This morning, March 10, 2104, we checked out of the Angel Hotel. As we prepared to leave Bethlehem, we stopped for a visit at the Bethlehem Bible College. As you will recall, Bethlehem lies in the West Bank, a Palestinian area, where only approximately 1.5% of the residents are Christian.
In 1979, Bishara Awad was the principal of Hope Christian School in Beit Jala. He saw that many of his students went abroad for a university education, and that most of those who chose to study theology never returned.
With an initial donation of $20, Dr. Awad went on to build a Christian Bible college to educate Arabs to serve their churches and communities. The College does receive funding from the United Methodist Church.
Today the college has expanded to offer:
BA in Biblical Studies & Christian Education
MA in Christian Ministry
Diploma in Media Studies
Diploma in Tour Guiding
International Studies Programs
By giving Arab students an opportunity for higher education, they hope to encourage the Palestinian people to seek a better life.
We enjoyed getting to meet Dr. Awad. His brother, Alex Awad, documented the story of their family and the founding of the Bible College in his book Palestinian Memories. Here Dr. Awad signs a copy of the book for my daughter, Savannah. Dr. Awad gave a very interesting talk about the difficulties of living and learning in the occupied territories, as well as the special problems facing Christians.
While we were at the Bible College, their 3rd Biennial Christ at the Checkpoint conference was beginning. At this conference more than 600 people met to pray, worship, and discuss the role and responsibility of the church to work to bring peace to the Holy Land. For more information see www.christatthecheckpoint.com
The students love Bethlehem Bible College! A former student wanted to give something back, so he went on YouTube and taught himself how to make a stained glass window. With no other training, he made this beautiful window and donated it to the school.
Bethlehem Bible College: Serving the Lord in His Land. It was a great visit. For more information go to www.bethbc.org
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