ATLANTA – Lilian Lim, president of the Asia Baptist Graduate Theological Seminary (ABGTS) since 2005, died Thursday in Singapore from complications of a congenital illness she battled throughout her life.
“Lilian Lim has been one of the finest global Baptist leaders among us,” said Daniel Vestal, CBF executive coordinator. “She has been a treasured friend to Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, and we are grateful for her life and ministry. She will be missed.”
Lim was the sixth president and first woman to lead the 50-year-old seminary consortium. Before becoming president, Lim served as the chair of the ABGTS board and dean of the Baptist Theological Seminary in Singapore.
It was her vision to have theological education “of Asians by Asians,” and she worked tirelessly to ensure the future of the consortium.
"I join my Baptists brothers and sisters around the world in mourning the passing of Dr. Lilian Lim," said Rob Nash, coordinator of CBF Global Missions. "She was a gentle but strong presence among us, always championing the cause of theological education in Asia. Her determination, creativity and scholarship made all of us richer and, in fact, brought all of us closer together to work on the causes for which she had such passion, especially the Asia Baptist Graduate Theological Seminary."
Chinese by ethnicity, Lim grew up in Singapore, making a profession of faith in Jesus Christ at an early age. She went on to become a journalist and public relations officer before answering a call to fulltime ministry.
She studied at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., on a national scholarship and was awarded grants for external studies at Aberdeen University in Scotland; Baptist Theological Seminary in Ruschlikon, Switzerland, and an archaeological dig at Bethshan with the Authority of Antiquities of Israel. She earned her doctorate in 1996 with a dissertation on “Christ and Community in the Fourth Gospel: Pastoral Symbols as Symbolic Relationship”.
She was commissioned by her home church, Calvary Baptist Church in Singapore, as a missionary and served as education chair for the Asian Baptist Fellowship. Her biography is recorded in the book “Stars Lighting Up the Sky: Stories of Contemporary Christian Heroes,” published by the Baptist World Alliance in 2003.
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has provided support through scholarships for Asian students and the work of CBF Global Missions field personnel, who has served in both administrative and teaching capacities.
Strong ABGTS supporter Mountain Brook Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., has established a fund in Lim’s memory to support scholarships for students of the seminary. Contributions can be made by sending checks to Mountain Brook Baptist Church, care of Dr. James Moebes, 3631 Montevallo Road South, Birmingham, Ala., 35213.
Memorial gifts for scholarships for ABGTS students can also be made by sending contributions to the Lillian Lim Memorial Scholarship Fund, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, P.O. Box 101699, Atlanta, Ga., 30392.
CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.
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