No less than our Senior Pastor led the opening of the second semester of the Ben Abante Baptist Bible College last Monday morning at the Irah Abante Youth Chapel.Through an inspiring message from II Timothy 2, the Bible College president welcomed and challenged the students to be diligent in their endeavor to sharpen their knowledge of the word of God and the doctrines of the faith. He also challenged the teachers to faithfully fulfill their roles as trainers and instructors of the students by being examples of punctuality and consistency in attendance, as well as proficiency in their respective courses.
Also welcoming the students was Bishop Abraham Vallega, senior pastor of the Blue Ridge BBC and Bible School Dean for Academic he also mentioned that the students ought to cherish their stay at the Bible School as a way of deepening their faith as far as their grasp of the tenets of the faith are concerned.
Joining also the orientation day were the MBBC Pastors and Preachers from the various daughter churches, missions and congregations of the Metropolitan Ministries. Pastor Jojo Santos of our work in Bacolod was the farthest one from the south, while Pastors Jojo Tuason and Mario Ugto were the farthest ones from the north. The pastors came as a show of their support for the Bible School, out which most of the MBBC Pastors were trained. Pastor Tuason, together with Pastors Cris Compalas, Joel Rabi, and Ding Usi were all alumni of the Bible School.
Our Senior Pastor also raised support for the Bible School through the commitments of the churches and their ministries. The support will help improve facilities, provide financial support to the students, as well as support the faculty members teaching in the College.
A total of 17 students have enrolled for this semester: 10 freshmen (all of which coming from the MBBC), one sophomore, two juniors, and three seniors.
For the last ten years, however, the Bible School has not graduated any student, as most of the students failed to submit their final thesis requirement for graduation.
Enrollmentis still open for those who would like to take part in this noble institution that trains soldiers of the Lord for the battle.
The 32-year old Bible School was renamed from Bible Baptist School of the Scriptures to its present name, after the human founder of the Lighthouse Ministries, the promoted Dr. Ben O. Abante, Sr., also the father of our very own Senior Pastor.
