Jillian Reimer Klassen, Editor & Design. Carla Ackermann, Photography. Steinbach Bible College 50 PTH 12 N Steinbach, MB, Canada R5G 1T4

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1 IN T UCH 1

2 Jillian Reimer Klassen, Editor & Design Carla Ackermann, Photography CONTACT US: Steinbach Bible College 50 PTH 12 N Steinbach, MB, Canada R5G 1T4 Ph: Fax: info@sbcollege.ca STAY CONNECTED: E D MEMBER: Association for Biblical Higher Education Christian Higher Education Canada Canadian Council of Christian Charities Cover Photo: Karissa Kruse and Jessica Lunn at Steinbach EMC for the 2017 Graduation Ceremony on Saturday, April 22. 2

3 a message From the President Do you ever wonder if you are making a difference in the world? As the president of SBC, I ask this question a lot. I wonder if our training and mentoring actually has an impact on the students, and the world in which they live. I have done a fair bit of traveling over the past couple of months and I can say without question that SBC is making a difference. As I preach in different churches, it is not unusual to see alumni leading worship, teaching Sunday School or youth, helping out with the audio/visual components, ushering, and pastoring. I also hear and see our alumni serving in the community. Some have started a Bible Study with their coworkers. Others are getting involved in their communities, working with the marginalized and forgotten. Still others are involved in community activities like coaching a sports team or participating in the local drama or musical. This past April at graduation, a number of parents came up to me to share the amazing transformation that has happening in their son or daughter s life. These parents have seen their children start to look and act like servant leaders. There is evidence in their lives that they are following Jesus, serving the church and engaging the world. I thank God for his faithfulness in moulding and transforming the lives of our students. I praise God for how He is using our alumni to impact a world that desperately needs Jesus. As you read this edition of InTouch, please join me in praising God for His faithfulness! Dr. Rob Reimer, D.Min President 3

4 academic innovations at SBC New for fall Steinbach Bible College continues to seek out ways in which to serve a broader student population and provide quality academics with a more expansive professional appeal that fits into our institutional mission. Fall 2017 will introduce exciting new options for students enrolling at SBC. Online BA Official approval from the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE) was granted for the entirely online 3-year Bachelor of Arts in Ministry Studies and the 2-year Associate of Arts in Bible-Theology. We will be able to train people who need the flexibility provided through online studies. With this approval, SBC sets itself apart with an accredited ministry studies degree that can be completed with only 90 credits. I am most excited to see people, who are already engaged in ministry, hone their skills through one of these degrees. Dr. Patrick Friesen, Dean of Online Learning SBC has provided a 1-year (24 credit hour) Certificate of Ministry Studies in the past and is excited to offer more accessible options for persons entering or engaged in ministry, which can significantly reduce time to graduation. BA Marketplace Ministry September 2017 will also see the Bachelor of Arts in Marketplace Ministry introduced. This BA is intended for students following God s call to engage the world vocationally. This Year Program will have students complete 2 years of ministry and biblical training at SBC and the 1-year marketplace component resourced at an institution of the student s choice, such as, Red River College or Manitoba Institute of Trades & Technology. Students will be assisted by SBC in discovering how their vocational training fits into the Marketplace Ministry program. Visit SBCollege.ca/Programs to explore what SBC has to offer and how you might benefit from continued academic and biblical training. v

5 VISIT SBCollege.ca/Events to join us for a round! Bachelor of Arts Marketplace Ministry COMING FALL 2017 SBCollege.ca/Programs 5

6 Arlene and Jake Friesen in Istanbul, Turkey Faculty Feature: preparing the groundwork in Turkey Arlene friesen, SBC professor 6 Airport and nightclub terror attacks. Snow-capped mountain peaks and Mediterranean palm trees. Loudspeakers blaring the pre-dawn call to prayer through an open window. Clambering around ancient tombs in a mountain-side City of the Dead. Standing by a harbour from which Paul sailed. Fervent prayer and Spirit-filled worship to the King of Kings, from within the cousin world and for the cousin world. These are potential experiences of Turkey, and all except the first were ones my husband and I had the privilege of participating in on a trip to Groundwork This prayer gathering is spearheaded by a group of workers who realized in the mid-2000 s that their human strategies were repeatedly failing, and who were desperate for God to move... so desperate they decided it was time to step aside and cry out to God to watch Him do it. The focus of Groundwork is worship and intercession on behalf of Muslims. The goals are: 1. To engage in night and day worship and prayer as a community inside the Muslim world. 2. To train field-based workers how to pray more effectively (mostly by praying!). 3. To connect kindred spirits together in ongoing, fruitful friendships that result in further prayer inside the Muslim world. For four days in early April, we joined 700 other students of prayer, ranging from energetic children to white-haired seniors, for a time of teaching, prayer and worship. Those attending came from all over the Muslim world, as well as North America and Europe. Believing that prayer is more caught than taught, the organizers led us in various creative prayer events, incorporating all the gifts of the Spirit. The main teaching sessions focused on 2 Kings 13:14-19, the story of King Joash s desperate plea for help to the dying Elisha. We were reminded that we need prophetic fathers and mothers, who bring a real sense of the presence of God and strengthen

7 others. We were also encouraged to believe that though we are in a spiritual battle, the resources of heaven, while usually hidden, are available to us (2 Kings 6:15-17). We need to listen for God s strategies and follow them, even if they offend our sense of what might or might not be effective. And finally, our zealous obedience assures complete victory. Every day also included four-five hours of corporate worship and prayer, with continual prayer happening throughout the gathering. On the first day, I worried that I couldn t muster enough emotion or energy for focused intense praying. And then in our first Harp and Bowl intercession time, as we were led in prayer for ISIS, I was blindsided by the depth of emotion and urgent prayer God stirred in me as I pictured the women affected by ISIS, including some of my own friends in Winnipeg. Do you have to be a spiritual giant to pray like this? No. But I learned that you must be desperate. When prayer is all you have left, you can pray with fervour, especially if you have some faith-filled friends supporting you in that prayer, and Scripturally-based worship fanning faith into flame. A theme I heard repeatedly from the workers we met was, This is a season for prayer. And some, who have been faithfully praying for decades, are now beginning to see the answers to those prayers as God increasingly moves through prophecy, dreams and visions. Ask me sometime about the stories of prophetic taxi evangelism in Egypt! I have returned to my work at SBC with a deep desire to listen to and follow God, to invite him into my daily conversations, and to lead people in faith-filled worship that exalts the risen Christ. v Arlene Friesen, MTS is a professor of Bible-Theology and Worship at Steinbach Bible College. She also serves as Registrar. Hagia Sophia Museum among tulips in Turkey (pictured above); Habor in Antalya where Paul the Apostle sailed (pictured below). 7

8 ONLINE LEARNING 3-Year BA, Ministry Studies 2-Year AA, Bible-Theology Ministry, work, and family responsibilities are important and so is your education. SBC Online provides a Christian education designed with your values in mind. Train for Ministry and study the Bible at SBC Online. Personal. Flexible. Convenient. SBCollege.ca/Online-Learning Coming to SBC January 2018! pursuit 4-Month DTS Pursuing God through worship, discipleship, leadership experiences, community, travel, and mission. SBCollege.ca/Pursuit 8

9 Pursuit Certificate of Experiential Leadership Coming January 2018 Pursuit is a four month DTS (January through April,) for year olds who desire to pursue God through worship, discipleship, leadership experiences, community, and mission. SBC understands that some people learn best through experiential learning so we are taking the best of SBC s biblical instruction, life-on-life mentoring, and experiential learning and building a practical hands-on Gap-Year program. Pursuit will help young adults grow confidence, purposefully explore the world, build life on the richness of God s Word, and experientially grow in servant leadership ability. Participants will study the Bible, worship together, pray, serve, build friendships, and seek God through plenty of devotional God-times. Travel Abroad Pursuit extends the experiential learning components to include urban and international ministry experiences (participants may fundraise for these trips). Two week international mission adventure 7-10 day international service assignment Learning Outcomes Pursue God in worship and spiritual practices Know how to study the Bible Know basic Christian beliefs Pursue the meaning of following Jesus in discipleship Develop servant leadership skills for church & ministry Discover personal character and gifts in experiential leadership Pursue the Holy Spirit s leading by serving in intercultural contexts Demonstrate and share the Gospel Pursuit is Unique Pursuit stresses reintegration of experiential learning into life in our home communities and churches through extensive debriefing and re-orientation preparation. Participants will discover how learning from new contexts inspires love for God and ministry in the most important ministry of all engaging the world of family, church, and vocation with the claims of Christ. v 9

10 Steinbach Bible College graduation Class of th Anniversary 10

11 Steinbach Bible College s theme for was Trust based on Psalm 37:3-7a, something our graduates were encouraged to remember as they began a new journey beyond the halls of SBC. SBC celebrated students graduating over the weekend of April Our Spring Concert began the weekend on Friday showcasing the student drama troupe New Creation and worship band Free Servant along with features by two Conservatory students. Eight Activate and eight Certificate of Biblical Studies graduates were presented during the program. Formal graduation exercises followed on Saturday and saw 28 graduates presented with their degrees. A Bachelor of Arts was earned by four Ministry Leadership and 19 Christian Studies students, and five students received their Associate of Arts in Bible-Theology. We were pleased to have Elton DaSilva, Executive Director for the Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba present the commencement address. Valedictorian Ashley Penner shared, SBC has provided us with incredible opportunities to learn and grow, helping us to build a foundation for the future. That is what we hope for: that SBC has been a place to help equip and empower these students for wherever God has called them to serve and that they would trust in His plans. Graduation weekend concludes SBC s celebration of our 80th Anniversary as a Bible college empowering servant leaders to follow Jesus, serve the church and engage the world. v 11

12 12 graduate awards Abundance Canada Spirit of Generosity Award: Adam Schmidt Timothy Award: Gillian Plett & Trevor Elias Delta Epsilon Chi: Ruth Block Harvey Plett Scholarship: Kelby Friesen Betty Reimer Scholarship: Gillian Plett Bible/Theology: Ashley Penner Youth Ministry: Katelyn Troyer Counselling Ministry: Lucienne Elias Children s Ministry: Karissa Kruse Ben D. Reimer Scholarship: Kaitlyn Evans Jacob & Katherine Enns Bursary: Jeremy Wiebe & Breanna Mantyka Undergrad focus area scholarships Missions: Jesse Plett Pastoral: Tyler Peterson Bible/Theology: Sofia Hildebrand Worship: Mikayla Goertzen Youth: Justin Marchand Children s Ministry: Cole Sawatzky Counselling Ministry: Matt Vogt

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14 We commit ourselves class of 2017 Valedictorian, ashley penner Over the past years, this graduating class has brought a unique flavor to SBC as a whole. SBC has provided us with incredible opportunities to learn and grow, helping us to build a foundation for the future through classes, community, mentoring and Mission Exposure. Through Biblical Interpretation with Professor Dave we have learned how to better understand the Bible. There was one word that he repeated over and over, which was read. The key to Biblical interpretation, according to Dave, is to read and to be soaked in the Word. Thank you for inspiring us to dig deeper and learn more about the Bible. Introduction to Theology with Professor Terry helped us to build a firm foundation on which to step into the world. Through writing our own confessions of faith, we were able to articulate and better understand what it means to be a follower of Christ. Thank you Professor Terry for 14 setting us up to stand firm and explain what we believe in as we move from here. This will be a valuable skill. Mission Exposures over the past years have allowed us to put into practice what we learned in the classrooms and have given us opportunities to work cross culturally, seeing God at work in a whole new way. These trips not only helped us to put into practice what we had been learning, but also to helped us realise our giftings and callings for the future. This year s MissionX Philippines was incredible at helping us to understand what the Church is and how it operates. The Church is a team unified under Christ that crosses language and cultural barriers, it spreads God s light wherever it is entering people s homes and hearts transforming lives around the world with the power of the Gospel. The Church truly is the beautiful bride of Christ and despite our flaws God decides to use us in miraculous ways all over the world.

15 Commitment a.) As a graduating class we now commit ourselves to live out our calling as servant leaders to follow Jesus, serve the church, and engage the world as we work as Pastors, youth leaders, camp counselors, roofers, waiters, farmers or in any other way God calls us. b.) We commit ourselves to living a life based on a Biblical foundation, allowing God s words to permeate every part of our daily lives as we move on from here. As we serve as servant leaders in our church we commit ourselves to teaching our friends, families, congregations, children, youth and adults about the Good News that we have learned so much about at SBC. c.) We commit ourselves to the making of disciples as we leave from SBC to our home churches and home towns, building up Christians as we have been build up here. d.) We commit ourselves to living as members of the body of Christ in community, walking alongside fellow believers as we move through life together wherever that may take us. e.) We commit ourselves to making mission the purpose for everything we do wherever we go. Having the knowledge alone is not enough, we must share this Good News with our neighbours, our fellow Canadians and to the ends of the Earth. I know this class will reach outside of Canada and to the ends of the Earth as we share the Gospel, standing on the firm foundation SBC has helped to shape. v ACTIVATE Four 6-week modules specially designed to lead you into a deeper understanding of who God is and how you can act on your faith. Activate has been created to allow you to remain active in your church while holding down a fulltime job. Young Adults. Working Locally. Growing Spiritually. Serving the Church. Ashley Penner graduated Steinbach Bible College on Saturday, April 22 with a Bachelor of Arts in Christian Studies with a minor in Bible-Theology. She plans to continue in the field of Education at Canadian Mennonite University this Fall. SBCollege.ca/Activate 15

16 Alumni Feature Geralyn Wichers 16 I graduated from SBC in 2012 with a Diploma of Biblical Studies. I work at Valeant Pharmaceuticals, a large factory with a diverse work force. I m a coffee nerd, bibliophile, distance runner, and a three (almost four) times published fiction author. At SBC, I had yet to finish my first novel and saw publishing as a some day sort of dream. In my second year, I took a course called Christianity and Imagination, which was an overview of art history, and the Christian s relationship with art. Discussing what Christian art meant had a catalyzing influence on me. I realized that my art could be deeper than the kinds of books, movies, and music you can find at your local inspirational bookstore. After graduation I began to pursue my craft. I read books, joined a writer s group, and submitted to critiques. I scrapped two novels before finally self-publishing We are the Living in 2014, followed by Sons of Earth in 2015, and Cursed Seed in 2016 (the first in the trilogy, Society of Immortals) with Synecdoche Publishers. I process ideas through writing. Fiction allows me to see through another person s eyes, not unlike acting. I don t aim to sermonize. Rather, I tell a story as honestly, with as much truth as I can and hope is that the reader s mind will be engaged. Good art demands something of the consumer. It requires them to put a part of themselves in, in order to get something out. In doing so, they are changed. Ideas like these had never occurred to me before school. Sometimes it isn t that we don t know things, but that we don t even have a framework in which to think about them. Once the framework is there, we can learn on our own. I appreciate my time at SBC for the skills of study and thought I developed there. They allowed me to begin pursing my passions. v Geralyn Wichers books are available for purchase on Amazon. Visit for details on her upcoming projects.

17 Inner City Winnipeg Northern MB Philippines 2017 Pray for: e SBC students serving in summer ministries & jobs e Fundraising for our June 30 year-end e SBC Online program development e Faculty as they develop the new Pursuit Certificate of Experiential Leadership e Those who are considering attending SBC in Fall or Pursuit in January e Faculty as they teach at spring Leadership Development Camps Praise God for: e 80 years of training servant leaders at SBC e 44 graduates in April 2017 e A fantastic Free Servant spring tour in Ontario e Course-share partnership with Prairie College e Another year of His faithful provision for SBC Praise & Prayer 17

18 Value of Accreditation President Rob Reimer 18 In February of this year, Steinbach Bible College was awarded our 10-year Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE) accreditation renewal. Some might wonder if there is any value in being an accredited college. Here is what we discovered: It forced us to honestly assess each component of our organization. As a college we are continually assessing how we are doing. However, through this process we discovered that our assessment was often based more on our own perception instead of concrete data. The benefit of accreditation is that it is forcing us to identify the tools needed to more accurately collect and utilize information. It helped us identify our strengths and weaknesses. I don t want to give the impression that we were not aware of our strengths and weaknesses, because we had a good handle on them. The value of assessment was that we were able to discover the nuances within the strengths and weaknesses. This became very valuable as we began to address our weaknesses and maximize our strengths. It forced us to develop a plan to address our weaknesses. When we utilized the right tools and discovered the nuances of our strengths and weaknesses, we were able to better develop a plan to address our needs. Instead of overhauling a weakness, we were able to make some small, inexpensive adjustments that are having a profound impact. It helped the team better understand where we are going. Throughout the process, we have been forced to look at our overall direction and plan. The big benefit of this is that our team is more knowledgeable of where we are headed. We have a better understanding of the weaknesses we need to address and how we are going to work on them. Through this assessment process, we were affirmed of the many strengths we have. We are able to develop a wise plan which utilizes these strengths to their full capacity. While it has been challenging and time-consuming, we have begun to see how this process is making us a stronger college. v

19 SBC AT A GLANCE Student Mentoring 6:1 Student to Dorm Care Group Leader Ratio 11:1 Student to Staff Ratio in weekly Ministry Formation Groups 22 = Average Class Size 18:1 Student to Faculty Ratio In our most recent student satisfaction survey, our students reported 93% rating for growth in faith and discipleship at the college 89% rating that students are equipped for church ministry The Alumni Survey revealed 82% 96% 95% alumni are volunteering in a church ministry or community organization alumni would recommend SBC to someone they know are practicing charitable giving SUBMIT AN ALUMNI UPDATE Where has life taken you after your time at SBC? We, and many of your classmates, would love to know! Send us a quick update that we can feature on our website at Let us know of any address or changes by ing reception@sbcollege.ca or calling or toll free at

20 Upcoming Events at SBC For information on all SBC events, visit JUNE 6 7th Annual Golf Steinbach Fly-In JUNE 20 Inaugural Golf Morden s Minnewasta Golf and Country Club SEPTEMBER 5 Orientation Day SEPT 21 - OCT 19 1-Month Evening Course: Intro to Marketplace Ministry with Michael Zwaagstra SEPTEMBER 21 Evening Course: Wisdom Literature with Gord Penner OCTOBER 1 Fundraising Faspa OCTOBER Weekend Intensive Course: Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) with Janice Priess NOVEMBER Impact 2017: Sr. Youth Discipleship Event If you would prefer a digital copy of the full edition, please contact SBC at or reception@sbcollege.ca. 20 E D q