Last month I visited Singapore to attend the Asia Theological Association Triennial Assembly and show Accordance at three different seminaries there. It was a fantastic time to meet faithful long-time users of Accordance, as well as introduce our wonderful program to students of the Bible from Singapore and other parts of Asia.
The Asia Theological Association (ATA) is the accrediting organization for 326 evangelical schools throughout Asia, as far apart as Jordan and Japan. There were around 340 attendees at the conference, nearly all professors and/or administrators from various Asian colleges and seminaries. It was truly a multi-ethnic crowd.
I gave a 90-minute presentation of Accordance during one of the breakout sessions. It was exciting to see the growing influence of Accordance in Asia, as more and more schools in Asia are starting to use Accordance for biblical studies. As college and seminaries in Asia grow their academic programs and student bodies, Accordance is well-suited to partner with them in the task of training men and woman for ministry in the Asian context.
The second part of my trip to Singapore was to visit a few specific seminaries. I demonstrated the power and usefulness of Accordance for Bible students at the Baptist Theological Seminary, Trinity Theological College, and Singapore Bible College. Each school had an enthusiastic response to seeing Accordance in action, especially for faculty and students who were interested in our BibleWorks Crossover packages and special new features added for former BibleWorks users. It was fascinating to see how seminaries in Singapore are training their students, both English-speaking and Chinese-speaking, in the field of biblical studies.
I had one free afternoon to walk along the downtown harbor and enjoy the sights of this unique country in Asia. Although Singapore is geographically small, its impact in the Asian church is large. I’m already looking forward to the next time I can visit this fascinating and diverse place to assist Accordance users in their study of God’s Word.
Ryan Mudge is our full-time Asian Representative and currently lives in South Korea with his wife, Joyce.