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On the other hand, the Church of Christ in China, the Sheng Kung Hui and the Baptist Convention top the list in the preferences on ‘service to the society' and 'education for the whole person'. It is interesting to note that the three denominations all give priority to 'service to the society' (mean scores are 2.9, 3.02, 3.10 respectively) than 'providing Christian nurture among students' (mean scores are 3.6, 3.36, 3.6 respectively). Then choice is quite the contrary when compared with those of other denominations. This reflects that there is much emphasis on the social and educational aspects in setting objectives among these three denominations.
Based on the review of literature collected from the various denominations, remarkable differences of perceptions in the objectives of church involvement with education are also found among the various denominations. The findings do not vary much from the results of the questionnaires. For example, there are varied viewpoints expressed in the literatures of the Sheng Kung Hui. Some regard ‘education' and 'service to the society' as that church schools should aim at meeting the needs of society by providing education of a high quality. Yet, there are other members who put great emphasis on evangelization and the spreading of the Gospel in church schools. The varied viewpoints have all been reflected in the questionnaire. As shown in table 1 above there are 51.11% of Sheng Kung Hui members who were found under the columns 'regard education as important', 13.33% belong to 'regard evangelization as important', and 35.56% ‘regard both as important". On the whole, however, the Sheng Kung Hui members tend to see the aims of church involvement in education more as ‘education for the whole person' as well as 'providing service to the society'."
The Hong Kong Council of the Church of Christ in China has a very clear objective. A closer study of the church documents reveals that her educational objectives have been evolving with time. To put it more simply, the Council has a preference for evangelization in the early 50s and 60s. Yet, since the beginning of the 70s, the Council attempted to strike a balance between 'evangelization' and 'social service'. It was then believed that both are as important; the two should go hand in hand each complementing the other. In the beginning of the 80s, the Council proceeds a step to reach a higher ideal. The emphasis now is placed on education and evangelization becomes of secondary importance. An obvious example of this preference can be