Fifth Cohort Graduates With Masters of Practical Theology Degree

by Steve Austin

On Saturday, August 9, the Biblical Institute Network of schools (RIB in Spanish) celebrated the graduation of its fifth cohort, with about 75 people in attendance. If you’d like to see the recording, it is at this link:

Ten students (nine men and one woman) from six countries celebrated this achievement.

Jaime David Barroso Quiab (Mexico)

Gabriel Eduardo Damalis Valera (Argentina)

Corina Elena Diaz Sanabria (Argentina)

Benjamin Matul López (Guatemala)

José Rafael Medina Cumare (Venezuela)

Ubaldo Mendoza Miranda (Mexico)

Luis Alberto Mujica Vasquez (Venezuela)

Guillermo Palestina Sánchez (Mexico)

Guillermo Ricardo Racines Romero (Ecuador)

Alfonso Arturo Sánchez Ramos (United States)

This culminated three years of consistent, arduous studies, with students taking classes each week for three years—48 weeks per year! In all, they took twelve courses, covering a range of topics such as biblical theology, homiletics, hermeneutics, history of Christian thought, evangelism, church growth and leadership development, spiritual formation, conflict resolution, counseling, and assorted ministry matters.

These students received no scholarships, and many of them did this while working in secular jobs, not receiving a ministry salary either. All work in at least one congregation, and some participate in activities in more than one, or other parachurch ministries.

This brings to 49 the total of men and women who have graduated from this program in the first five cohorts. Another 48 are currently enrolled in studies. We are proud of all of them, and grateful that people like them demonstrate their desire to learn, grow, and serve in their churches and the Kingdom of God.

Please pray for them, their families, their congregations, their cities, and their countries as they continue with the next chapter of their lives.

TIBI GRADUATION 2025

A New Generation Rooted in God’s Word!
by Daniel Urdaneta

On Saturday, July 19, at 1:00 pm (Houston time), the Texas International Bible Institute (TIBI) joyfully celebrated its 24th graduation ceremony, giving glory to God for another milestone in equipping His servants.

It was a beautiful, Spirit-filled event—streamed live on Zoom and YouTube—where family, friends, and brothers and sisters in Christ came together to honor the commitment, sacrifice, and calling of each graduate.

These men and women chose to set aside time to go deeper into God’s Word, to be equipped for service, and to become instruments of transformation in their families, churches, and nations.

Meet the Graduates

✅ Certificate in Ministry
Alessandro Odoardi

✅ Bachelor’s Degree in Biblical Studies
Julio Contreras
Milexis Martínez
John Pedroza
Elkin Sampayo
Jenny Sánchez
Samuel Galavís

✅ Bachelor’s Degree in Ministry and Biblical Studies
David Arrubla (Venezuela, living in Colombia)
Ana Calderón (Venezuela)
Heladio Gómez (Venezuela)
Jafet Hidalgo (Costa Rica)
Paulina Lux (Guatemala, living in New York, USA)
Salomón Martínez (Mexico)
Abner Pérez (Mexico)
Zoraida Pernía (Venezuela, living in Argentina)
Danny Quintero (Colombia, living in California, USA)
Aristóteles Rodríguez (Venezuela)
Romel Rodríguez (Venezuela)
Winston Rodríguez (Venezuela)
Roberto Rubio (Mexico)
Jackson Sánchez (Nicaragua)
David Sosa (Venezuela)
Allan Velásquez (Nicaragua)

If you would like to see the video of the Zoom ceremony, click here.

TIBI Overview–July 20, 2025

School catalog 2025-2026

TIBI receives the Platinum Seal from GuideStar (Candid) for 2024

Guidestar (Candid), the world’s largest and leading source of information about nonprofit organizations, has awarded TIBI its Platinum Seal of Transparency for 2024. 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 53% more donations than the some of the other seal holders.

All major US-based donor-advised funds use Guidestar (Candid), 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

TIBI Celebrates 20 Years!

On Saturday, January 28 at 2 pm (Houston time) TIBI celebrated our 20th anniversary and invited everyone to share it with us. Here is the recording.

Graduation Ceremony for online TIBI

and Local Bible Schools students

On Saturday, January 14, 2023, TIBI held a graduation ceremony for a small group of online and Local Bible School students. To see the recording of the event, click on this link:

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.

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).

AETH | Asociación para La Educación Teológica Hispana

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.