The Bachelor of Biblical Studies degree is the core training program at SIBI. Students study more than 40 courses equaling 128 college-level credit hours that cover the entire Bible. Students participate in a rich array of classes, from textual study to spiritual enrichment to ministry application. This training is rigorous, providing in just two years the same number of class hours that would be completed in four or more years at a typical college pace. Historically, training preachers has been the main focus of this core program. While training preachers is still central at SIBI, the bachelor’s degree has proven effective in preparing men and women for a wide variety of other ministry opportunities in the kingdom.

Students who have completed an application and have been accepted into the residential program may participate in our on-campus classroom via Zoom. Any course that is offered to our in-person residential students may be taken via live stream.

CURRICULUM/COURSES

A list of the core curriculum courses for the two-year ministry training program at SIBI can be found here. In addition to the core courses, each student chooses an area of emphasis consisting of four additional specialized courses in that area of ministry. The areas of emphasis are Preaching Ministry, Family and Youth Ministry, Missions, Christian Interpreter Training, and Women’s Ministry.

TOM COTÉ
Director of Admissions

AREAS OF EMPHASIS

  • PREACHING MINISTRY

    Students who choose the Preaching Ministry emphasis take four courses designed especially for ministry in the American context. Each course looks closely into a specific area of ministry.

  • FAMILY & YOUTH MINISTRY

    Through the Family & Youth Ministry emphasis, students are trained to reach the family with the Gospel and facilitate parents and children to live in God’s unique design for family discipleship.

  • MISSIONS

    The gospel doesn’t change, but learning how to connect with people in their own culture is crucial. In the Missions emphasis, students are trained for the mission field and learn how to effectively share the Gospel throughout the world.

  • CHRISTIAN INTERPRETER TRAINING

    This emphasis pairs ASL skills and knowledge of Deaf culture with a solid biblical foundation to equip men and women to serve in Deaf ministry. This may include preaching, teaching, interpreting, and mission work.

  • WOMEN'S MINISTRY

    As one of the only ministry training schools in our brotherhood that offers an emphasis on women, it is our goal to provide a biblically sound education that prepares our students for innovative and effective ministries.

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT

At Sunset International Bible Institute, our purpose is to teach the "whole counsel of God" (Acts 20:27). We endeavor to expose students to every book of the Bible, to a practical view of ministry within the body of Christ, and to intentional outreach to a lost world. On the way to receiving your Bachelor of Biblical Studies degree, here are some of the things you can expect to be taught:

  1. The Nature and Character of God: From the Old Testament and the New Testament, you will be taught about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. You will be exposed to the love, mercy, grace, and justice of God in His dealings with mankind through the ages.

  2. The Life and Teachings of Christ: You will learn about His deity, His humanity, His powerful message, His sinless life, His death, burial, and resurrection, and His exaltation to the right hand of God in heaven.

  3. The Gift and Work of the Holy Spirit: You will be taught what the Bible says about the person, the power, and the work of God’s Spirit throughout history and the indwelling Spirit that serves as the seal of salvation and earnest of inheritance for every Christian.

  4. The Redemptive Plan and Purpose of God: You will learn about God’s plan to save and forgive sinful humanity through the atoning sacrifice of Christ as it is revealed in the gospel and received by God’s mercy and grace through saving faith, repentance of sin, and baptism into Christ.

  5. Christian Apologetics: You will be shown evidence that proves that the Bible is God’s inspired, accurate, and trustworthy revelation of Himself to man. You will learn the evidence of the resurrection of Christ, the existence of God, and the special creation of man.

  6. How to Study the Bible: You will learn how the Bible is its own best interpreter and how to discover what it meant to those who heard it first and what it means for us today. As you study through the entire Bible you will learn the difference between the Old and New Covenants and how to understand scripture in context and its original language.

  7. The New Testament Church: You will be taught about the prophecies, the preparation, the beginning, the doctrine, the worship, the unity, and the body life of the Church that Jesus built. You will learn how to plant, grow, and mature a healthy New Testament Church.

  8. Spiritual Wholeness and Discipleship: You will learn how to grow spiritually, overcome temptation, and live daily for the Lord by applying the Christian disciplines and Christian graces to your life. Our goal is not only to teach you the word of God but to help you develop wholeness in your life and your relationship with God.

  9. The Christian Home and Family: You will be taught how to develop and preserve godly homes, marriages, and child-rearing as a blessing to our churches and our nation. You will learn the role and responsibility of each individual and of the family as a whole in building a solid foundation for this generation and the next.

  10. Church History: By studying the ecclesiastical successes and failures of others from the first century until now, you will learn how to avoid tragic mistakes of the past and how to apply the correct values of theologians, churches, religious movements, and various denominations through the ages.

  11. Evangelism, Missions, and Church Planting: You will learn the importance of the Great Commission of Jesus Christ and how to carry it out in our generation. You will discover that evangelism, soul-winning, and missions serve as the lifeblood of the Church, both at home and abroad.

  12. Eschatology, the Study of Last Things: You will be taught about the end of time, the return of Christ, the resurrection of the body, the day of judgment, and the reality of heaven and hell. You will also learn what happens to those who die prior to the return of Christ.

SIBI GRADUATES HOLY LANDS TOUR

Pending

At SIBI, we continue to train WHOLE persons to take the WHOLE gospel to the WHOLE world. As we look to the future, we believe that one of the ways that we can more fully equip people for ministry is to enhance their studies with a trip to the land of the Holy One. This trip, available to SIBI students upon graduation, is intended to help the participants more fully understand and conceptualize the world in which Jesus lived and, thus, to communicate God’s word more accurately and vividly to the ones they serve. Some ministers go their whole lives without experiencing this kind of training opportunity. We want our students to begin their ministry ahead of that curve to the glory of God.

BIBLICAL STUDIES FACULTY

RON BONTRAGER
Dean of Preaching School

GIBBY GILBERT
Family and Youth

DAWNA GILBERT
Women’s Ministry

MATT GLAWE
Instructor

KEVIN HAYNES
Instructor

DAVID HENNIGER
Dean of Missions

SHARON PRUITT
Asst Dean of Women

ARTHUR PUENTE
Instructor

MALISSA SHEAFFER
Women’s Ministry

REBECCA SHELT
Interpreter Training

CHARLES SPEER
Instructor

BETTY TRACY
Dean of Women