KTC diamond jubliee conclude with 2,899 new followers

By KNG
The Diamond Jubilee of the Kachin Theological College (KTC) in Northern Burma was concluded today with 2,899 new followers, KTC sources said.

The new followers were baptized this morning at Mali Hka (Mali River) near the KTC school compound in Nawng Nang village, 10 miles north of Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State, by KTC alumni pastors, Rev. Mading Zung Kyang, the head of the Baptizing Committee said.

Most new followers were church-born people in 12 districts of Kachin Baptist Sub-convention under the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC) in Burma and of them about 30 people were converted from Buddhism to Christianity, Rev. Mading Zung Kyang added.

The KTC is the biggest Theological school in KBC and the KTC and its branch school Kutkai Bible School in Northeast Shan State produces about 200 graduate students annually, Rev. Hkalam Sam Sun, chairman of KTC Trustees said.

Rev. Sam Sun said the KTC has been training more and more students year after year. However, graduate students did not have the spiritual maturity to lead followers of the Christian faith in their churches as well as all other churches in KBC. It has resulted in a big problem of shortage of required teachers and pastors.

In the future, the KTC will try to impart both theology and secular education to students, KTC Trustee chairman, Rev. Sam Sun added.

The first Kachin Bible School (now KTC in Nawng Nang) was founded in June 6, 1932 in Bhamo, before Burma got independence, because of the dedicated service of three Kachin leaders, Pangmu Duwa Lahpai Zau Tu, Maran Robin and Labya De.

From 1972 to now, the KTC has trained a total of 3,817 students, where 2,220 are men and 1,597 are women, KTC records say.

Over 86 million kyats was spent in the seven-day Diamond Jubilee celebrations and a Diamond Jubilee Hall costing over 200 million kyats was inaugurated during the ceremony, said Rev. Mading Zung Kyang, Chief of Fund Finding and Baptizing Committee

The celebrations were attended by over 20,000 people including the key guest of KBC, Rev. Tom Steller, a deputy pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in the United States of America, the root Baptist missionary of KBC, the KTC leaders said.