Chin Christian Institute of Theology, also known as CCIT, is situated in

Falam Falam (, ) is a town in north-western Burma (Myanmar) near Burma's western border with the Indian state of Mizoram. The town was founded by the Taisun tribe. The British arrived to Falam in 1892, and became an important base for British rule of ...

Chin State Chin State (, ) is a state in western Myanmar. Chin State is bordered by Sagaing Division and Magway Division to the east, Rakhine State to the south, the Chattogram Division of Bangladesh to the west, and the Indian states of Mizoram to th ...

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

.
It is a school run by

Chin Baptist Convention Chin Baptist Convention (formerly Zomi Baptist Convention) is a Baptist Christian denomination in Myanmar. The headquarters is in Falam, Chin State, Myanmar. It is a member of the Myanmar Baptist Convention. History Rev. Arthur E. Carson and ...

, which belongs to

Myanmar Baptist Convention The Myanmar Baptist Convention () is a Baptists, Baptist Christian denomination in Myanmar. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance and the World Council of Churches. The headquarters is in Yangon. History The Convention has its origin ...

History

Missionary Chester Strait started a

Bible school A Bible college, sometimes referred to as a Bible institute or theological institute or theological seminary, is an evangelical Christian or Restoration Movement Christian institution of higher education which prepares students for Christian minis ...

Hakha Hakha (, ; formerly rendered Haka) is the capital of Chin State in Myanmar. Hakha is located in the northeast of Chin State, with a total area of about . The city of Hakha is located on a plateau at more than above sea level. Although relative ...

in 1928. During the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the school was closed. To meet the need of the growing churches in the

Chin Hills The Chin Hills are a range of mountains in Chin State, northwestern Burma (Myanmar), that extends northward into India's Manipur state. Geography The highest peak in the Chin Hills is Khonu Msung, Nat Ma Taung, or Mount Victoria, in southern ...

, Bible Schools were opened again in Hakha by the Johnsons, 1948, and in

Tedim Tedim (, , (Tedim language, Zo: ''Tedim Khuapi'', pronounced ; is a town and the administrative seat of Tedim Township in Chin State, Myanmar. It is the second largest town in Chin State, after Hakha (the capital city of Chin State). The town's f ...

by the Nelsons, 1947. The said

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

went home on

furlough A furlough (; from , "leave of absence") is a temporary cessation of paid employment that is intended to address the special needs of a company or employer; these needs may be due to economic conditions that affect a specific employer, or to thos ...

in 1952. A Bible School was started again in Tedim in 1953; S T Hau Go was the

principal Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the head of a school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in the UK Civil Ser ...

there. Though it was not yet official, S T Hau Go gave the name Zomi Baptist Convention Bible School. The school needed to be moved to Hakha in 1954; R G Johnson was the principal there. The first

graduation A graduation is the awarding of a diploma by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it, which can also be called Commencement speech, commencement, Congregation (university), congregation, Convocat ...

service was held there in 1956. Johnson printed the name Chin Hills Bible School on the first graduation certificate. The Zomi Baptist Convention Executive Committee officially gave the name Zomi Baptist Bible School in December 1956. The Schools both in Tedim and in Hakha were conducted on

middle school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

level. Baptist Mission Secretary, E E Sowards, was much concerned for the upgrading of the school into a

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

level. And the school was moved from Hakha to Falam, the District Headquarters, in 1959. Those years testified the fact that

theological Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of an ...

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

work was mobile, shared for management through qualified leaders, regardless of geographical distance. Principal David Van Bik proposed to change the name to Zomi Baptist Theological School, and it was adopted, 1960. The school was renamed Zomi Baptist Theological Seminary as proposed by Principal Simon Pau Khan En, in 1974. The year saw offering of the Diploma Course. The name Zomi Theological College was proposed by principal Chum Awi and adopted in 1983. The year started the B Th

degree program An academic degree is a qualification awarded to a student upon successful completion of a course of study in higher education, usually at a college or university. These institutions often offer degrees at various levels, usually divided into und ...

. The college was affiliated to the Burma now Myanmar Institute of Theology, Insein, from 1983 to 1991. Thus the B Th degree was conferred by the BIT for three times: 1988, 1990, 1991. The college was accepted as a member institute of the

Association for Theological Education in South East Asia The Association for Theological Education in South East Asia (ATESEA) is an organisation of Christian seminaries and other tertiary institutes of theology. It is based in Manila, Philippines, and currently networks 102 member institutions and sch ...

, ATESEA, in 1982. Every four-year visit of the ATESEA

Accreditation Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

Commission has made good report upon our degree programs and even our projects. The ZTC BTh was accredited by the ATESEA in 1991.Upon the proposal of the principal Rev. Dr. Law Ha Ling, with the approval of Officers Council and executive committee of Zomi Baptist Convention respectively, the school was renamed Chin Christian Institute of Theology in March 2013 at the 21st General Meeting of ZBC. Since opened, the CCIT has produced Christian ministers and

community leader Community leader is a designation, often by secondary sources (particularly in the media), for a person widely perceived to represent a community. A simple way to understand community leadership is to see it as leadership in, for and by the communi ...

s for 851 in number: certificate and diploma 243; B Th 445; BRE 100; B.Min. 26; MMiss 20; M.Div. 34. The CCIT have had a Th.B. joint-program with four sister schools: Chin Christian College in Hakha, Tedim Theological College, Tedim, and Bethel Theological Seminary,

Tahan Tahan is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Charles Tahan, American physicist * Charlie Tahan (born 1998), American actor * Daisy Tahan (born 2001), American actress * Hussein Tahan (born 1982), Lebanese footballer * Maya T ...

, Union Theological Seminary, UTC, Matupi. Those ones were already accredited by the ATESEA in 2000, 2004.

Programs

At present, CCIT offers the following programs of study: *

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

(a three-year master program) * Master of Ministry (a two-year master program) *

Bachelor of Theology The Bachelor of Theology degree (BTh, ThB, or BTheol) is a two- to five-year undergraduate degree or graduate degree in theological disciplines and is typically (but not exclusively) pursued by those seeking ordination for ministry in a church, de ...

(a four-year bachelor program) * Bachelor of Ministry (a two-year bachelor program) * Bachelor in Religious Education (a two-year bachelor program)

References

{{authority control Universities and colleges in Myanmar Seminaries and theological colleges in Myanmar Christian colleges in Myanmar