1. Stephen Tong is a Chinese Indonesian Reformed pastor, evangelist, teacher, and musician.
28 Facts About Stephen Tong
1. 2.
Stephen Tong has preached in countries around the world, and guest lectured at theological seminaries and schools.
3.
Stephen Tong is the sixth of nine children, only one of whom was a girl.
4.
At that time, Stephen Tong's mother fostered their brothers and sister alone.
5.
Stephen Tong completed primary education at Min Guang Primary School and he graduated from Chung Hwa High School in 1958.
6.
When Stephen Tong was 15 years old, he had strong beliefs in communism, which he called "Karl Marx's dialectical materialism".
7.
Stephen Tong prayed for each of us children by name, and asked God to guide us.
8.
Stephen Tong began to share the Gospel, and taught children in Christian schools.
9.
Stephen Tong then joined SEABS's faculty, and taught theology and philosophy classes from 1964 to 1988.
10.
Stephen Tong served at GKT, then ministered in GKA.
11.
Stephen Tong has conducted services in Mandarin and Indonesian, but some of his speaking engagements have been in Fujian and English.
12.
Stephen Tong added offices in the United States and the European Union.
13.
Stephen Tong observed that many churches have been influenced by worldly philosophy, and ones that were loyal to the genuine teaching of the Bible were rare.
14.
The SPIK seminars have become the source material for the Indonesian Reformed Evangelical Institution, a seminary which Stephen Tong co-founded with pastors Caleb Stephen Tong and Yakub Susabda in 1986.
15.
In 1986, Stephen Tong started the Evangelical Reformed Theological School Surabaya for laymen in Surabaya.
16.
Stephen Tong founded the Reformed Evangelical Church of Indonesia in 1989 to establish a church based on Reformed theology and congregations that are committed to evangelism.
17.
Stephen Tong is currently the Head of The Consistory Board, and has handed over the Head of Synod position to his peer, Rev Antonius Un.
18.
Stephen Tong personally designed the Messiah Cathedral, whose proposal took 15 years to approve.
19.
Stephen Tong's seminary has since been named Reformed Seminary Indonesia.
20.
In 2000, Stephen Tong attended the inaugural meeting of the World Reformed Fellowship, whose purpose is to formalize the Reformed Confession of Faith in the 21st Century.
21.
In 2008, Stephen Tong founded Sekolah Kristen Calvin.
22.
Stephen Tong's preaching style is influenced by Calvinist preachers George Whitfield and Charles Spurgeon.
23.
Stephen Tong occasionally conducts choirs and orchestras, and gives church talks about the appreciation of sacred music.
24.
Stephen Tong founded the Jakarta Oratorio Society in 1986, a choir that specializes in worship music.
25.
Stephen Tong served as the music director for the Jakarta Simfonia Orchestra, along with artistic consultant Jahja Ling and Billy Kristanto.
26.
In 1985, Stephen Tong was awarded an honorary Doctor of Leadership in Christian Evangelism degree from the La Madrid International Academy of Leadership in Manila, Philippines.
27.
Stephen Tong has written books based on his sermons and teachings.
28.
Stephen Tong has written songs for his worship services and STEMI gospel rallies.