What is the BBFI? – Part 2: Education

by Doug Cox, BBFI third vice president

The fourth level language teacher at Yonsei University in Seoul surveyed her class of Western missionaries with disappointment. Their confidence was undaunted by a year of language study, but their competency fell far short of excellence.The speaker presented his talk with passion. Unfortunately, the he consistently used the wrong word for hope. Although only one letter different, the word used was samang instead of somang, meaning death not hope.

Trying to encourage the class to excellence, the teacher said, “If you speak to my head, I will listen. But, if you speak to my heart, I will follow.” Her illustration made the point. Outcomes always reveal the level of excellence. Education is important because the outcome matters.

AN ENTRANCE

In our global worldscape, education provides entrance to communities populated by people without Christ. The secular world is being redefined, and the master’s degree has seemingly become the entry-level requirement for leadership. Paul reminded Timothy to “study to show thyself approved …” in 2 Timothy 2:15.

A PLATFORM

God’s church must sit at the table of relevance in society’s moral debates as educational institutions have challenged spiritual truth. Christians must not only state the truth, they must be able to apply the truth with relevance. In a spiritually bankrupt society, we need to reestablish truth as the basis for belief. Education is the platform upon which we learn to think and communicate with effectiveness.

AN ASSET

In the world’s portfolio of power, military might, financial might, and political position are being nudged aside by knowledge and education. Knowledge is power, and education is the conveyor of knowledge.

In a world that openly challenges truth, Christians cannot afford to be poorly prepared. Education must be highly valued.

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Forty Years … Together

by Dave Melton,  President, Boston Baptist College

Forty years ago. 1976. I was a high school kid driving an old Oldsmobile. That company doesn’t even exist anymore! In 1976, a peanut farmer from Georgia wanted to be President. Back then everybody knew what 7-11 was but nobody ever referenced 9-11. In 1976, our local Boston Red Sox hadn’t won a World Series since the end of World War 1!

Of course, 1976 was the same year a group of Baptist pastors started a new college, originally in New York state, called Baptist Bible College East. The founders had a dream — a ministry college in the northeast — where so many millions live who have so little access to biblical churches. John Rawlings and A. V. Henderson were the leaders. But they were hardly alone. The BBFI joined the dream, and so the journey began. Now, four decades have incredibly flown by. Most of those first dreamers have gone on to glory. We lost Harry Boyle back in 2010. John Rawlings went to heaven in 2013, and then just last year A. V. Henderson passed. Others, like Col. Jack Henry, whose leadership in the 1980’s could never be overstated, are in incredibly fragile health. But their dream, their legacy, this aspect of their lives’ work lives on and thrives. Today, after 40 years, together, we have built Boston Baptist College — an accredited, reputable, Baptist fortress of truth in the northeast. We stand on the shoulders of some great men and march into the future with, I trust, the same heart and mission.

This dream of a Baptist college with a ministry heart and focus in the northeast was backwards from the very beginning. Colleges like Boston Baptist are always started either at a large church that serves as a hub for churches around it, or at least where there is a strong local contingency of churches. For the BBF, we had neither of those in the northeast in 1976. Instead, the founders were driven by the lack of those kinds of churches in this heavily populated region! This college was founded to produce churches and focus on the needs of the northeast. The college has certainly contributed much to that end.

In the providence of God, this BBF dream (some worried it would be a nightmare!) landed in Boston. As best I can research, the move to Boston was almost entirely financial — a former Catholic property that fit the size and price point came on the market. But I want to suggest, that this was more, much more, than good competitive shopping. As we begin our fifth decade, together, in Boston, we find ourselves positioned not only to continue our founders’ conviction for church leaders, but also to engage the exploding paganization of our culture. I keep saying this to anybody I can … Boston is the epicenter of the intellectual culture. The world’s finest come to Boston to study. Tomorrow’s leaders in all endeavors are studying in Boston now, right now … almost a half million college students! And we are here, too. At Boston Baptist College we are educating our church leaders of tomorrow to stand toe-to-toe with the ever-increasingly-Scriptureless culture. No other Baptist group, no other evangelical college, has a Boston address. This is uniquely a BBF accomplishment. God has used us, together, to bring this college into existence, and to grow it into this platform of biblical thought, right under the nose of the forces of evil.

Boston Baptist College is full-blown educational engagement. When we need mission work done, we understand fully we need to put boots on the ground, to follow the Pauline example — to go to where they are, to the ends of the earth. When we see a need and feel a calling to plant a new church, we recognize that we have to uproot our church planter and move him to that place. Being there gives you the opportunity to influence “there.” When it comes to the vigorous, mentally-accelerated academic world, there is only one “there.” Boston is the hub of all things academic. The whole world knows it. And we know it, too. That dream, that 40-year-old dream … near lunacy, outlandish, over-the-top daring … it’s now a reality. It’s Boston Baptist College at 40. It’s us. Together.

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Affiliate Schools

Affiliate Institutions occupy a unique relationship with the BBFI. They must apply for recognition and meet several requirements. Once approved they are allowed to receive money through the Mission Office, their graduates will be recognized as meeting the educational requirements to become candidates as BBFI missionaries and they are recognized in BBFI meetings and communication outlets.

LOUISIANA BAPTIST UNIVERSITY

Louisiana Baptist University was founded in 1973 as a ministry of Baptist Tabernacle in Shreveport, LA. The school remained small during its early years, but it graduated some exceptional students who are now successful Fellowship pastors.

In January 1993, the university went through a major transformation with a new name, a new Board of Trustees, a restated Charter and, most importantly, a new direction. It was decided, rather than build another brick-and-mortar school like the Fellowship schools in Springfield and Boston, LBU would focus mostly on distance education, benefiting both the university and the Baptist Bible Fellowship.

For over two decades, LBU has had substantial growth. They bought and remodeled a campus, and three years ago built a new conference center. Enrollment has grown to well over 1,000 students, with a large number of those students doing their undergraduate work at Baptist Bible College or Boston Baptist College and their graduate work through LBU’s online degree program.

LBU also established the International Student Training Educational Program (INSTEP). Its purpose is to serve foreign missionaries by providing low-cost, quality education to train nationals for church planting and world evangelism. LBU provides curriculum, textbooks, and other educational supplies.

Beginning with only one school in Kenya, INSTEP now has 52 schools in over 20 countries. Fellowship missionaries run almost all of those schools. LBU currently has students in over 40 countries.

From its humble beginning, LBU has grown into a global university, gratefully serving the churches and pastors of the BBFI.

BAPTIST BIBLE COLLEGE ASIA

If missions is the strong right arm of our Fellowship, education is the key to accomplishing that vision. Through BBC and other BBFI partner schools, multiple generations have been equipped to go into the world. This instruction in doctrinal truth and practical methodology is the very same aim Baptist Bible College Asia seeks to achieve.

Entering into its 16th year of training effective leaders for the 21st century, BBCAsia has reached an enrollment of over 1,600 students. With this growth comes an ongoing pursuit to offer our students a first-rate education. This focus on training is the inheritance we received through our BBFI roots. But our efforts here in the Philippines also instill the DNA of the Fellowship into hundreds of Filipino pastors, church planters, missionaries, and lay leaders. These men and women carry the mark of the BBFI on their hearts: our theological core, our evangelistic emphasis, our church-planting focus, and our commitment to work together to accomplish more than we can possibly attain on our own.

BBCAsia founder and president Greg Lyons (a veteran BBFI missionary) stated, “We don’t even know yet the ideas and strategies God has placed in the hearts of these students that will be unleashed on the world through the efforts of BBCAsia, but our goal is to train so many leaders that we must overflow into the rest of Southeast Asia.” This is a reminder of the global spiritual transformation God makes possible through ministry preparation at BBCAsia.

Editor’s Note: The national directors voted to accept two additional schools as affiliates during the May 2016 National Meeting. Our publishing deadline did not allow time to gather and include a complete report for either of the new affiliates.

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On a Global Scale