R & B's Happenings: May 2008

Sunset from "Top of the Mar", a Mongolian barbecue restaurant.

R relaxes after a long, hard day.

6.7 magnitude was felt on Guam this morning. They say a 6.0 can cause lots of damage but we have not heard of any nor seen any. However, it was a shaker and not a roller. Got me out of bed as the hotel was a rattling and a shaking. We both got up to make sure the other half was okay. These buildings are built very strong and we have not heard of any damage as yet.

Another Birthday Celebration!
Praising God for health and work to do.

May relaxing as B blows out candles

J'oel helps grandma celebrate

66 and 'Lovin It'

Ministry Opportunities and Changes at Pacific Islands Bible College - Micronesia

Ministry Opportunities

We need teachers in our English as a second language program for Guam and Chuuk sites. Our missionary staff raises their own support. -- Contact Brad Boydston -- bboydston@pibc.edu

The liberal arts and general education components of our curriculum continues to expand. We need teachers who can teach in the areas of education, science, and social science for both the Guam and Chuuk sites. There is potential to travel among the sites. Masters degree in area of teaching is essential. Our missionary staff raises their own support. -- Contact Brad Boydston -- bboydston@pibc.edu

PIBC Yap is looking for a site coordinator and teacher. Seminary masters degree required. Our missionary staff raises their own support. PIBC functions in English. -- Contact Dave Owen -- dowen@pibc.edu

Guam campus needs a cook to help feed (and love-on!) our on-campus students. Our missionary staff raises their own support. -- info@pibc.edu

Guam campus needs short-term and long term maintenance workers. Tim Plaxton, the Guam maintenance supervisor will be in the States for the summer. We need someone who can tackle some of our maintenance challenges and oversee the facilities while he is gone. If someone is interested in a longer term assignment, Tim could use additional help with the workload. Our missionary staff raises their own support. -- info@pibc.edu

We need a maintenance supervisor on the Tol campus -- beautiful place to live and work. Our missionary staff raises their own support. -- info@pibc.edu

The Guam campus needs about 2 new washing machines or used machines in excellent working condition -- info@pibc.edu

We are in need of a mission team that can raise the funds for and build a new perimeter fence on the Guam campus -- info@pibc.edu

From President, Dave Owen:

[29-April-08] Last Friday morning PIBC president David Owen met in Weno with the parents of our students currently enrolled on the Tol campus. The purpose of the meeting was to talk about some of the changes that are taking place on that campus next year.

The following written statement was distributed to the parents --

Pacific Islands Bible College has been serving Micronesia and, especially Chuuk, on Tol since 1976. It is our intention to continue to do so.

There are, however, several changes in program and curriculum that are taking place in response to the needs of Chuuk and the campus. They are summarized in this list and explained below.

1. For at least the 2008-9 school year the Tol campus will be limited to a two year, 48 credit hour, program with 40 students.

2. Current 2nd and 3rd year Tol campus students will be required to transfer to another PIBC site to complete their programs.

3. In the longer term the Tol campus will be focused on the AA in Biblical Studies program.

4. PIBC is in the midst of a staffing crisis on Tol. The Rev Siegbert Betz, who has been faithfully teaching on Tol for several terms has been asked by the church in Germany to return there to take up a pastorate. His service with PIBC will be complete on July 1, 2008. Liebenzell Germany, the mission agency which sponsored Pastor Betz, will not be replacing him. This leaves us with only two full time faculty on the Tol campus. Thus the administration has been searching for additional Bible and theology teachers. In addition to this search PIBC is actively recruiting English and Social Science teachers from the US to help with the new emphases in the curriculum.

5. We are increasingly seeing that if our students are going to impact Micronesia and the world, we need leaders who are not only trained in Bible but also in ways to think biblically about culture and society. Those who will lead us during this era of globalization need to understand the world and how it operates -- even if we do not always agree with the world. Thus PIBC is working on adding more liberal arts to the curriculum so that our graduates will be better prepared leaders, educated at a level comparable to that of college graduates in the rest of the world.

While students will continue to have the option of earning a PIBC Diploma in Bible, the curriculum on the Tol campus will be designed to help students earn their Associate of Arts degree in Biblical Studies. This degree will better equip students for service as teachers, government workers, and church leaders. Students will be able to take additional classes in the PIBC Weno Teaching Facility or on the PIBC Guam campus to move beyond the AA degree to complete the requirements of a Diploma or BA. It is our desire that most of our students will see that the BA degree is the basic college degree of the future.

6. Given the current state of repair on the Tol campus the PIBC administration feels that it is unsafe and unhealthy to have more than 40 students living on the campus. We have worked through several options to repair and develop the campus but until plans for future development are complete we will be limiting the number of students living on campus to a maximum of 40.

7. We are committed to teaching at a level equivalent to degree-granting colleges in other parts of the world. This is why we have accreditation through TRACS. We have to meet their academic, administrative, financial and other procedural standards in order to maintain accreditation. If we fail to meet these standards our students lose access to US government financial aid. We will be having an accreditation visit in April of 2009.

8. Thus, students who have completed the first year of studies on Tol will be eligible to continue on next year for the second year of their studies. Students who have completed two or more years on Tol are being encouraged to continue their PIBC studies on either the Guam campus or at the Weno Teaching Facility.

Answers to Some Questions

Does a student have to switch to the AA or BA program?
No, students can continue on to study for the Diploma or Certificate. However, PIBC will be teaching within the AA curriculum on Tol. This means that students will have to pick up additional classes at other PIBC sites.

Will students in the future be able to spend more than two years on Tol?
The plan is to offer the complete AA program on Tol. This is a 63 credit hour program. Some students will be able to complete the program in two years while others will take longer. Once a student completes the AA he/she will need to continue their program at another site.

Can a student get PIBC credit for classes taken at COM?
Yes! We are happy when students take general education classes at the College of Micronesia. Their courses with the number 100 or above will meet our general education requirements. For example, BU/MS 110 Business Math would meet our math/science requirement or the COM EN 120a Expository Writing I meets one of our Freshman English requirements.

Aren't you changing the mission of PIBC?
No. We are adding to the mission in response to the needs of our students. We now recognize that an adequately prepared servant leader needs more than a Bible education. They need to understand the world so that they know how to better apply the Bible.

If there are any questions about this, please contact me at the numbers or addresses below.

Sincerely,

David L. Owen, PhD
President

[23-April-08] We are pleased to announce that PIBC has received authorization from TRACS, our accrediting agency, to begin offering a master of arts in religion (MAR) degree. This is PIBC's first graduate-level seminary degree.

We expect to begin the program this fall on the Guam campus by offering four classes.

The MAR program is an introductory seminary degree providing an in-depth study of the scriptures and the essential truths of the Christian faith. The program is designed for Christian educators, staff pastors, and others desiring a scriptural undergirding for service in a supportive role in a local church or other ministry.

Students in the MAR program will have the option of transferring into the planned 96 credit-hour master of divinity program (MDiv), which is designed to prepare men and women for vocational Christian ministry, once the second program is approved.

We will be accepting up to 10 full-time students, in addition to part-time students who apply for the program. To be considered for the MAR program an applicant must posses a bachelor's degree from an accredited college with a minimum GPA of 2.5.

Applicants for whom English is a second language must also have a 550 TOEFL score. Applications for the 45-semester-hour program will soon be available on the PIBC website.