Bong Rin Ro

Ro was born on 1935 in North Pyongan, Korea and grew up during the Korean War.[5] Following the death of his father, Ro lived in extreme poverty with his mother and five siblings.[6] He completed a year studying philosophy at Seoul National University before moving to the United States with only fifty dollars.[5] In 1956, Ro moved to South Carolina only knowing a few words of English.[6] In 1957, Ro spent three months in New York City and was inspired by a Billy Graham crusade to pursue a liberal arts education.[1]

Ro holds degrees from Columbia Bible College[6] (B.A.), Wheaton College (B.A.), Covenant Theological Seminary (B.D.), and Concordia Seminary (S.T.M. and Th.D.).[7]

Ro served with the Overseas Missionary Fellowship for thirty years.[8][9] As a missionary he lived throughout Asia including Singapore (1970–74), Taiwan (1975–89), and Korea (1990–2000).[8][10][11] In his early teaching days, Ro taught at Singapore Bible College.[12] While working in Singapore, Ro was crucial to the founding and development of the Asian Theological Association,[13] serving as executive secretary (1970–1990)[1] and dean of the Asia Graduate School of Theology.[3][14] He played a significant role in shaping the program and structure of the Asian Theological Association as the organization emerged in helping develop evangelical theological education in Asia.[13][15]

Then after moving to Taiwan he taught at Taiwan Seminary and Tunghai University.[10]

Ro then served as the academic dean of Torch Trinity Graduate University.[16][17] Since 2000, Ro has taught at Hawaii Theological Seminary and Pacific Rim Christian University. He is also now the president of Hawaii Theological Seminary[18] and president of the Pacific campus of the Asia Graduate School of Theology.[1]

Since 1990, Ro has been ordained by the Presbyterian Church in America.[7]

• Ro, Bong R, and Marlin L. Nelson. Korean Church Growth Explosion. Seoul, Korea: Word of Life Press, 1983. Print.
• Ro, Bong R. Christian Alternatives to Ancestor Practices. Taichung, Taiwan, ROC: Asia Theological Association, 1985. Print.
• Ro, Bong R, and Ruth M. Eshenaur. The Bible & Theology in Asian Contexts: An Evangelical Perspective on Asian Theology. Seoul, Korea: Word of Life Press, 1991. Print.
• Gener, Timoteo D, Stephen T. Pardue, and Bong R. Ro. Asian Christian Theology: Evangelical Perspectives., 2019. Print.
• Nicholls, Bruce J, and Bong R. Ro. Beyond Canberra: Evangelical Responses to Contemporary Ecumenical Issues., 1993. Print.