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Author:Kim Hanushek

Feedback from the Field

PTL for the positive responses from students who participated in the two field tests of our latest course, the Book of Nehemiah! Listen to what Brother Xu had to say about how it impacted his personal spiritual life:  "This course has been very helpful for my spiritual life. A Christian's growth depends on knowing God and understanding His word. This was the first time I learned through expository teaching about a book from the Bible. It is a systematic and comprehensive approach that greatly spurs our spiritual growth. Nehemiah not only rebuilt the...

Enough To Simply Trust

In the blink of an eye, two-thirds of the year has already passed. We thank the Lord for helping us through tumultuous times. After three years of lockdown nightmares, we rejoice that our ministry has gradually recovered. Even more joyous and comforting is that at long last, we can meet face-to-face and have heart-to-heart conversations with our colleagues! The nationwide shutdown from 2020 to 2022 hit our ministry hard. Last year, we only managed to complete 32 training sessions, 20% below our annual target. Then from the start of 2023 with...

Blameless Children

  Reflections from Brother Music Finally! Face to face and in person! After three and a half years, we reunited with our national trainers in East Asia. Before departure, I was already excited because we had waited so long for this trip. After meeting together, I felt even more ecstatic, encouraged and grateful, though our time with them was short. The most unforgettable episode was our heart-to-heart conversation with John. In spite of being ill, he still drove for more than three hours from the break of dawn to meet with us. We...

Joseph’s Burden: Now is the Time

  Finally, with all anti-pandemic measures lifted, we can reconnect with our national trainers in person! Our head trainer, Joseph, was able to come meet us last month. We trust his testimony below will give you a clearer picture of their current challenges. "After the sudden relaxation of COVID control measures, all of us trainers got infected. So, we only managed to conduct one training from last December to mid-February. Training gradually resumed as we recovered, and we completed 18 trainings from mid-February to late April. Things appear to be returning to...

Work While It Is Day!

Three months ago, East Asia suddenly canceled its strict anti-COVID policy. This caught us by surprise. The unexpected relaxation of restrictions led to a nationwide explosion of cases. All our teachers and family members, plus most of our training partners and students, got infected. With no teachers available or students to teach, we had no choice but to stop training again. As a result, we were unable to attain our original goal of running 40 training sessions and graduating 100 students last year. Despite our initial disappointment, we felt relieved knowing...

Ringing in the New!

As we ring in the new year, there is much to celebrate at SALT! Since our founding 27 years ago, we have compiled over 30 courses covering not only the histories of the Old and New Testaments, Bible teachings and Christian living, but also Bible Study and preaching skills. Ten years ago, we began the process of revamping outdated content. Today, we rejoice over the completion of our latest revision project, the new and improved Homiletics course. Indeed this journey was full of twists and turns, as described by our curriculum colleague, Music,...

Carpe Diem

As 2022 draws to a close, we bring you a story of SALT trainers and students who seized the day, despite hazards and hard work. One Monday in November, two of our SALT trainers hurried to the SC site. They were slated to teach our Old Testament Survey 1, 100 Steps (OT 1) course the next morning. En route, they heard that several other trainings got postponed due to the pandemic. They had only one plea in their hearts: "Lord, please don't let this training be affected." PTL that classes began as scheduled, but the crisis...

Advancing with Vision

What a special opportunity we had last month to video chat with two of our founders, Rev. Steve Wible and Dr. Steve Torgerson! In discussing the future development of SALT, our focus naturally turned to the rapid changes taking place across East Asia. Like some of you, they raised concerns about how these changes are impacting SALT's ministry. Yes, we are facing greater and greater challenges, but yes, we are experiencing God's grace in greater and greater measure. As our Director of Training, Joseph, explains, "COVID has repeatedly broken out in different...

When Plan B Is Best

Sometimes, Plan B is God's best for our lives. Such was the case for 25-year-old Wing who graduated from our 3-Year Certificate Program last year. Among the first cohort of SALT graduates, Wing was determined to become an "unashamed worker who will be also qualified to teach others."  (2 Tim 2:2,15) Committing to full-time ministry was no easy endeavor, even for a second-generation believer like Wing. A college grad with a bright future ahead of him, Wing could have simply stayed on in the secular world, but he finally let go of his original...

Reversal of Roles

What pride and joy we feel at SALT as our national trainers take on greater ownership over curriculum design and course development. More than a decade ago, we created the "You Preach I Write" approach to tailor-make Bible courses for pastors in the East Asian church. While lacking expertise in writing, our national trainers excelled in preaching, using cultural illustrations and application points familiar to local believers. So, our job was to transcribe their pilot teaching and discussion recordings into text, then edit and compile the materials into manuals. In this...