Bible school

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Bible School is a training center for church workers , especially non-church workers in congregation and missionary service . It is usually characterized by an evangelical theology . Many Bible schools also offer courses for interested laypeople . There are no state regulations, interventions, or entry requirements for their training courses or qualifications; However, numerous Bible students in Germany are eligible for BAföG funding . The qualifications are recognized by numerous - usually evangelical - Christian communities, but with a few exceptions do not constitute a state-recognized educational qualification.

history

The historical roots of the Bible schools lie in the revival movements of the 19th century. They arose out of the need to advance the outer and inner mission through practical theologically trained forces. The revival movements produced numerous new congregations, community groups as well as diaconal and missionary works at home and abroad. The pastors of the various Protestant churches could no longer do justice to the associated increase in tasks . In the German-speaking area, it was Christian Friedrich Spittler who founded the first Bible school in St. Chrischona in 1840 as the “Mission and Evangelist School”. In 1886, the Wuppertal Johanneum was founded . Since then, many other Bible schools have emerged, which have founded various umbrella organizations depending on their orientation and focus of work. These umbrella organizations include:

Theological orientation

Bible schools often do not have a narrow denominational orientation. Many of these training centers are organized as so-called “free works”. What they have in common, however, is a strong bond with the Bible , which for them has absolute authority in all doctrinal and life questions. Some Bible schools have also developed a strongly apologetic orientation in this context . The central practical-theological question of modern Bible schools is: How do we reach people who are distant from the Church with the Gospel ?

Bible school education

Forum Wiedenest

Studying at a Bible school usually lasts between three and five years, but there are also Bible schools that offer shorter study periods in the form of individual years and graduate after one year. Numerous internships and work in regional or free church communities during the course are part of the regular training program. Theological training usually includes the subjects of biblical studies , exegesis , theology of the Old and New Testaments , dogmatics , ethics , homiletics , pastoral care , church history , denominational and missionary studies, evangelism , psychology and pedagogy . In addition to the compulsory subject “New Testament Greek ”, Hebrew is also often offered as an elective .

Special short seminars, to which interested visitors from outside are usually invited, deal with current topics and trends.

Bible school teaching is oriented towards the needs of practical church work. His concern, however, remains with all practical relevance to guide the Bible students to an independent biblical-theological thought and work. Many theological training centers of this type design the course as a learning and living community. Students and teachers often live on the same site; Great value is placed on intensive encounters and shared spiritual life during the training period.

Special target groups

Christians cannot attend Bible schools in poor countries or circumstances. As a substitute for this, distance learning Bible courses are offered by various organizations with different educational levels and target audiences.

Correspondence courses are also used for evangelistic purposes to win people over to believe in Jesus Christ. In the USA, for example, the Crossroad Bible Institute CBI u. a. also offers correspondence courses for prisoners. Information on reintegration into society is also offered in order to reduce the relapse rate. 42,000 people worldwide take part in the CBI program.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ z. B. in the Bible School Bad Gandersheim
  2. ↑ Crossroad Bible Institut - Bible school for prisoners , livenet.ch, news from June 6, 2012