CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Apr 4 BHCTI hosts the COSTS meeting
(The Council of Southwest Theological
Schools)
Apr 4 - May 27
Omega Term 2011
May 20 - 28
BHCTI classes in Cuba
May 30 - Jun 1
Summer Colloquy
May 31
Convocation
Jun 6 - Jul 29
Summer Term |
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SAVE THE DATE
SUMMER COLLOQUY
MAY 31 - JUNE 1, 2011
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Dr. Terry Hargrave will be the featured speaker for this year's Summer Colloquy to be held at First Baptist Church, Arlington, Texas.
A schedule with more details regarding the Summer Colloquy will appear in a future issue.
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QUICK LINKS
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NEW COLUMN
"BHCTI Spotlight"
to Feature Faculty
and Students
| In future issues of the Global Nexus Newsletter, a new column will feature articles on BHCTI Resident and Distinguished Fellows, as well as diploma, master's, and doctoral students.
Carroll Institute is blessed with an outstanding group of faculty and students. The articles will give our readers an opportunity to get to know them better and see how BHCTI impacts their lives and ministry.
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Graduating in 2011?
| An application for graduation is online under "Admissions: Administrative Forms." Students should contact the Registrar or the Admissions Office at admin@bhcti.org regarding the completion of the Capstone course two to three terms before the final term.
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ACCREDITATION UPDATE
A Report from the President
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"Following our positive review last summer by Dr. Randall Bell, Director of Accreditation for the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE), Carroll was encouraged to compress the timeline for accredited status by submitting a Self Study on November 1, 2010. We immediately took the next step in preparation of a Self Study (three documents: assessment, compliance, and planning) with the appointment of task groups. A SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) was performed in September work sessions, followed by a faculty/staff retreat at the Tensleon Ranch on September 30-October 2. The entire group participated in an envisioning exercise—our preferred future in the next 3-5 years. The Self Study, incorporating these data and activities, was produced in three documents with appendixes and was submitted in digital form to ABHE.
On February 24-25, 2011, Dr. Stan Moore and I attended the annual convention of ABHE held in Orlando, FL, where the Commission on Accreditation acted upon our Self Study. The Committee on Applicants and Candidates Motions is one of three subcommittees in the Commission. The Commission was overwhelmed with materials—beginning on a Saturday morning, worked 45 hours until Friday, and rendered 200 decisions related to applicants, candidates, and requests for substantive change. The decision regarding Carroll’s Self Study was twofold: 1) the Committee accepted our report with several items noted in the compliance document, and 2) granted our request for a site visit and accelerated status. The action was stated as follows: “MSC Motion: Send a letter granting an evaluation team visit to B. H. Carroll Theological Institute in Fall 2011, and grant their request for an acceleration of the accreditation process. The committee commends the institution for its thorough process in its planning, assessment, and self-study documents.”
In a subsequent conversation, Dr. Bell clarified the listed concerns as items to monitor in preparation for the site visit; they, in fact, are recommendations we made in our compliance document. The Fall date was chosen in order to give us time to implement our recommendations. The formal granting of an accelerated track is a very positive step. As Dr. Bell pointed out, an accreditation decision remains on basically the same timeline we had proposed. These words have been cause for rejoicing.
The spirit and warmth of the ABHE convention reminded me of a church gathering, not a professional society. We made many new friends and found a collegial fellowship of servants in kingdom work. The linkage of Carroll with ABHE is a providential sharing with great promise of many good things to come."
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MISSIONS NEWS
from our students
Abraham Barberi, 2008 graduate from BHCTI with a Diploma in Christian Ministry, has been featured in a previous issue of the
Global Nexus Newsletter. Abraham and his family have been actively involved
in missions to Matamoros and other border towns, sharing in close partnership with Paul Bellington Ministries since July of 2000. Abraham is an ordained Baptist minister and served as assistant pastor for four years at the Lazybrook Baptist Church in Houston before the Lord called Abraham and his wife Patty to become full time missionaries. Patty has served as a youth and worship leader in Texas and Mexico. Last fall Abraham opened the Instituto Bíblico Bautista Sola Scriptura in Matamoros, Mexico.
Abraham shared in a recent report that in the beginning of the Institute program (Certificate in Ministry) back in September of 2010, they had forty-eight students. As time went by they began to lose some of the students due to factors such as job or shift changes, traveling long distances after working long hours, dangerous conditions in Mexico due to gangs and drug dealers, and lacking money for transportation and tuition. The Institute now has forty students. Although the tuition to attend the Bible Institute is very low, most of them cannot afford it ($18.00 US dollars per semester, all materials included). Being aware of this, Abraham encourages them daily to continue to attend even if they have not paid or cannot pay. He knew from the very beginning that the Bible Institute would not depend on the tuition money; but on God’s grace and provision to allow the Institute to go on. The Barberis ask for prayer for these students as they face many challenges while pursuing their ministry training, and to also hold them up in prayer as they continue to trust God and seek His wisdom.
Carroll Institute is developing plans for partnering with Abraham and One Mission Ministries to provide theological training for pastors and church leaders in Matamoros. Read more about the Barberis' ministry at http://onemissionministries.wordpress.com/
John Whitener III is a current student at BHCTI, having enrolled in July of last year to do online studies while serving as a
missionary in Guadalahara, Mexico. John and his wife Judy both graduated from Troy University in Alabama where they led a campus ministry for six and one half years. Following John’s graduation they moved to Valdosta, Georgia and began to work professionally. Judy was a high school art teacher and John was a psychologist in a specialized facility for the mentally handicapped. While living in Valdosta, John was asked to pastor El Bethel Church in Hazlehurst, Georgia. Following the pastorate there, they felt called to become missionaries and moved to San José, Costa Rica to learn Spanish. A year later they moved to Quito, Ecuador where they lived for four years and then re-located to Guadalajara, Mexico where they have lived and ministered for eighteen years. They are missionaries with Go to Nations.
John and Judy are actively involved with the Fire from Heaven Bible Institute in Guadalajara which they established with the purpose of "giving the Holy Spirit a place and a time to gently but powerfully form workers for the harvest." It is a two-year program with classes offered Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. John writes that besides classes at the Institute, the students are involved in outreach ministry to the lost and are required to participate in a mission trip once a year. Trips have been taken to Ecuador, Oaxaca, and Cuba. The mission trips give the students practical and cross-cultural experiences in sharing the Gospel. Students who graduate from the Institute often go into full-time ministry as pastors, missionaries, or faithful workers in their local churches.
In addition to the Bible Institute, the Whiteners' ministry also includes a missions agency, a drama group, and local church ministry. John is working on a M.Div. degree at Carroll Institute in order to strengthen and support the work he is doing there. You may read more about the Whiteners' ministry at http://johnwhitener.com
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