Second RIB Cohort Graduates
On December 10, at 1 PM Houston time, the Red de Institutos Bíblicos (Biblical institute network) celebrated the graduation of its second cohort, who received our Masters of Practical Theology degree.
This group started in August of 2019, and faithfully and doggedly continued through the three-year program, in spite the usual ups and downs of a masters degree, and a one-trimester postponement due to the COVID pandemic in 2020. They successfully completed 12 courses of biblical text and ministry, from 12 different teachers.
Graduation of 2019 Masters Cohort, December 10, 2022
A total of 10 men began the program, and the final number who graduated yesterday was 11! This was because one member of the first cohort went through an accident an eye surgery which delayed his graduation one year. The graduates represented at least 11 congregations from 7 different countries in Latin America.
The graduates include:
Carlos Eduardo Camacho Repetto, Esposa Gabriela (Mérida, México)
Besias Desil (Valledupar, Colombia)
Cristian Humberto Escobar González, esposa Patricia (Santa Cruz, Bolivia)
Othoniel Gutiérrez Bustillos, esposa Paloma, (Cuauhtemoc, México)
Gerardo David Ingunza Cano (Ambato, Ecuador)
Franklin Iván Lastra Game (Cuenca, Ecuador)
César Geovanny Moreno Figueroa (Tegucigalpa, Honduras)
Luis Alejandro Pulido Toro (Barinas, Venezuela)
Francisco Rojas Guzmán, y esposa Carmen (Tarbaca, Costa Rica)
David Alberto Sosa Perez (Barinas, Venezuela)
Leonardo Andrés Torres Vesga (Bucaramanga, Colombia)
If you’d like the watch the YouTube streaming version of the graduation, it is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uWw8mvNvmY.
If you’d like to watch the Zoom version, it is at https://ibitibi.zoom.us/rec/share/9LomD7P4E4Cw5WHcZAdyWl-LzcWkIstG3wrH0I_UHMMFtaDYBxskK4WbZub2L1k.eVMQEqDxvv3o-_PD?startTime=1670698350000
We are proud of these men, their character, their ministries, and their work during this program. We ask you to pray that God will lead and bless them as they move forward, having achieved this important milestone.
TIBI receives the Platinum Seal from GuideStar for 2022
Guidestar, the world’s largest and leading source of information about nonprofit organizations, has awarded TIBI its Platinum Seal of Transparency for 2022. This is the highest seal awarded.
It indicates that TIBI is among the top one percent of the 2.7 million nonprofits in the US in terms of transparency regarding our goals, methods, metrics, data, and results.
More than 10 million people visit GuideStar each year for guidance on how to give charitable donations. Those with the platinum seal receive twice as many views, and receive 11% more donations than the Bronze, Silver, and non-seal holders combined.
All major US-based donor-advised funds use Guidestar, as well as millions of visitors to donation platforms like AmazonSmile, Facebook, JustGive, and many more.
We strive continually to achieve our mission the best way possible, and to be transparent about our work and results. We hope this will benefit TIBI. We welcome any questions you might have.
To see our full profile on TIBI (statistics, metrics, results), go to this link Texas International Bible Institute
GRADUATION 2022!
On Saturday, July 23, at 2 PM Houston time, IBIT celebrated its 18th promotion. We recognized those who received their Bachelor of Ministry and Biblical Studies degree. This was the first group to receive this degree, which has been certified by AETH (the Association for Hispanic Theological Education), and affirmed by the Association of Theological Schools (ATS), the association that accredits seminaries in the United States. This means that if these graduates would like to apply to study at any seminary in the United States or Puerto Rico, their degree will be recognized as a valid Bachelor’s degree for any seminary.
Those who received this degree were:
Bayron Benjamin Alonzo Guillermo, Mexico
Eduardo Abraham Ancona Eck, Mexico
Leonardo Alcides Balladares Morales, Nicaragua
Nekel Barboza, Venezuela
Arnold Jose Camacho Narvaez, Peru
Leonardo Jose Capodicasa Rodriguez, Venezuela
Bismarck Abraham Castaneda Flores, Nicaragua
Reinner Albenis Hernandez Luquez, Colombia
Alejandro Antonio Mena, Nicaragua
Juan Sebastian Montano Valencia, Colombia
Yheison Miguel Parada Morles, Venezuela
Harold Bernard Peralta Cardenas, Ecuador
Estefani Sanchez Penaranda, Bolivia
Elizabeth Tabares Chacoa, Colombia
We also recognized other IBIT graduates, who “updated” the degree they had received in previous years (that which the State of Texas recognizes–the Bachelor of Biblical Studies.) To do this, they had to take four new courses that were added to strengthen the IBIT curriculum, plus do an extra project for four more courses, which covered new elements that we added to those courses, responding to IBIT criteria.
Those who received this “update” were the following:
Jose Dolores Aleman Garcia, Nicaragua
Angelo Borja Beltran Blanco Acho, Bolivia
Naudy David Corro Aguero, Venezuela
Franklin Rafael Diaz Quijada, Venezuela
Carlos Eduardo Garcia Velasquez, Venezuela
Cruz Del Valle Gutierrez de Garcia, Venezuela
Victor Manuel Juarez Landa, Mexico
Jose Rafael Medina Cumare, Venezuela
Joel Amos Perez Cax, United States
The graduation was done by Zoom, and that room included IBIT graduates and leaders. It was also streamed live on our YouTube channel for any family, friend, or church member who wanted to watch it.
If you go to this link, you can see the Zoom recording.
If you go to this link, you can see the YouTube recording.
We are proud of these brothers and sisters, and ask for your prayers for them, as they continue their ministries in each place.
SPECIAL DEAD SEA SCROLLS SEMINAR
Adolfo Roitman (left), Curator of the Dead Sea Scrolls, Israel Museum, Jerusalem; with Guillermo Palestrina Sanchez (right), from Ciudad del Carmen, Mexico. In 2013, Guillermo facilitated our introduction to Dr. Roitman
On Saturday, January 29, IBIT sponsored an academic seminar with Dr. Adolfo Roitman, who is the curator of the Dead Sea Scrolls, at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
The topics covered in the three hours were:
- The Dead Sea Scrolls—past and present
- The sectarian phenomenon in ancient Judaism and the Jerusalem temple and its impact on the Jews
- The origins of Christianity and the Essene matrix.
Although the seminar was given to train IBIT faculty, everyone was welcome.
You can see the seminar at this link.
First Masters’ Cohort Graduates!
It is with great satisfaction and pleasure that the Biblical Institute Network (RIB in Spanish) announces the graduation of its first 12 students from the Master of Practical Theology program.
These students came from Nicaragua, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Spain, and the United States. representing 12 different congregations.
The ceremony took place December 11, 2021, by Zoom. The video recording of the streaming on YouTube is available here as well as in TIBI’s Zoom video library here . We invite you to join in the celebration!
WELCOME THE FOURTH COHORT OF THE MTP
In August 16, 2021, IBIT assisted in welcoming the fourth cohort of the Master of Practical Theology program. This program, which consists of 12 courses and 36 credit hours in total, is offered by the RIB – Red de Institutos Biblicos (Biblical Institutes Network), composed of several brotherhood schools. The goal is to continue preparing more men and women for effective service in the local churches.
There were 13 new students with the goal of finishing their studies in August 2024, from 7 countries: Daniel Amarista (Brasil); David Lopez (Colombia); Hernán Oyanedel and Jorge Paredes (Chile); Oscar Pitán (El Salvador); Esperanza Olivo (Estados Unidos); Carlos Garcia, David Marcano, Raquel Molina, Carlos Guerrero and Omar Mendez from Venezuela; and Ricardo Pinedo and Hugo Sandoval from Ecuador.
There are currently 31 participants in the Master’s courses in total. If you want to know a little more about them, click here.
TIBI receives grant from Duke Divinity School
We are happy to announce that in January 2021, as a colleague of AETH, TIBI was awarded a grant from the Leadership Education program at Duke Divinity School, part of Duke University. It is a grant that comes indirectly from the well-known Lilly Foundation.
This grant is specifically for the equipping of our professors at TIBI. We will give them several useful resources for study and class preparation, such as Logos software, 56 DVDs of photos and biblical lands, and seminars granted by the producers of these resources. These experts will train our teachers how to utilize them best in their class preparation. We are also finalizing details of two other important resources.
This will take place during a 12-month period, from March 2021-March 2022. We are grateful to God for this opportunity to continue improving the quality of our instruction and our program.
TIBI receives the Platinum Seal from GuideStar for 2022
Guidestar, the world’s largest and leading source of information about nonprofit organizations, has awarded TIBI its Platinum Seal of Transparency for 2022. This is the highest seal awarded.
It indicates that TIBI is among the top one percent of the 2.7 million nonprofits in the US in terms of transparency regarding our goals, methods, metrics, data, and results.
More than 10 million people visit GuideStar each year for guidance on how to give charitable donations. Those with the platinum seal receive twice as many views, and receive 11% more donations than the Bronze, Silver, and non-seal holders combined.
All major US-based donor-advised funds use Guidestar, as well as millions of visitors to donation platforms like AmazonSmile, Facebook, JustGive, and many more.
We strive continually to achieve our mission the best way possible, and to be transparent about our work and results. We hope this will benefit TIBI. We welcome any questions you might have.
To see our full profile on TIBI (statistics, metrics, results), go to this link Texas International Bible Institute
AETH Certifies TIBI’s Bachelor’s Degree!
In August, after a process lasting almost two years, TIBI received word from the Asociación para Estudios Teológicos Hispanos (Association of Hispanic Theological Studies) that they have officially certified our Bachelors Degree, the Licenciatura en el Ministerio y Estudios Bíblicos (Bachelor of Ministry and Biblical Studies).
This certification is extended in collaboration with the Association of Theological Schools, the main accrediting agency of seminaries in the US.
This is a valuable external endorsement of our program which will allow our graduates to apply for graduate studies at any seminary in the US. We also expect this to result in an increased enrollment, as more people will find out about TIBI. We are grateful to God for this blessing!
To see some of who we are and what we do, click on the link below.