Blog

We typically share in these monthly emails about what is happening “over here” in Asia. In this new era of COVID-19, however, there is no over here and over there. We are all in the same little boat, drifting and ...

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9, ESV) COVID-19 is not the only novelty! Despite suspensions of SALT trainings ...

Like you, we have been learning what it means, quite literally, to “be still and know that I am God” during this pandemic. All national trainings have been suspended since January. During this difficult time, we h...

Blown off course by the coronavirus outbreak, all SALT trainings have been suspended since Chinese New Year with no telling when they can resume. Nonetheless, as re-directed by the “Holy Wind,” our local trainers ...

At the start of this Chinese New Year, rejoice with us over the completed first year of our Three-Year Certificate Program! Comprised of five core plus four elective courses, this Program provides systematic biblical training...

“Behold,” God says, “I am making all things new!” As we celebrate the New Year, we remember that God is in the business of renewal. He continues to do new things in very old places. Exhibit A for us is...

Imagine a chaotic maze of muddy, trash-strewn streets and air so thick with dust and vehicle exhaust it almost hurts to breathe. Imagine maroon-clad monks and backpack-toting foreigners making a slow circuit around Asia’...

Five to six years ago, David noticed a changing demand among national church leaders. Our old course, Bible Study Methods 1 & 2, was not being effectively used. As a seminary graduate himself, he knew the critical value ...

When Joseph stepped into the leadership role in January 2018, he and the team were facing two immediate problems: *The “weather” across the country would soon turn bad. How much would this hinder communication, tr...

2019 has been a turning point for SALT. We significantly altered our training strategy with a new training program and officially commissioned a new core team to lead this new effort. In spite of daunting circumstances, the t...

Increasingly harsh and unpredictable weather conditions have become the norm in 2019. Again and again local weather storms have flared up interrupting our national team efforts. Thankfully there have been no injuries. Constan...

Ringo has been part of our curriculum team for more than 10 years. Rarely does our curriculum staff serve as a trainer. Volunteering to co-teach a SALT course was a big challenge and risk for him. He would have to teach in a ...

Good students come from rigorous teachers – a Chinese proverb  Here is a glimpse of what “rigorous” SALT training looks like. Joseph, one of our senior teachers, maintains a very high standard for his s...

Here in Hong Kong God is opening doors for us to contribute to local church spiritual growth programs. In the coming months our staff will be teaching more classes in local HK churches.  In some instances, we discover people...

I was more than a bit nervous. I’m not normally a teacher. My primary work is editing and sometimes contributing as a writer. To make it worse, the “students” were very different than me. The majority were l...

The long Spring Festival holiday has ended and SALT’s trainings are gearing up once again in the Far East. Late last year we began testing the waters for implementing a new 3-year certificate program for networks of chu...

2018 was a volatile year with increasingly strict limitations put on some of our activities. Other organizations have felt the pinch as well. Thank God that SALT training continues to develop and in spite of these limitations...

Life is a book being written every day. As I have gotten older, I have realized that there are not just phrases in the writ of my life. There are sentences, with a full stop. There are paragraphs and sections and chapters. An...

The Chinese churches in East Asia are facing new challenges. Systematic training is becoming more and more difficult. In the past two months, we have also experienced disturbances at some training sites during teaching sessio...

The booming voice came from outside, announcing he was a government official and was there to inspect the inside of the church. A training event had just gotten underway and the “inspection to see if the national flag was h...

In spite of new restrictions, we are moving forward with increased intentionality! Since February, when new restrictions were implemented across the country, we have been exploring new training opportunities in East Asia. We ...

As we are navigating transitions in the team and planning new strategies, a pleasant surprise appeared on our radar screen. Emily, a former colleague, contacted us last month with unexpected news. While chatting with one of ...

“And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.” 2 Timothy 2:2 Over the past 20 years, this verse has been the core of SALT...

Seven years ago, I moved my family to Hong Kong to try and answer the question, “Can SALT material, created with one group of people in mind, be useful in other contexts?” This is an important question. Too often, approac...

Our Curriculum Team member, Music, recently had his first opportunity to teach a SALT course. This has widened his scope of ministry as he explores future roles of service with the SALT team. He was deeply moved by the studen...

…a training project is completed? A training project that included: 2 years 2 courses 200 memorized phrases and motions 8 trips 15 full time teachers and 500+ pastors of ultra-poor congregations In the Philippines, more...

An encouraging experience from one of our trainers… We always pray that God will use His Word in our teaching to change people. When this happens, it is by His grace. I saw a touching example of this from the church lea...

One of SALT’s core ministries is to create training courses. Since 1997, we have created around 30 courses. Some are practical courses like Practical Church Management. Some relate to expository preaching like Bible Study...

SALT emphasizes the concept of steps in our training. We teach 200 steps through the Old and New Testaments. We prefer deliberate and intentional steps over wild leaps and bounds, believing those steps to be more trustworthy ...

The year 2018 will bring many changes at SALT, with staff relocations and new government regulations, but we trust that God will continue to lead and guide our continued mission to assist the church in Asia by equipping leade...

Partnering with other like-minded organizations to accomplish Kingdom work brings us great joy! SALT responds to requests from individuals to help with training, we partner with churches to increase their missional impact, an...

We had the privilege of interviewing church leaders from Vietnam who received SALT training. The interviewer asked many questions, but especially wanted to know what impact SALT had on the lives of believers in rural village ...

In September, we taught the second of three parts of our New Testament course to staff of International Care Ministries who will be teaching hundreds of pastors in ultra-poor churches throughout the southern Philippines. Thes...

Are we providing the best tools? Bible Study Methods (BSM) is a skill every pastor needs. But in East Asia, it is a rare exception to meet a pastor who has been taught this skill. About 10 years ago, we made our first attemp...

This past month, we had the joy of partnering with Hong Kong believers who are serving in various places around Asia. A small group came to the SALT office to learn from one of our experienced trainers. They received training...

Change happens! It is a constant reality that everyone must face at one point or another. How comforting it is to know that God is constantly working through change, holding everything together, and bringing about His purpose...

Last month, we shared about the pilot program that started in March to evaluate the progress of our national trainers. First, several of our national trainers taught a group of students. Then they acted as coaches while their...

For the past 2 years, we have held a series of workshops designed to upgrade the teaching skills of our national trainers whose experience is deeply ingrained, both the positive and the negative. We shared an update here, but...

Multiplication is a great idea that is incredibly hard to put into practice. It typically involves SALT trainers teaching at a new site, their students grasping the material with vision to pass it on to others, and then thei...

They left the church, then returned. A few years ago, churches throughout a region of East Asia were targeted by cult members. Since these churches were not equipped with adequate Bible knowledge, almost half of the believer...

After 3 years of hard work, a group of 18 trainees fulfilled all course requirements and were awarded a certificate of completion. But the certificate represented much more than just completed courses. The certificate was a...

The theme for our evening of celebration was “Quenching a Spiritually Thirsty World Together.”   We were thankful for the 150 guests that joined us to celebrate God’s faithfulness these past 20 years. &...

“It is not surprising that people are saved from this training because at any point, in any lesson, you can point to God.” ~SALT Trainee Last month, we held a four-day training in a small rural church down a grave...

“That was a real work of God!” said one of our long-term national trainers after hearing an older co-worker teach a trial lesson in front of all of their colleagues. In the 20 years we’ve been training leaders across th...

Midsummer is rice planting season in Nepal. Standing on a hilltop you see the deep green valleys and steep terraced hillsides buzzing with activity. You see men and women, young and old, laboring in the muddy paddies under th...

I became a student again for three days while I listened to 12 of my student teachers lecture as part of their practicum. A few weeks ago, I had given them a list of ten skills that I expected them to include as they taught. ...

She was in tears. It was our fault. SALT is beginning a dynamic new partnership in the Philippines with International Care Ministries (ICM), an organization serving the ultra-poor nationwide through local churches. ICM has gi...

She insisted on being there, though her presence wasn’t wanted. An eager group of believers had gathered together to learn more about defending their faith from the growing insurgence of predatory cults. They certainly did ...