Maynor Clara Cheng

Serving in the Philippines in Theological Education

Maynor Clara Cheng was born into a Chinese Christian family in 1954, and grew up in Hong Kong. The Lord called her to full-time ministry when she was seventeen years old, one year after she clearly repented of her sins and submitted her life to Christ.

She majored in social work in her undergraduate education. Then she earned her Master of Divinity from Hong Kong Baptist Theological Seminary. Having served as an assistant pastor in Hong Kong for almost four years, Clara was called to cross- cultural church planting with OMF for five years.

After a year of home assignment, Clara went to Columbia International University in South Carolina and earned her Master of Arts in missions. Many of her fellow students found Clara helpful in their conversations. Therefore, they challenged her to enroll in a PhD program and teach in a seminary in the future. When Clara finished her MA her mother church asked her to pastor for an interim. She served as the supervisor of the discipleship department in her 5,000-member church in Hong Kong for a year and a half. Then she went to the School of World Mission of Fuller Theological Seminary to pursue her doctorate. Her topic of dissertation was the training of missionary students for social, emotional and spiritual well-being, as related to cross-cultural ministries.

Since having finished her PhD in intercultural studies, Clara re-joined OMF in 2001 and since then has been a missions professor at the Asian Theological Seminary (ATS) in the Philippines. She teaches not only Filipino students, but also international students mainly from Asia. She also teaches intensive courses and seminars at the invitation of other seminaries. Clara recently immigrated to the U.S. in early 2005.

“…entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.” (2 Tim. 2:2) Besides teaching at ATS, Clara plans to produce training materials on missionary wholeness for missionary trainers and to train trainers in the future. It is Clara’s passion to multiply her life into many servants of the Lord.