• Campus program
• Online program

Enhancing our Missions Program to Meet 21st Century Needs

From our start, GBSC has included a strong focus on global ministry — this is why our founder included “missionary training home” in our institutional name. Just as “missionary training home” is still part of our official name, we’re still passionate about missions and the global nature of our mission as a college.

That’s why we are excited for a new approach to missions education and training!

A New Approach

Over several years we have engaged in prayer, planning and discussion about how missions education can best be done today. Our discussions have included missionaries, missions educators and missionary leaders from conservative holiness denominations, Bible colleges and missions organizations, from Florida to Pennsylvania to Indiana and around the world.

Every single missionary and missions leader has agreed: a standalone “missions major” isn’t the answer.

In response, we have developed a different approach that provides missions education in three ways.

1. A standalone 2-year missions degree
2. A missions minor open to every GBSC BA student, as well as all GBSC alumni with a bachelor’s degree
3. A missions cognate that can be included in the Biblical and Theological Studies major or the Integrative Studies major

Combined, these approaches open missions training to every single GBSC student!

GBSC Chancellor Michael Avery, himself a past missions leader, comments,

Taking the Gospel to the unreached people groups of today’s world holds enormous challenges — challenges that can and must be faced with new thinking, a variety of approaches and flexible training methods.

 

GBSC’s new approach to missionary training is a bold response to this daunting challenge.

A New Vision

Our vision includes graduates prepared for a range of vocations with a deep passion for and understanding of missions work. Success looks like…

• Long-term missionaries who use professional skills to open doors for missionary outreach
• Missionaries who serve a shorter period on the field and then bring their missions experience to US churches and ministries
• Pastors, teachers and others who knowledgeably support missions work and share their passion with others
• Laity who support missions organizations financially and with services

In addition to curriculum structures that enable missions to permeate the college, we’ve also begun a Visiting Professor of Missiology program. Each year, we’ll bring a current or recent missionary or missions leader to campus multiple times for teaching, preaching and mentoring.

These visiting professors will connect our missions students directly with God’s frontline work in various fields, providing them with multiple perspectives on how mission work can be done.

Our Visiting Professors of Missiology

During the 2018-2019 academic year, we’re delighted that Tim and Becky Keep will be serving jointly as our Visiting Professors of Missiology.

Veteran missionaries and mission’s leaders, Tim and Becky Keep bring decades of experience to the classroom, including 13 years of experience in the Philippine Islands.

Since 2010, Tim has served as the General Missions Director for the Bible Methodist Church.  He is also the founder and president of Shepherd’s Global Classroom, a collaborative effort that focuses on providing high-quality training materials for pastors and missionaries around the world.

In addition to writing for Shepherd’s Global Classroom, Tim and Becky have also co-authored two books, Eyes to See: Glimpses of God in the Dark and It’s All About Obedience.

GBSC President Rodney Loper comments,

We are privileged to have a veteran missionary couple serving as the Visiting Professor of Missiology, for the 2018-2019 academic year.

 

Tim and Becky Keep have dedicated their lives to the work of spreading the Gospel to our world.  They have served as missionaries, educators, bible teachers, and conference speakers.

 

As a couple they bring a unique mix that I believe will benefit our students.  Becky will be able to offer insights into what it is like to be a female and mother on the mission field.  Tim can share from his vast experiences as a missionary visionary and leader. Together, I believe they will make a significant impact on the lives of our students.

Throughout the 2018-2019 academic year, Tim and Becky Keep will teach missions courses, as well as visit campus several times to work with missions students as they prepare to fulfill God’s calling.

• Campus program
• Online program

Enhancing our Missions Program to Meet 21st Century Needs

From our start, GBSC has included a strong focus on global ministry — this is why our founder included “missionary training home” in our institutional name. Just as “missionary training home” is still part of our official name, we’re still passionate about missions and the global nature of our mission as a college.

That’s why we are excited for a new approach to missions education and training!

A New Approach

Over several years we have engaged in prayer, planning and discussion about how missions education can best be done today. Our discussions have included missionaries, missions educators and missionary leaders from conservative holiness denominations, Bible colleges and missions organizations, from Florida to Pennsylvania to Indiana and around the world.

Every single missionary and missions leader has agreed: a standalone “missions major” isn’t the answer.

In response, we have developed a different approach that provides missions education in three ways.

1. A standalone 2-year missions degree
2. A missions minor open to every GBSC BA student, as well as all GBSC alumni with a bachelor’s degree
3. A missions cognate that can be included in the Biblical and Theological Studies major or the Integrative Studies major

Combined, these approaches open missions training to every single GBSC student!

GBSC Chancellor Michael Avery, himself a past missions leader, comments,

Taking the Gospel to the unreached people groups of today’s world holds enormous challenges — challenges that can and must be faced with new thinking, a variety of approaches and flexible training methods.

GBSC’s new approach to missionary training is a bold response to this daunting challenge.

A New Vision

Our vision includes graduates prepared for a range of vocations with a deep passion for and understanding of missions work. Success looks like…

• Long-term missionaries who use professional skills to open doors for missionary outreach
• Missionaries who serve a shorter period on the field and then bring their missions experience to US churches and ministries
• Pastors, teachers and others who knowledgeably support missions work and share their passion with others
• Laity who support missions organizations financially and with services

In addition to curriculum structures that enable missions to permeate the college, we’ve also begun a Visiting Professor of Missiology program. Each year, we’ll bring a current or recent missionary or missions leader to campus multiple times for teaching, preaching and mentoring.

These visiting professors will connect our missions students directly with God’s frontline work in various fields, providing them with multiple perspectives on how mission work can be done.

Our Visiting Professors of Missiology

During the 2018-2019 academic year, we’re delighted that Tim and Becky Keep will be serving jointly as our Visiting Professors of Missiology.

Veteran missionaries and mission’s leaders, Tim and Becky Keep bring decades of experience to the classroom, including 13 years of experience in the Philippine Islands.

Since 2010, Tim has served as the General Missions Director for the Bible Methodist Church.  He is also the founder and president of Shepherd’s Global Classroom, a collaborative effort that focuses on providing high-quality training materials for pastors and missionaries around the world.

In addition to writing for Shepherd’s Global Classroom, Tim and Becky have also co-authored two books, Eyes to See: Glimpses of God in the Dark and It’s All About Obedience.

GBSC President Rodney Loper comments,

We are privileged to have a veteran missionary couple serving as the Visiting Professor of Missiology, for the 2018-2019 academic year. 

Tim and Becky Keep have dedicated their lives to the work of spreading the Gospel to our world.  They have served as missionaries, educators, bible teachers, and conference speakers.

As a couple they bring a unique mix that I believe will benefit our students.  Becky will be able to offer insights into what it is like to be a female and mother on the mission field.  Tim can share from his vast experiences as a missionary visionary and leader. Together, I believe they will make a significant impact on the lives of our students.

Throughout the 2018-2019 academic year, Tim and Becky Keep will teach missions courses, as well as visit campus several times to work with missions students as they prepare to fulfill God’s calling.

Why choose Intercultural Studies & World Missions at GBSC?

The AAS degree is for laypeople who may be interested in short-term missionary work or in working with missionary organizations.

The BA degree prepares missionary candidates spiritually, academically, and practically for contemporary cross-cultural ministry abroad and at home thus helping to fulfill the Great Commission. Part of this degree, called a cognate, is intended to help the student develop professional or practical skills that may be used on the mission field.

Our BA degree allows you to customize a cognate from a variety of areas, including:

• Counseling
• Teacher Education
• Ministerial Education
• Children’s Ministry
• Business
• Music Education
• Teaching English as a Second Language
• Theological Education

Students went off to be a

• missionary in Mexico
• English teacher in Mongolia and China
• pastor in Northern Ireland
• leader of Hispanic ministry in Indiana
• inner-city mission church
• Christian school teacher in Guatemala
• youth worker in Ukraine