The Bible College Movement Marches On
Far Eastern Bible College (FEBC) reopened with a Day of Prayer on Monday July 18, 2011. It was a wonderful time of worship, fellowship and prayer in the sylvan grounds of Calvary Tengah BPC in Choa Chu Kang.
The Principal spoke on “Four Types of ‘Reverends’” using Jesus’ parable of the sower and the four types of soil: (1) the Rev Unregenerate, (2) the Rev Men-Pleaser, (3) the Rev Rice Bowl, and (4) the Rev Faithful-unto-Death. God forbid that FEBC should produce any of the first three. He urged FEBC students not to end up as unbelieving, compromising and men-pleasing hirelings, but to \train hard to be good and godly servants of the Lord Jesus Christ, faithful and true to His forever infallible and inerrant Words.
One good example of the Rev Faithful-unto-Death is none other than FEBC’s founding Principal—the late Rev Dr Timothy Tow (1920-2009)—who was literally faithful unto death in upholding the Bible to be 100% perfect without any mistake despite the great opposition and persecution he faced from both friend and foe; “he being dead yet speaketh” (Heb 11:4).
In 2008, Life BPC sued to evict FEBC from her birthplace and home because of FEBC’s belief in the 100% perfection and absolute authority of the Holy Scriptures by virtue of the twin doctrines of Verbal Plenary Inspiration (2 Tim 3:16) and Verbal Plenary Preservation (Matt 5:18). But the Lord who is true to His promises vindicated His servant and the school he founded when the Court of Appeal last April ruled in favour of FEBC against Life BPC. More importantly, the Lord vindicated His very own inspired and preserved Scripture and magnified His Word above all His Name (Ps 138:2).
This semester, we are thankful for 16 new full-time students from six countries, a good number of them from Africa and China. The six from Africa are Kenyans Benard Too, Daniel Yaban, Shadrack Cheruiyot, John Chemalan, George Orwa, and Tanzanian Joseph Amos Mbise who is a faculty member of the Bible College of East Africa and here to read for his Master’s degree. We are especially glad for the five from Mainland China—Li Ya Hui, Li Ya Ge, Zhu Jian Wei, Li Shan Shan, and Guo Su Fang. Four of them are graduates of the American ACE (Accelerated Christian Education) programme and are proficient in the English language.
We have two new Korean students—Park Jung Il and Park Sam. Indonesian Febian Siregar from Medan, our 2004 BTh graduate, has returned for his Master’s degree. We have two Singaporeans, both from Gethsemane BPC—Andrew Koh Wee Yap who was a Physics and Mathematics teacher, and Lynn Teo Jian Wen who quit law studies at SMU to answer God’s call to full-time service.
We also welcome Dn Michael Khoo from Bethesda Katong who has registered as a parttime student taking up courses on Systematic Theology and Church History.
We congratulate the Rev Park Seung Kyu, Pastor of the Korean Service of True Life, for the successful completion of his PhD studies in Church History at Kyung Hee University, one of the top ten universities in Korea. He will be conferred the degree in August. The Rev Park is a BRE and ThM graduate of FEBC. He is now working towards his Doctor of Theology degree at FEBC and teaching Latin to FEBC students. Latin is useful in the study of theology because many theological terms are in Latin.
Gethsemane Bible Institute
Not only is FEBC producing more pastors, teachers and missionaries to serve in Bible-believing and Gospel-preaching churches all over the world, it is also being used by the Lord to accelerate the Bible College movement. This is in line with the Pauline injunction, “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” (2 Tim 2:2).
By the grace of God and with a heavenly mandate, our graduates have founded and/or are teaching in Bible schools and colleges in Australia, Cambodia, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Now, a new Bible school is set up in the Philippines—the Gethsemane Bible Institute in Cebu City. It opened on 13 June 2011 with a day of prayer, and classes started officially the following day. There is currently one fulltime student and a few part-timers taking three to four courses offered in the daytime and a good number of students taking the night classes on Systematic Theology.
Let the fledging institution not be discouraged by its humble beginnings. FEBC opened its doors on 17 September 1962 with only three students and hardly any furniture. FEBC’s founding principal—the late Rev Dr Timothy Tow—recounted how the College halls were a sight of “majestic emptiness” in those early days. But the Lord is very faithful to provide for His school of prophets. Slowly but surely, the beds, tables, chairs, books and food etc came in. It has been nearly 50 years since, and FEBC is now grown up with God-given strength to help and support other Bible schools and colleges. “It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it.” (Luke 13:19).
Reggor Galarpe (Pastor of the Gethsemane Bible-Presbyterian Missions Church), Richard Tiu (who had taught at the Bible College of East Africa, Kenya for a couple of years), Eliezer Ortega, and Dominino Dela Cruz, having gone through the rigours of theological training at FEBC, are all well-equipped to teach the forever infallible and inerrant Word of God, 100% inspired and 100% preserved to the last jot and tittle (Ps 12:6-7, Matt 5:18, 2 Tim 3:16- 17).
The Gethsemane Bible Institute was officially inaugurated on 17 July 2011, in a Combined Anniversary Service of the Gethsemane mission churches in Cebu. The Rev Dr Prabhudas Koshy, Pastor of Gethsemane Bible-Presbyterian Church (Singapore) and Dean of Students of Far Eastern Bible College, has been spearheading, supervising and supporting the Gospel work in the Philippines. The Lord bless him and those with him in this new outreach in obedience to the Great Commission.
This was my word of greetings to them: “By the grace of God, the Bible College movement keeps marching on! Praise the Lord for using Gethsemane Bible-Presbyterian Church under the Rev Dr Prabhudas Koshy and the Filipino alumni of the Far Eastern Bible College to establish a new Bible school in the Philippines. This is in line with the Pauline injunction, “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” (2 Tim 2:2). May the Lord use Gethsemane Bible Institute to train many students to become faithful servants to plant more Gospel-preaching, Christ-honouring, and Bible-defending churches in the 7107 islands of the Philippines.” JK
