We are about 10% through 2018. Can you believe it? Just like that 2017 has come and gone. It was a year of many trials but great blessings. Let’s take a minute to review what 2017 looked like for the School of the Bible.

Before we get into the stats, a quick reminder about the School the Bible’s purpose:

The School of the Bible in Recife started off as a Great Cities church planting effort and played an important role in helping plant over 20 new local churches in Greater Recife.

Since our humble beginnings, we have grown and expanded the school.

The School now has 3 main goals:

1. Edification: Teaching the Bible to the larger community in Recife and beyond.
2. Training: Providing theology training for local church members and ministers.
3. Evangelism: Teaching English and Spanish as a second language using the Bible.

So, what did 2017 look like for the School of the Bible?

1. Total Enrollments.

We had 404 students enroll this past year. These students came from Recife and the surrounding cities that make up the greater metropolitan area. Some students take over an hour to come and go to the School. Many sign up for personal Bible studies following the classes.

2. Courses offered:

We offered 18 different topics throughout the year for a total of 37 courses in 2017.

– Biblical courses: How to Read and Understand the Bible, Let the Bible Speak, Sermon on the Mount, Heroes of Faith (Hebrews), Life After Death, The Gospel of John, The Book of Revelation, Chosen for Riches (Ephesians), and Christ’s Second Coming.

– Theological courses: Introduction to the Bible, Interpreting the Bible (exegesis), God and Philosophy, The Art of Preaching (hermeneutics), Christian Ethics and Panorama of the New Testament.

– English and Spanish using the Bible: Basic English, Conversational English and Basic Spanish.

3. Teachers volunteered:

The school is made up by a body of volunteer teachers who dedicate time from their busy schedules to bless our students. This past year, 16 teachers came from 5 different congregations throughout the city to teach at our centralized location.

We were also delighted to have 4 guest teachers who came from Austin, TX to spend a month practicing English while teaching the Bible.

And what will 2018 bring us?

Alongside new classes we will be offering more diverse schedules for students to choose from. We will also be updating the school to the digital age by offering online courses. Now students from all over Brazil in and beyond can be reached by the study of God’s Word in the Portuguese language. We are grateful for how God has blessed us in the past year and are very excited about what is to come.