NEWS

UPCOMING EVENTS

SAIACS admission process for 2013-14 will shortly commence. To know more, get in touch with the registrar at registrar@saiacs.org

University of Mysore recognises SAIACS' MTh degree as MPhil in Theology

With the recent recognition of our MTh as Master of Philosophy in Theology, we are now able to offer university recognised theological education at three postgraduate levels: MA in Theology, and MPhil (Th) in seven areas of specialisation, and PhD—all recognised by the University of Mysore. This is unique in Indian theological education as we are the only theological institution which is able to offer this range of postgraduate residential learning recognised by a government university.

This is a truly momentous development as this recognition comes without any significant changes to our curriculum. Hence we are able to offer the same courses we have been offering over the years with our emphasis on evangelical faith and mission, and students in same classrooms are able to earn either ATA recognised qualifications or the UGC recognised degrees.

SAIACS ADMISSION PROGRAMME 2012

On 10th and 11th Feb 2012, SAIACS hosted several applicants for its MTh and PhD programmes. Entrance exams and interviews were spread over two days. The MA applicants were invited too for a similar process, on Monday (13 Feb, 2012) and Tuesday (14 Feb, 2012).
Apart from the exam time, the applicants were encouraged to meet with current students and faculty and see for themselves whether SAIACS is the right place for them.

After all the admissions results were tabulated, the faculty met for an extended time to decide on each and every applicant, prayerfully and with a mind of whether the right candidate is given admission.

A lot of prayer goes into this, because God’s wisdom is truly needed here. Do also join us in prayer for SAIACS and the applicants at this important time.

JOINT VENTURE

SAIACS and Asbury Theological Seminary (Kentucky/Florida, US) collaborated on a two-week course on “Globalisation, Culture and Urban Church Planting.” Dr. Art McPhee (Asbury) and Dr. Atul Aghamkar (SAIACS) co-taught a group of 16 students from Asbury and about 12 from SAIACS.

CERTIFICATE COURSE IN THEOLOGICAL LIBRARIANSHIP

SAIACS offers a 3 months certificate course in Theological Librarianship from January 2012 to March 2012. To know more, go to Library Resources. The application form for this course can be downladed from the Library Resources page.

Links to Online Theological Libraries and Resources are now available, click here to access the links database.

LINK WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF MYSORE

Last week SAIACS signed an MoU with the University of Mysore regarding recognition (virtually unchanged) of our Masters’ programmes. Technically this means we are recognized as a Center for Specialised Studies with one of the top 16 state universities in India. The Master of Arts in Theology is finalised and the Master of Philosophy (equivalent to our MTh) will follow shortly.

This recognition strengthens our accreditation, broadens the range of ministry and employment options for SAIACS graduates and makes international student visas easier to obtain. This should strengthen our contribution to ATA and perhaps widen the circle of churches which accept SAIACS degrees. Dr Graham Houghton says ‘this is surely a tour de force for SAIACS that will no doubt have most interesting and significant consequences for SAIACS in the arena of Theological Education in South Asia and beyond.’ Mr John Amalraj of Interserve India said it was a ‘path breaking achievement.’ Another trustee, Dr K Rajendran believes it will be used by the Lord ‘for upgrading our graduates to be involved in the public life of India and the nations across the world to be Daniels, Josephs, Ezras, Nehemiahs and others influencing people to the Lord Jesus Christ.’

SAIACS-RZIM COLLABORATION

On 9th June 2011, the RZIM Chair of Apologetics-the fruit of collaboration between SAIACS and RZIM, was launched at SAIACS at the CEO Centre. The coming together of the two institutions was recognised as the fruit of the Holy Spirit’s work. Both the Principal of SAIACS, Dr Ian Payne, and the CEO of RZIM, Mr SD Reuben, explained that with SAIACS, which stands for ‘excellence in mission,’ and RZIM, which exists so that ‘the believer thinks and the thinker believes,’ joining together, the training of effective apologists takes on a greater prominence. Mr Reuben expressed that with SAIACS’ track record of excellence and RZIM’s pursuit of combining head with heart in the apologetic task this is a development that will benefit the church at large and impact the world.
The occupant of the RZIM Chair of Apologetics is Dr Varughese John , a graduate of Union Biblical Seminary
and a PhD from the University of Madras. He is a specialist in Kierkegaard studies with a keen interest in Indian philosophies as well. A highlight of the evening was the message by Dr Ravi Zacharias in which he challenged the audience saying that God wants to use each one in his own unique way to develop our unique life and ministry. Both SAIACS and RZIM pray that the seeds of God’s word sown through this collaboration will continue to bear much fruit.

ACADEMIC YEAR 2011-12

Monday, 6th June saw the beginning of a new academic year. We have 60 new students along with the continuing students. This first week will involve orienting the students to the various aspects of life at SAIACS.

GRADUATION 2011

2 April (Sat): The 24th SAIACS Graduation Ceremony was held on 2 April, 2011, at 6pm. 48 students graduated. The Graduation Speaker was Dr. Augustine Jebakumar (GEMS). Over 1000 guests attended a wonderful evening programme where each Graduate was reminded to be useful for God's purpose. The night also coincided with the Cricket World Cup (which India won). More photos of the event will be updated soon.

LATEST RELEASE FROM SAIACS PRESS

2 April (Sat): Also on the Graduation night, SAIACS Press released its latest book, a collection of short Christian plays called “Centre Stage: 13 Plays for Adaptation", written by Sangeeta Chowdary. More details in the SAIACS Press Page.

SAIACS WORSHIP CONCERT

March 18 (Fri): The SAIACS Worship Concert, held on the SAIACS lawns, was a blessing and a success. Organised and led by a student team, the focus of the Concert was to have fun as our worship drew us closer to God and to each other. The Concert featured 17 Christian contemporary songs, and the Team had the SAIACS Community dancing and singing along. The Concert ended with a reminder that Jesus was coming soon, so we must be prepared.

SPORTS DAY

March 11 (Fri): The SAIACS Sports Day was held on the SAIACS lawn, on a hot Friday afternoon. The Cell Groups took part in various competitions ranging from the typical "running races" to the unconventional "fill the water" or "thre legged race" kinds of games. The Sports Day ended in the evening with a Tug of War between the Cell Groups. While all the Cell Groups participated valiantly, it was finally Godzone, that triumphed on the basis of overall points.

WATER BLESSING

After weeks of water shortage, and endless water tanker trips into SAIACS to augment the water shortage, the drilling rig struck water at 3.00am on 18th February at 745 ft. We struck a strong source of water, which flushed up higher than the rig itself. Estimates of its capacity are from 2000 gal/hr to 3,500 gal/hr. 'Rehoboth' is the name of the new well here at SAIACS (read Gen 26!!). Our Lord has indeed provided plenty of water!

Child Theology Lecture

2 Feb (Wed): Dr. Keith White presented a Special Lecture at SAIACS on "Doing Child Theology in the Indian Context." He informed that Child Theology was a movement that focussed on Jesus, and attempted to recover the importance that Jesus gave to the child.

SAIACS on Facebook, Twitter and Wordpress

2 Feb: Today, the new-look of the SAIACS website was launched with the addition of four new icons: Wordpress (a blogging site), Twitter, Facebook and an RSS-feed for Facebook. While updating a website daily can be a difficult task, social media sites make it easier to connect with the extended SAIACS community with quick news.

The Facebook page usually has regular status about SAIACS events, especially updates of what happened in Chapel. The community is encouraged to participate by providing photos and updates. You too can participate by pressing "like" on the SAIACS Page.

The Twitter site provides shorter updates with extra tid-bits that do not warrant a status update. All Facebook updates are also automatically updated on Twitter. So if you follow Twitter, it is a good way to see what is happening on both Facebook and Twitter.

The SAIACS Wordpress blog is a work in progress. All Twitter updates are automatically loaded onto Wordpress. We are hoping that we can have more community oriented participation, with longer articles and discussion. However, we will take that step a little slowly.

Finally, the RSS-feed link for Facebook is a quick way to upload all the Facebook updates on your mobile phone or even RSS-reader.

Feel free to participate as and when you can.

SAIACS Volleyball Tournament

28 Jan (Fri): The Cell Group MTC won the SAIACS "Super Serve" Volleyball Tournament 2011, defeating Promise Keepers in a match that lasted almost 1.5 hours. The Tournament itself was played over two weeks, with all Cell Groups playing each other in a round-robin league. The top four teams qualified for the Semi Finals. We all witnessed excellent sportsmanship, with a good community attendance and cheerers for each side. Most of the games were quite competitive and it was great to see students joined by Faculty, Staff and Services Staff playing together. There was also a woman's match organised just before the Finals, where MTh women played (and won) against the MA women. It was wonderful to see women getting a chance to play competitive sport, and also great to see the community cheer them on. All in all, this year's volleyball season was a huge success.

SAIACS Cultural Night

21 Jan (Fri): The SAIACS Cultural Night was held on 21 Jan, 2011, at the CEO Centre. The evening was a celebration of the many cultures that make up SAIACS, including North East, North India, South Indian and International groups. All groups did a fascinating job telling the community about their cultures as well as creatively showing us through dance, drama and pictures. One group even prepared a special traditional sweet-dish and distributed it to the community during the event. As many students remarked, it was night to remember.

Christian Biography Writing Seminar

15 Jan (Sat): A Seminar entitled "Learning the Art of Writing: Christian Biography" was conducted by Dr. Arthur McPhee and Mrs. Ingrid Albuquerque-Solomon at the SAIACS Chapel. The Seminar aimed to equip and mobilize emerging Christian writers in the critical endeavour of documenting and publishing lessons learned by significant Christian leaders in India. It was well attended, and many of the participated said that it was helpful for their writing ministry.

SAIACS Library

We are pleased to announce that SAIACS Library Catalogue is available in online, as part of the union catalogue of Joint Library Committee (JLC), Bangalore. This union catalogue has library records from Southern Asia Bible College (SABC), St.Peter’s Seminary, SAIACS and United Theological College (UTC). Over 2.15 lakhs records can be accessed.
For detailed information and access, click library resources.