A Brief History of the Seminary

Overseas Theological Seminary was established in Hong Kong in the fall of 1966 by Rev. John L. Tsang. In its first year, the school had 13 students and rented a 6-unit facility on Prince Edward Road to meet campus and housing needs. With the Lord's provision, a spacious long-term campus in Kowloon Tong was aquired in 1967. The seminary remained there for almost 30 years until 1996, when OTS moved to San Jose, California in the United States. While in Hong Kong, OTS had 30 graduating classes altogether, with alumni exceeding 400 in number, most of them still serving the Lord as pastors, ministers, and missionaries around the world.

OTS in the United States started its prepartory stage at the end of 1994 and officially began classes in the fall of 1996. At present, over 200 alumni are serving the Lord in various ministries.

Words from the Founder

The primary purpose of the existence of the Seminary both in Hong Kong and in the United States is to train godly servants to serve the Lord as pastors, ministers and missionaries around the world.

After World War II, I had opportunities to serve as teacher, academic dean, and president in various bible colleges and seminaries both in China and in Hong Kong. Throughout these past fifty years of my involvement in theological education, I have observed that if a theological education is to benefit the Church of Christ and to meet the spiritual needs of God's people, the primacy of preaching the Word must be stressed. Above all, training in character and in ministerial skills should be on equal ground with academic pursuits.

The needs of churches worldwide are great. "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few." I count this our responsibility to train future pastors and spiritual leaders. With this in mind, we have dedicated ourselves to the fulfillment of the Great Commission. By the divine enablement from the Lord of harvest, we are striving to meet this goal.

The seminary is equipped with complete facilities, with a newly built 2-story annex building which expands the library and offices for the faculty. Subsequently, we also purchased 2 apartment complexes adjacent to the seminary for student dormitories. The area of the whole campus totals to about 60,000 square feet.

We offer a complete and well-round seminary curriculum taught by highly qualified teachers, and comprehensive academic programs. I myself am also involved in the role of teaching. May God give us the strength to achieve our intended goal.

My sincerest prayer is that through the training and preparation of this school, godly servants will be raised up to further the cause of Christ and His kingdom. May the Lord be glorified through these efforts

Your Servant in Christ Jesus,

John L. Tsang

Purpose and Objectives

The purpose and objectives of the Seminary is three-fold:

  1. Our ultimate goal is to equip Chinese-speaking pastors and missionaries to serve the worldwide Chinese community, fulfilling the Great Commission and advancing God's kingdom.
  2. Training Chinese-speaking preachers to study God's word diligently in order to know His will and accurately preach His Word throughout their lifetime.
  3. Nurturing spiritually mature Chinese leaders through character building and intimate relationship with the Lord.

Statement of Faith

I. The Bible

We believe that the original manuscript of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments is verbally inspired by God in all its parts, is inerrant, and the supreme and final authoirty in faith and conduct.

II. The Triune God

We believe in one triune God, eternally existing in three persons - God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit - who are co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, who created all things, and accomplished the work of redemption.
We believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of the Father, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, and is sinless all through His life. He was crucified on the cross for the redemption of human sins, and was resurrected on the third day. 。
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Triune God, who convicts the world of their sins. The Holy Spirit indwells in born-again believers, unites them with the Lord, and endows them with power to live holy lives.

III. The Origin and Fall of Man

We believe that man was created in the image and the likeness of God, and was not evolved from any lower form of animal life. Sin entered the world through the fall of Adam. The human race inherited a sinful nature from Adam's original sin. As a result, man is alienated from God, and subjected to His divine wrath and judgment.

IV. The Way of Redemption

We believe that redemption is solely by the grace of God, and the remission of sins is through the precious blood of Jesus Christ and through personal faith in Him. There is no other way to salvation apart from Christ. We believe in the eternal security of believers, once saved, always saved.

V. The Church

We believe that the church is the body of Christ, and Christ is the head of the church. The church is the collective body of born-again believers called by God's grace, bonded by His love, and organized under the preaching and teaching of the Scriptures for worship and fellowship.

VI. The Second Coming of Christ

We believe that Christ will return one day according to the prophetic promises of the Scriptures, to judge the living and the dead and to establish His kingdom forever.

VII. Marriage

We believe that God created man and then created woman as a helper to man, with both man and woman equal in value.

We believe God has designed marriage to be a covenantal lifelong union between one man and one woman, as husband and wife. Marriage is meant to picture the covenant love between Christ and His bride, the church. We believe any form of sexual intimacy outside the bounds of marriage is sin and offensive to God (Genesis 2:18; 22-24).

師資團隊

Overseas Theological Seminary places a strong emphasis on the continuous growth and expansion of our faculty. Whether inside the classroom or beyond, our professors exude creativity and passion, deeply committed to fully nurturing God's future workers here at the Seminary. Our faculty members bring unique expertise from diverse backgrounds, uniting at the Seminary to advance and fulfill our shared vision and mission. Vibrant, yet characterized by stability and spiritual maturity, our team of professors guides our students toward the very forefront of cutting-edge ministry.

Founder

Pastor Zeng Linfang (1919~2011)

  • 1996-2011 Founder and President of the California Overseas Theological Seminary, USA
  • 1966-97 Founder and President of the Hong Kong Overseas Theological Seminary
  • 1964-66 President of the Hong Kong Chinese Theological Seminary
  • 1946-49 Dean of Academic Affairs, Bethel Theological Seminary, Shanghai
Detailed introduction

Pastor Zhang Zhiji

  • Instruction: Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, Hebrew and Greek.
  • Highest Education: 2010 Master's Theology (Th.M.) in Old and New Testament Exegesis from a Master's Theology school, while continuing his Ph.D. in Biblical Studies.
Detailed introduction

Associate Dean | Full-time Faculty

Dean of Academic Affairs | Full-time Teacher

Pastor/Dr. Fang Zhenming

  • Majors taught: Systematic Theology, Apologetics, Christian Ethics.
  • Highest Education: PhD in Philosophy, Master of Theology, Westminster Theological Seminary, USA; Master of Divinity, Hong Kong Baptist Theological Seminary. He served as Senior Pastor in the United States for ten years, and was an Associate Professor at the North American Chinese Evangelical Seminary, the Hong Kong Evangelical Seminary, and Bethel Theological Seminary. Currently, he is the Dean of Academic Affairs at the Overseas Theological Seminary in the United States.
Detailed introduction

Dr. Zeng Sihan

  • Major Courses: Synoptic Gospels, Gospel of John, Pauline Epistles, Revelation, Preaching
  • Highest Education: PhD in Philosophy from the University of Sheffield, MSc in Divinity and MSc in Literature from Western Theological Seminary. His doctoral dissertation, *From Slave to Son*, is widely circulated. In his nearly thirty-year teaching career, he has visited and lectured on five continents and authored nearly sixty books in Chinese and English. Readers can easily search for his published works online.
Detailed introduction

Pastor/Doctor Wu Rongchu

  • Major Courses: Revelation, Exegetical Preaching, Pastoral Studies, Ecumenical Epistles, Hermeneutics
  • Highest Education: Doctor of Hermeneutics, Westminster Theological Seminary; previously taught at Singapore Theological Seminary; also served as Senior Pastor of Lowell Chinese Bible Church, Massachusetts, and Senior Pastor of Taipei Baptist Church of Grace.
Detailed introduction

Pastor/Doctor Chen Jinyou

  • Instruction: Hebrew, Old Testament, Old Testament History and Theology, Preaching.
  • Highest Education: Master of Divinity, Master of Theology, and Doctor of Philosophy in Old Testament from Trinity Theological Seminary in Chicago.
Detailed introduction

Pastor/Dr. Lin Xiangyuan

  • Professor: Practical Theology
  • Highest Education: D. Min. Westminster Theological Seminary
  • D.Min. Westminster Theological Seminary
  • M.Div. Grand Rapids Baptist Seminary
Detailed introduction

Pastor Ye Yubo

  • Instruction: Hebrew, Old Testament texts, Old Testament history and theology, and preaching.
  • Highest Education:
  • Doctoral Studies, Brandeis University (Major: Ancient Near Eastern Studies)
  • Master of Arts, Brandeis University (Major: Ancient Near Eastern Studies)
  • Master of Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary (Major: Old Testament)
  • Master of Divinity, Fuller Theological Seminary
  • Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts, Azusa Pacific University
  • Diploma in Theology, Hong Kong Overseas Theological Seminary
Detailed introduction

Professor Lan Yaqing/PhD

  • Main Instructor: Piano Pedagogy.
  • Highest Education:
  • Doctor of Piano Education, Mississippi State University, USA.
  • Master of Music Theory, Mississippi State University, USA.
  • Bachelor of Piano Performance, Mississippi State University, USA.
Detailed introduction

Pastor/Doctor Tong Yanping

  • Specializes in: Exegetical Preaching.
  • Highest Education: Doctor of Pastoral Studies, The Evangelical Seminary, USA.
Detailed introduction

Professor Liu Shaoling/PhD

  • Specializes in: Christian education and teaching methodology.
  • Highest degree: Doctor of Pastoral Studies, The Evangelical Seminary, USA.
Detailed introduction

Teacher Xu Yunzhe

  • Highest Education:
  • Master of Theology (Th.M.) from Trinity Theological Seminary, Chicago. His Master of Theology degree specialized in the Old Testament; his dissertation focused on Old Testament sacrifices. His research interests include textual criticism, linguistics, textual analysis, the Dead Sea Codex, and the relationship between the Old and New Testaments.
Detailed introduction