Jarred Jung: EAST 32nd Commencement’s Reflection
EAST stands on the foundations of many who have gone before in equipping past cohorts of ministry practitioners. As EAST held its latest Commencement Service recently, we praise God for His faithfulness over the decades. The reflection below is written by Dr Jarred Jung, an EAST Resident Faculty and Coordinator for the EAST 32nd Commencement Service.
On 16 May 2026, EAST celebrated the sending of another class of students into the harvest fields of countries throughout Asia with our 32nd commencement ceremony. As a faculty member at EAST, commencement is one of my favourite days of the year. In many careers, it can be difficult to see the fruit of one’s labour, but we get to celebrate this every year in a tangible way. It fills us with great joy to see students who we have invested in for two, three, sometimes up to four years receive their hard-earned degrees. Perhaps it is the festive atmosphere that brings about this joy, but from my experience, there is something deeper than the morning of festivities.
Pray for EAST 32nd Commencement Service
EAST 32nd Commencement Service will be held on 16 May 2026, Saturday.
This year EAST is blessed with a graduating cohort of 52 students from our resident campus in Singapore, EAST Extension Centres (EEC) around Asia, and in partnership with the following partners:
- Certificate counselling program in partnership with Elim Center, Singapore,
- Competency-based theological education graduate program in partnership with Kairos University, USA and
- Doctoral programs in partnership with Asia Graduate School of Theology Alliance (AGST Alliance), South-East Asia.
These graduands are from nine countries viz East Asia, Indonesia, India, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and Thailand. We rejoice with these graduands who will graduate from the following certificate and degree programs.
EAST 30th Commencement
EAST will be holding our 30th Commencement Service on 18 May 2024.
This year, we will be celebrating with the 12 graduands who have been working hard towards the completion of their degrees over the years. The certificates, diplomas, and degrees that will be awarded to these graduands include:
- Partners-in-Ministry Certificate
- Bachelor of Arts (in Christian Ministry)
- Graduate Diploma (in Christian Ministry, and Pastoral Counselling)
- Master of Arts (in Biblical Studies, and Christian Ministry)
- Master of Divinity (in Christian Ministry, and Inter-Cultural Studies)
Locked down for good
Thomas Kwok Chuek Hang (Hong Kong), MDiv Teaching & Exposition
When Singapore went into ‘Circuit Breaker’ on 7th April 2020 to curb the spread of COVID-19, Thomas Kwok’s world was turned upside down and inside out.
“All schools, offices, and eating places were closed,” says the Information Engineering graduate from Chinese University of Hong Kong. “We couldn’t go out except to do basic essentials like getting groceries and doing exercises.”
So, to escape from being cooped up in the dorm, Thomas took to exercising outdoors every day. This developed into a routine that made all the difference to his final days at EAST.
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