Irish Bible Institute

Irish Bible Institute In 1982 a group of evangelical leaders in the Republic of Ireland formed the Irish Bible School (IBS) in Coalbrook, Co. Tipperary. Their vision was the development of an Irish-based, non-denominational, evangelical Bible College to train the future leaders of the developing Irish church. Then in 1998 the Leadership Institute (LI) was set up in Dublin offering a programme for full-time, day students.

In 2000 IBS and LI merged to form the Irish Bible Institute. It was decided that much more could be achieved together by combining resources, and this has definitely been the case.

IBI's vision is to see vibrant, gospel-centred churches making an impact for Christ across Ireland. Our mission is to serve the Church through commitment to excellence in biblical education and leadership development for the Irish Church. Our core values are the Word of God, developing Irish church leadership, biblically relevant training, the diversity of our students and Christ's great commission [Dublin]], Ireland. Its Masters in Applied Theology and Bachelors in Applied Theology degrees are awarded and validated by the University of Wales.

BA and MA in Applied Theology, validated by the University of Wales

We were enabled to work towards an MA due to an unexpected bequest from a lady we had never met. It enabled us to employ Steven Singleton to develop the programme and by November 2004 it was successfully validated (accredited) by the University of Wales. In May 2005 the programme was launched with 17 students taking a course in Biblical Interpretation taught by Dr. Craig Blomberg. Today we have 31 students, most of whom are church leaders. To date 11 have graduated.

The next step was to begin a BA Degree. After a year’s work, this programme was also successfully validated (accredited) by the University of Wales and launched in September 2006. Again we had more students than expected. The total student body now numbers over 130. In September 2008 by God’s grace, seven students graduated.

Premises

In early 2004 we hosted an event for ‘Christians in Business’. Due to sharing borrowed facilities we ended up in a most unsatisfactory room for the seminar and were deeply embarrassed. About two months later a businessman who attended that meeting got in touch. He made us a remarkable and generous offer to provide a new home for IBI. Consequently, in September 2004, the IBI Board were in a position to enter into a long-term purchase agreement for10,000 sq.ft. in an office block in Foley St., Dublin 1 and by July 2005 we had moved in to brand-new purpose-designed facility. It is located in the heart of the city, close to all major transport options, which makes IBI accessible to students from all over Ireland.

Another remarkable part of this story unfolded when Derek Langran, the Board Chairman at that time, told us that his late father had worked in Foley Street during the 1950s and 60s. For years he had prayed that God would ‘do something’ there in what was an area famous for prostitution and crime. IBI now stands on the very same site where he worked. God answers prayer!

Most recent developments

In 2009 we integrated students and staff from the former Carraig Eden Theological College (CETC), therefore forming a single Bible College to serve the Irish Church across the breadth of evangelicalism.

Funding of the Irish Bible Institute

Since IBI is accredited by the University of Wales we are not funded in any way by the Irish Department of Education. All our financial support comes from course fees, paid by our students, from individuals and some trusts. Between 2004 and 2010 the proportion of income from fees has increased from 20% to approximately 50%. Traditionally most other funding comes from Ireland and we desire to maintain this sense of ownership by the local evangelical community. However, significant growth recently, the move to new premises and the introduction of MA and BA degrees necessitate us looking further afield.

Faculty: Full-time 3 Jacob Reynolds, Patrick Mitchel, Steven Singleton Part-time 4 Jonathan Schuster, Joan Singleton, Mimi Kelly, Sandie Tutty Adjunct (BA) John Samuel, Phil Kingsley, Paul Perry, Richard McConnell, Pat Mullen, John Woodside, Hazel Morrell, Gary Millar, Jonathan Shaw. Adjunct (MA) Craig Blomberg, David McMillan, David Smith, John Shortt, Keith McCrory Staff: Full-time 2 Dawn Langrell, Linda Basdeo Part-time 6 Louise Halpin, Anne Somerville, Ana Mullan, (Robbie and Ruth Burns, Stephanie Kozick who are voluntary)

External links

• Irish Bible Institute official website