History and Mission

In the spring of 1964, the Lord gave Dr. Moses Yu and a group of believers a vision for training workers for the Kingdom of God. However, it was not until 1973 that the vision became reality. Five students enrolled in the first year, using the Berkeley Gospel Center for classrooms and doing practice work in some of the Chinese churches in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 1976, a brother was moved by the Lord to donate an apartment complex for the seminary ministry. It provided space for both classrooms and student residence.

In 1978, Christian Witness Theological Seminary (CWTS) was approved as a private post-secondary educational institution by the California Superintendent of Public Instruction under the Provisions of Section 94311 (d), California Education Code. In 1979, under resolution 574514, CWTS was authorized under federal law to enroll non-immigrant foreign students. In 1984, CWTS was authorized by the California Superintendent of Public Instruction to confer bachelor and master degrees.

For almost thirty years, by the grace of the Lord, CWTS has provided training for a good number of Christian workers in North America and around the world. Since the summer of 1996, we have moved to a better and larger campus in the City of Concord, which is in the north eastern part of the Bay Area. Our faculty has been strengthened and our study programs have also been consolidated. We now offer four Master degree programs, one Diploma program and one Certificate program. We have a team of six faculty members and ten adjunct faculty members. Our students come from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, East Asia, North America and around the world. Apart from training full-time Christian workers, we are also engaged in the training of lay leaders. We now have three teaching centers in the Bay Area and our Extension programs are expanding.

Since June 2004, CWTS has been accepted by ATS(the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada) as an Associate Member.

Our Future Goals

Looking to the future, we will work diligently towards the following goals:
  1. To equip men and women for the kingdom ministry on behalf of the Chinese churches worldwide.
  2. To promote lay theological education among the Chinese churches.
  3. To contribute to the development of Biblically-based theology for the Chinese churches.
It is our belief that CWTS is not only a theological seminary, but also a spiritual movement to promote a true knowledge of God, a whole-hearted dedication to serve Him, and the pursuit of excellence. Our emphasis is not only on academic excellence, but also on holistic education for the whole person. We strongly believe that good theological training would significantly contribute to the growth and renewal of the Chinese church worldwide. In the days ahead, CWTS will, by the power of the Holy Spirit, continue to endeavor to accomplish her mission.