Peace River Bible Institute

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Peace River Bible Institute
Motto: A College for Life
Established: 1933
Type: private bible college
Religious affiliation: Christian
President: Waldie Neufeld[1]
Students: 227 (2006-2007)
Location: Sexsmith, Alberta, Canada
Colours: black      and Red     
Affiliations: CHEC
Website: www.prbi.edu
PRBI Logo

The Peace River Bible Institute is an unaccredited[2] Bible college located in Sexsmith, Alberta, Canada.

PRBI is a self described "Discipleship-focused" school: "As we are in the process of creating a transferable model of disciple-making to be observed and practiced within the student body, we are committed to: 1) Training students how they are to function within the body by teaching them who they are in Christ; 2) The goal of seeing each student discipled and being trained to disciple others; 3) Developing student leadership that enables them to minister and build into others; 4) Reaching out to the lost as one of the necessary elements of disciple-making." (Taken from www.prbi.edu/page.aspx?id=179589).

As part of their discipleship model PRBI encourages one-on-one discipleship relationships as well as facilitating mandatory discipleship groups called "Care Groups" which are lead by various Care Leaders. Care Leaders are selected from upperclassmen who apply and are affirmed by Student Life for the following school year. Resident Leaders are also considered part of the discipleship model, as they oversee the spiritual and material needs of the various dormitories.

The vision statement of the school, which is often repeated in chapels and memorized by students, is "To train believers to become disciple-makers who know God, model His character, and are able to build into others the life changing principles of His word."

Contents

[edit] History

The Peace River Bible Institute was founded in 1933 in Berwyn by Walter McNaughton, who moved the Institute to its present location in Sexsmith two years later. PBRI's first director was Hattie Kirk, whose work was celebrated in an exhibition at the Grande Prairie Museum devoted to women's role in the history of the Peace region.[3] The college's student numbers have risen rapidly since 1993,[4] with the number of enrolments rising from 60 to 200 over the 10 years leading up to 2007.[1]

[edit] Programs

Courses offered by PBRI range between two and four years in length, and cover religious education, church music, pastoral studies and mission work. The college's four-year Bachelor of Religious Education course in "Church Ministry and Community Service" can include fire fighting certification, with training provided through a partnership with the Sexsmith fire department. Some of the students who take this course become pastors, but others seek employment in other professions.[5]

[edit] Recognition

A 2004 water balloon fight at PBRI involving 800 participants and 8,000 balloons was recognised by The Guinness Book of World Records as the largest yet conducted.[6][7] The record was exceeded at Sint-Michielscollege Brasschaat in Belgium in April 2005.[7]

[edit] Staff and Faculty

The current President of PRBI is Waldie Neufeld, who was promoted from academic dean to become the college's president in 2007. His forerunner was Rod Masterson, who had left the position for ministerial work in Southern Alberta. Before seeking a career in education, Neufeld had worked in agriculture and construction.[1] Neufeld teaches the class Disciple Making, one of PRBI's core classes, and co-teaches Family Studies with his wife Sharon.

Department Leaders:

  • Darrell Gerber - Vice President, Chairman of Christian Ministries Department, temporary Chairman of Missions Department.
  • Warren Charlton - Chairman of Pastoral Department.
  • John Bell - Chairman of Music Department.

Student Life:

  • Darryl Schmidt - Dean of Students.
  • Mark Weiderik - Dean of Men.
  • Sharon Gerber - Temporary Dean of Women (formerly Judy Sandiford who left mid winter semester 2008).
  • Sam Minatra - Assistant Dean of Men.
  • Brandi Hall - Assistant Dean of Women.

[edit] Notes and references

  1. ^ a b c Derek Logan. "New title for a familiar face; PRBI promotes academic dean to president's chair", The Daily Herald-Tribune (Grande Prairie, Alberta), March 16, 2007. 
  2. ^ PBRI's Bachelor of Religious Education course was recognized after its establishment in the 1980s by the unrecognized American Association of Bible Colleges. See Ronald Wesley Neufeldt (1983). Religious Studies in Alberta: A State-Of-The-Art Review. Waterloo, Ont.: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, pp. 22–23. ISBN 0-919812-18-X. 
  3. ^ Mary Nutting. "Obstacles and opportunities", The Daily Herald-Tribune (Grande Prairie, Alberta), February 2 2007. 
  4. ^ Natasha Botha. "PRBI growth spurt continues with a record graduation class this year", The Daily Herald-Tribune (Grande Prairie, Alberta), March 14 2004. 
  5. ^ "Faithfully fighting fires: a prairie Bible college trains dual-purpose pastors", Western Report, March 13, 1995, p. 30. 
  6. ^ Graham Rockingham. "Festival of Friends getting wet", The Hamilton Spectator, June 17, 2005, p. A01. 
  7. ^ a b Rob Faulkner. "Balloon fight boasts are ... ballooning", The Hamilton Spectator, July 27, 2005, p. A03. 

[edit] External links

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