Conclusion
The Heritage of Hunan Bible Institute
The impact of H.B.I. is extremely difficult to judge, but certainly one area stands above the rest - that is respect for the indigenous Chinese church. Throughout its forty-three year history, Biola in China promoted Chinese leadership, from the river boat teams, to the faculty, d~anships, and the presidency. A spirit of equanimity has been testified to by numerous missionary, as well as Chinese sources. This single important factor., so evident from the beginning, was central to the evangelistic successes of the teams, and in drawing students to H.B.I. An unshakled Chinese faculty felt free to publish correspondence courses and a bi-monthly magazine, without Western missionary direction or controls. The Hunan Bible Institute staff worked in unity with other missions ·Of the provin~e both in Christian evangelism~ training, and later physical support during the war years. Th~t cooperative ::l ~ ! i t ~ ! : •-i t~ :~ : - ( \ I ~. - ~ : ·' - -. - • - 1 0 • • ~: ~ spirit prevailed until the end. i:-... ' ,.,, c:: ·_; ::.. - - To be sure there were problems of nationalism; bu~ triggered in part by a legitimate crises in finances and leadership. In spite of the numer~us financial and political stresses, which split the faculty in the 1930s, H.3.I. survived and entered into the war years in practical service to desperate citizens, soldiers, missionaries, hospital and government agencies, refugees, and orphans. The great effort to revive its program after the war, though cut short by new political realities, did not fail to impress the new student: · , whose
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