and children, and we look forward to more.
We also wish to establish more alumni traditions and rituals—regular gatherings with friends, faculty, and current students as a hallmark of the alumni’s efforts2.? Besides our annual Homecoming/Founder’s Day and our Opening and Closing Chapels every semester, we want to invite you back for the SOTE Chapel that now takes place alternate weeks during semester time, and where current students take turns to lead and to share their testimonies. The first SOTE Chapel is the Dean’s Hour, where the Dean, Dr. Peter Ho, shares his heart for the semester. Soon, we will enhance it as our very own family meeting, where everyone, alumni included, can engage in conversation on the needs and future of SOTE.
In the recent semester, we have also started SBCircle, a bi-monthly online prayer meeting, and also alumni fellowship trips, on which we hope to connect with you in your countries!
I warmly encourage you to reach out with your stories, ministry updates, and ideas. Let’s discern together how we might reflect the unity of the body of Christ and bear fruit that will last.
For details on contacting your alumni chairs
https://swiy.co/gJhB
1Gillian N. Saunders-Smits, “Engineering Heroes Wanted: The Importance of Alumni,” in Attracting Young People to Engineering (Presented at the SEFI 2009: 37th Annual Conference, Rotterdam, 2009).
2Mary C. Martin et al., “The Importance of University Traditions and Rituals in Building Alumni Brand Communities and Loyalty,” International Academy of Marketing Studies Journal 19, no. 3 (2015): 107–118.
