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The purpose of the Indian Bible College is to prepare Native American Christian leaders to be effective in the evangelization and training of their own people in reservation and urban settings.
This will be accomplished by providing programs of instruction and practical application at various levels of intensity, and time involved to meet the personal interest of each Student. |
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Objectives
IBC's goal is that through the Grace of God, the teaching design of the courses, and the required and suggested practical experience in ministry, students will be academically, spiritually and practically prepared for vocational Christian ministry in local
churches and para-church ministries.
The
curriculum is designed:
- To enable students to gain a working knowledge of the Bible and recognize its authority over all areas of learning.
- To stimulate within students a spirit
of inquiry and godly discernment.
- To enhance students' awareness of their own and other cultural heritages.
- To involve students in Christian ministry through field experience.
- To help students apply Christian principles to the private, social and professional areas of their lives.
- To furnish competent workers for local churches and para-church agencies.
The school was designed for a twofold mission.
First
The Indian Bible College, was to meet the need of Indian pastors for the growing number of Indian-administered churches with no missionary or denominational direction. The training of Indian believers for vocational Christian ministry was seen as imperative because Native American Indians are missiologically designated as a "burned-over" or "resistant" mission field. A burned-over field is a field that has had a number of missionaries working in it for a number of years (in this case both numbers are large), but that has remained "resistant" to a large degree, to responding to the Gospel message.
Indians continue, in general, to be resistant to Anglo-American missionaries.
Training Indian believers in local indigenous churches, in mission ministries, or in an institution such as Indian Bible College to witness and minister to their own people is the most effective way to "sow the Word" in a "burned-over" field with any realistic anticipation of an abundant harvest.
Quoting from the 1974-1975 catalogue, page 7,
"Missionary methods used until a dozen years ago are no longer effective and new methods must be developed.
It is our conviction that the native missionary will be the active worker on the field and that the white missionary will become more and more of a specialist in teaching and training."
The situation since 1975 has only validated this conviction to the present board of directors and staff of the Indian Bible College.
Second
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