Seminary Introduction
Established in July 2024 in Jakarta by the Beautiful Village Foundation, Meicun Mission Seminary offers a one-year foundational Bible course in Bahasa Indonesia, English, and Chinese, as well as two-year and three-year advanced courses in English and Chinese for pastoral leaders, missionaries, and Bible teachers. The aim is to train passionate believers from Indonesia, internationally, and among the Chinese to become visionary, diligent, and pragmatic evangelical workers, establishing mission churches faithful to the gospel in China, Indonesia, and worldwide. Nearly 120 students from more than a dozen countries are currently being trained.
The Seminary was formerly a one-year Bible study program established in 2013 in Beijing, China. At that time, a one-year full-time Bible training course, or the One-Year Course for short, was organized in order that zealous members may be more firmly established in the faith of the Gospel, and be provided with a foundation of biblical knowledge and spiritual exercises on which they could further develop, and be provided with the basic ministry training which they need to become key members of the church for ministry. There are 12 students in the first session. During the course of the year, the trainees are required to live and eat together full time, study Introduction to the Bible, Volume Studies, Methods of Interpretation, and basic doctrinal and ministry courses. They also need to go out to the people for personal evangelism on the spot and cultivate new believers, with the witness to one another in the spiritual fellowship of the community. From that time to 2024, 10 sessions have been organized to train nearly 300 leaders of our church and more than 100 leaders of the related churches.
Starting from 2021, Pastor Benjamin was sent by the church to lead a part of the one-year course of more than 20 students to Jakarta, studying and preaching at the same time, to establish the Gereja Desa Indah (GDI)(which is: the Beautiful Village Church Jakarta), and to join the Gereja Kristus Rahmani Indonesia (GKRI) as its member church. Today, there are more than a dozen places of worship in Jakarta where the church members meet regularly for Sunday worship in different languages such as Bahasa Indonesia, English and Chinese.
In this way, from 2021 to 2024, there are three sessions of more than 120 trainees in total who are trained in the One Year Course in Jakarta while practicing in the mission field at the same time. Most of the trainees stayed in Jakarta after graduation as missionaries with a clear mission to continue the gospel ministry. 2022-2024, the Beautiful Village Church in Indonesia has established a multiplication mechanism based on the coffee shop industry system to support and promote church planting, and these trainees have become the leading members of this ministry.
Since July 2024, the original one-year Bible training course has been upgraded to Meicun Mission Seminary, becoming a theological training system with a one-year Bible study as the foundational course, and a 2-3 year advanced courses for training pastoral leaders and Bible teachers as the progression. The one-year program enrolls nearly 120 students from Indonesia, Mainland China, India, Africa, and more than a dozen other countries, who are taught in English, Chinese, and Bahasa Indonesia. The advanced courses are taught in English and Chinese, and students who meet the graduation requirements should have credits and academic qualifications equivalent to the M.Div level.
Confession of Faith
As a theological training organization for the Beautiful Village Church, we follow the theological norms and pastoral principles of the Beautiful Village Church, uphold the theology of the cross within the framework of the Reformed Church, and adopt a biblical theological approach to theological study and truth affirmation.
I. We Believe in the Bible
The Bible is the divinely inspired and sacred Word of God, a must for Christian faith and life, and is the highest authority and standard.
The Bible is inerrant, complete, and clear, given by God to His people so that they may have the wisdom to believe in Jesus Christ and be saved, also to be built up unto perfection for good works that pleases God.
II. We Believe in the Gospel
The gospel is the action of God through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in the last days to redeem His sinful people through the work of the Holy Spirit and the Word to make them repent and believe in Jesus Christ, that their sins may be forgiven and they may be justified by God, and reconcile with him, and have eternal life. Without believing the gospel, no one can escape the punishment of God’s wrath.
III. We Believe in the Necessity of Being Born Again
We believe that a person must be born again to receive salvation.
Being born again is the work of God. The chosen ones are regenerated from above by the gospel and the Holy Spirit, with the Holy Spirit dwelling inside, so that they are able to understand the salvation of Jesus Christ and repent, believe in the gospel, and obey Christ by following the Holy Spirit.
IV. We Believe in the Church
We believe that the church is the body of Christ and the visible manifestation of the gospel. The church is the gathering of all people redeemed by the gospel, unifying to Christ the Head through the gospel and the Holy Spirit. The church shares in Christ’s identity, nature, mission, and authority, and participates in the sufferings of this world and the eternal glory to come.
V. Christian Life
We believe that not only is our repentance and faith based on the work of the gospel of Christ, but our growth and fulfillment also depend solely on God’s work through the gospel and the Holy Spirit in the lives of the regenerated people. This work unifies us with Christ and allows us to partake in His identity, nature, mission, authority, and destiny.
VI. The End Times
We believe that Christ will return quickly, appearing in visible glory to all nations. He will judge the living and the dead. The people of Christ will receive eternal glory, while those who do not believe and those who apostatize the gospel will face eternal punishment. The church must be alert, discerning, persevering and boldly witnessing to the gospel in anticipation of Christ’s return.