VALUES ESTEEMED BY THE ATA

SAIACS believes and practices the core values esteemed by our accreditation agency ATA.

The four categories of values that inform ATA’s accreditation philosophy are administrative, relational, theological and educational.

(The following is an excerpt from the ATA Handbook, found in the ATA website)

Administrative Values

1. Sound Management – Our institutions must wisely steward their human, material, financial and spiritual resources toward the strengthening of the Church.
2. Student Centred Development – Our institutions and programs must focus on developing the students we serve. Administrative procedures, teacher selection, physical plant and pastoral services should be shaped by plans for student development.
3. Faculty and Staff Development -- Faculty and staff are the primary ministry models to our students. In recognition of this pivotal role of faculty and staff, we recognise the need for continuing development.
4. Program Accessibility – Ministry training must be made available to the whole people of God in models that are appropriate to the situation and context.
5. Strategic Flexibility – In co-operation with other programs, we must respond creatively to the church’s leadership needs. Our institutions must nurture a greater strategic flexibility in attuning ourselves to the full range of leadership roles the church requires.
6. Continuous Assessment – Our institutions should be guided by a rigorous practice of identifying objectives, assessing outcomes, and adjusting programs accordingly.
7. Operational Contextualization – In structure and operation our theological institutions and programs must demonstrate that they exist in and for their contexts.

Relational Values

1 Church Orientation - Our institutions must orient themselves in terms of the Christian community being served. Our theological education must serve the church.
2 Community Life – Our institutions must demonstrate Christian patterns of community.
3 Servant Moulding – Through our institutions our students must be moulded to styles of servant leadership appropriate to their intended biblical roles within the body of Christ.
4 Asian Diaspora – Our institutions must focus on helping students learn church planting strategies for Asians in multi-cultural contexts.

Theological Values

1. Biblical Grounding - We must together take immediate and urgent steps to seek, elaborate and possess a biblically informed theological basis for our calling and engagement in theological education and allow every aspect of our service to be come rooted and nurtured in this soil.
2. Theological Contextualization – Theology ought to be developed in the Asian context, reflecting Asian concerns and patterns of thought, methods of communication, and images and illustrations.
3. Christian Mind and Lifestyle - Our programs need to model patterns of holistic thought that are centered around biblical truth as the integrating core of reality and life.

Educational Values

1. Instructional Variety – Our teaching methods must be diverse, flexible, innovative and contextualized. Our institutions need to take practical steps to introduce and train their faculty to enhance effective teaching.
2. Lifelong Learning – Our institutions need to design requirements that equip students for a lifetime of ongoing learning and development. To this end, institutions must maintain ongoing supportive links and services with graduates.
3. Integrated Program – Our institutions must combine spiritual and practical with academic objectives in one holistic integrated educational approach.

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Site updated: February 5, 2008