Rio Grande Bible Institute
Encyclopedia
The Rio Grande Bible Institute (also known as RGBI) is a nondenominational school located in Edinburg, Texas
which has two main purposes: to serve as a Bible college
for students from Mexico
, Central America
, and South America
, and provide Spanish language training for non-Spanish-speaking North America
ns who will serve as missionaries in Spanish-speaking areas of the world.
evangelist
who pastor
ed church
es in Minnesota
and Iowa
before moving to the Rio Grande Valley
in 1937, to minister to the Hispanic
population there.
In January 1947, Mr. Ehlert, with the help of many like-minded friends and his wife, Elizabeth, began the first classes at night so that local Hispanics could attend while working during the day. Classes were taught in both English
and Spanish
for the first few years, but in 1955 the English school was terminated in favor of a Spanish language school for missionaries
heading to Latin America
.
, located just within the southern portion of the city of Edinburg
, still includes dual schools (a Spanish Bible institute and a Spanish language school) on its 62 acres (251,000 m²). Its purpose continues to be to train godly Christian leaders for the Spanish-speaking church. The Bible Institute has a four-year program, as well as one- and two-year programs in Biblical studies
and theology
. In the four-year program the student may choose an emphasis in Christian Education, Pastoral Ministry, or Missions. The Missionary Language School offers an intensive, nine-month program for career missionaries preparing to minister to Spanish-speaking people. These students have already been accepted by a mission agency or local church and are making RGBI Language School their final stop before leaving for their particular area of service.
Other ministries of the organization include correspondence and online courses in Spanish, a night school with both English and Spanish course offerings, Christian video courses, and a Spanish AM and FM radio ministry. In addition, RGBI has its own art department and print shop which produce devotional, informational, and promotional literature. The campus bookstore provides Bibles, books, CDs, DVDs and supplies not only for the students but also for the public. Each year more than one hundred retirees known as "Winter Volunteers" descend on campus to provide much appreciated help throughout the winter months. For the past thirty years these energetic people, mostly from the North, have constructed most of the campus buildings and done a myriad of other tasks from sewing, quilting, and cooking to pouring cement, repairing roofs and building a wall around the campus. About six miles from the Edinburg campus, Bibleville, a Christian conference center, attracts another three hundred "Winter Texans" each winter. There the residents, who live in their own homes or RVs, enjoy Bible conferences every other week and music concerts each Saturday as well as Sunday services. They become involved in a variety of outreach ministries including volunteering at the Bible Institute, as tutors in local schools, or at area churches.
"We will seek to:
These goals were revised and adopted by the Faculty of Rio Grande Bible Institute on October 21, 2002, and are included in the latest editions of the Bible Institute catalog and Faculty Handbook.
Edinburg, Texas
Edinburg is a city in and the county seat of Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. The population was 77,100 at the 2010 census. The University of Texas–Pan American, the only fully accredited four-year university in the Rio Grande Valley, is located in Edinburg.Edinburg is part of the...
which has two main purposes: to serve as a Bible college
Bible college
Bible colleges are institutions of higher education that specialize in biblical studies. Curriculum is Bible-based and differs from that of liberal arts colleges or research universities. Bible colleges generally exclude the study of philosophy, unlike seminaries and theological colleges...
for students from Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
, and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, and provide Spanish language training for non-Spanish-speaking North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
ns who will serve as missionaries in Spanish-speaking areas of the world.
History
The Rio Grande Bible Institute was founded in 1946 by M.C. Ehlert, a DanishDenmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
evangelist
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
who pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
ed church
Church Body
A local church is a Christian religious organization that meets in a particular location. Many are formally organized, with constitutions and by-laws, maintain offices, are served by pastors or lay leaders, and, in nations where this is permissible, often seek seek non-profit corporate status...
es in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
and Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
before moving to the Rio Grande Valley
Rio Grande Valley
The Rio Grande Valley or the Lower Rio Grande Valley, informally called The Valley, is an area located in the southernmost tip of South Texas...
in 1937, to minister to the Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
population there.
In January 1947, Mr. Ehlert, with the help of many like-minded friends and his wife, Elizabeth, began the first classes at night so that local Hispanics could attend while working during the day. Classes were taught in both English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
for the first few years, but in 1955 the English school was terminated in favor of a Spanish language school for missionaries
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
heading to Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
.
Purpose
Today the campusCampus
A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls and park-like settings...
, located just within the southern portion of the city of Edinburg
Edinburg, Texas
Edinburg is a city in and the county seat of Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. The population was 77,100 at the 2010 census. The University of Texas–Pan American, the only fully accredited four-year university in the Rio Grande Valley, is located in Edinburg.Edinburg is part of the...
, still includes dual schools (a Spanish Bible institute and a Spanish language school) on its 62 acres (251,000 m²). Its purpose continues to be to train godly Christian leaders for the Spanish-speaking church. The Bible Institute has a four-year program, as well as one- and two-year programs in Biblical studies
Biblical studies
Biblical studies is the academic study of the Judeo-Christian Bible and related texts. For Christianity, the Bible traditionally comprises the New Testament and Old Testament, which together are sometimes called the "Scriptures." Judaism recognizes as scripture only the Hebrew Bible, also known as...
and theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
. In the four-year program the student may choose an emphasis in Christian Education, Pastoral Ministry, or Missions. The Missionary Language School offers an intensive, nine-month program for career missionaries preparing to minister to Spanish-speaking people. These students have already been accepted by a mission agency or local church and are making RGBI Language School their final stop before leaving for their particular area of service.
Other ministries of the organization include correspondence and online courses in Spanish, a night school with both English and Spanish course offerings, Christian video courses, and a Spanish AM and FM radio ministry. In addition, RGBI has its own art department and print shop which produce devotional, informational, and promotional literature. The campus bookstore provides Bibles, books, CDs, DVDs and supplies not only for the students but also for the public. Each year more than one hundred retirees known as "Winter Volunteers" descend on campus to provide much appreciated help throughout the winter months. For the past thirty years these energetic people, mostly from the North, have constructed most of the campus buildings and done a myriad of other tasks from sewing, quilting, and cooking to pouring cement, repairing roofs and building a wall around the campus. About six miles from the Edinburg campus, Bibleville, a Christian conference center, attracts another three hundred "Winter Texans" each winter. There the residents, who live in their own homes or RVs, enjoy Bible conferences every other week and music concerts each Saturday as well as Sunday services. They become involved in a variety of outreach ministries including volunteering at the Bible Institute, as tutors in local schools, or at area churches.
RGBI Goals
The following goals, which were adopted for the Bible Institute in 2002, outline how RGBI seeks to fulfill its mission."We will seek to:
- 1. Guide the student to a thorough understanding of the Word of God and biblical doctrine. (II Timothy 3:16-17)
- 2. Prepare the student to serve God effectively in the Christian ministry to which God has called. (II Timothy 2:2; I Corinthians 12:6-7)
- 3. Always model before our students a passionate walk with God, so that their love for Christ will continue to deepen and grow. (I Corinthians 6:20; 11:1; John 15:9, 13)
- 4. Challenge the student to obey the Great Commission to preach the Gospel and make disciples, who are integrated into the local church.
- 5. Encourage the graduates to return to their respective churches with a world missionary vision to serve God according to His will. (John 4:28, 29; )
- 6. Guide the student in spiritual growth and maturity, and provide the opportunity to grow in the Christian life so that Christ’s image will be formed in that student. (Ephesians 4:13)
- a. Spiritually: Develop a growing relationship with Christ through prayer, obedience to God’s Word, worship and service to Christ. (Colossians 4:12)
- b. Intellectually: Facilitate the student’s ability to understand and develop analytical thinking and to formulate and present a Christian worldview in a professional manner. (Philippians 4:8; Romans 12:2)
- c. Socially: Develop a life that is Christ-like in both personal and social areas, being guided by Biblical principles and controlled by the Holy Spirit at all times. (Colossians 3:17)
- d. Economically: Fortify the student’s understanding of Biblical stewardship. (Romans 13:8; Philippians 4:19)
- e. In the workplace: Develop an appreciation for the dignity of work and a Biblical work ethic. (Acts 20:34; I Thessalonians 2:9)
- 7. Cultivate and develop the abilities of the student so that he can effectively communicate God’s Word in the context of the Hispanic world. (II Timothy 2:2; II Timothy 4:1-2)"
These goals were revised and adopted by the Faculty of Rio Grande Bible Institute on October 21, 2002, and are included in the latest editions of the Bible Institute catalog and Faculty Handbook.