Baptist Heritage Taught First Time in Korean at Southwestern Seminary

Korean-language course geared toward uniting Southwestern Seminary with Korean-American Christian community

Currently in development, the first Korean-language Baptist Heritage course will be slotted for January 4 –7, 2005. The class will be led by Dr. Hyung Min Kim. Kim is a consultant for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention in Asia and serves as the senior pastor of the Denton Korean Baptist Church of Texas. Dr. Kim is also an alumnus from Southwestern, holding a Ph.D. in evangelism.

The curriculum of the class is geared toward Koreans and Korean-speaking Korean American. The one-week course will allow the students to have a better understanding of their denominational heritage through an informative session of lectures and discussion. Kim explained that the class would not require any prerequisites, but will be limited to a class of 30 students. Though the course is geared toward Baptists, students from other seminaries and theological schools are invited to attend the course – with the option of earning transferable credit. The purpose of this class, says Kim, is to encourage a good relationship between the Korean Christian community and the Southwestern Seminary. The course will also be a stepping-stone for developing a Korean-American studies concentration at Southwestern. Kim commented:

“[We are] hoping for Southwestern to add at least a couple of Korean courses each year until a Korean/Korean-American studies concentration may be offered as part of the M.Div. degree.” (Quote from BP)

This year, Southwestern has no less than 193 Korean students. Plans to enroll additional students are underway.