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Abbotsford, B.C.
Good news for Columbia Bible College


Delegates to Columbia Bible College’s annual meeting on the evening of Oct. 21 were treated to an almost unmixed flood of good news.

The school has record enrollment of 402 students, and a record full-time equivalent of 352. It is not just numbers which have impressed school leaders. President Walter Unger reported a deep hunger for God among this year’s students, with high involvement in chapel worship services and fasting in the dorms.

Operating surplus

The College finished the 1998-99 year on April 30 with an operating surplus of $55,339, after expenses of $3,124,624.

The budget for the current 1999-2000 year was approved at this meeting. This year, the College expects to finish the year with a surplus of $196,185, even though expenses will rise to $3,335,210.

The meeting also gave “pro forma” approval to the 2000-2001 budget, which calls for spending to drop to $3,271,525, and the operating surplus for the year to be $215,220.

The surpluses reflect a Board decision to reduce costs wherever possible, and to leave operating surpluses in the operating fund. The Board hopes to accumulate an operating surplus of $600,000, equal to the College’s current “line of credit” at the bank. The College uses the line of credit to temporarily borrow money from the bank at those times when income does not come in at the same rate as money is spent (during the summer, for instance). The Board thus hopes to eliminate the need for this short-term borrowing and save interest costs.

Long-term debt

The College is also making progress on reducing its long-term debt, which was incurred mainly in building the current buildings. In the 1998-99 year, the College reduced its long-term debt by $337,000 to $1,563,000. In 1999-2000, it expects to reduce the debt by a further $372,250 to $1,190,750. In 2000-2001, it expects to reduce the debt by $390,000 to $800,750. These planned reductions will come from:

promised donations by some major donors; the rent paid by the the B.C. MB Conference and the Conference of Mennonites in B.C. for office space in the Columbia Resource Building (this rent was formerly put into the operating budget but will now be applied to long-term debt); savings on interest costs (these will be applied to long-term debt rather than go into the operating budget).

The dream of a gym

For several years, the College has expressed the need for a gymnasium facility. However, the Board felt the College could not start building a gym when it already had such a large debt load. At this meeting, the College announced what President Unger called “the most far-sighted offer” he had ever seen. An unnamed donor has offered to donate the full cost of a new gym complex, provided the College eliminates its long-term debt. In practical terms, this means that the College needs to raise the $800,750 that is scheduled to still be owing at the end of the 2000-2001 year. If this money is raised by April 30, 2000, the unnamed donor will provide the money for the gym, and the gym could be ready by April 30, 2001.

The gym is part of a proposed 10-year campus development plan that would also include:

expanding the cafeteria and student centre; replacing the academic building with a new six-storey building; replacing the boys’ dorm; and building a two-storey parkade.

Remembering leaders

The College this year is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the founding of Bethel Bible Institute, the Conference of Mennonites in B.C. school which was merged with MB Bible Institute in 1970 to form Columbia Bible College. (MBBI’s 60th anniversary was celebrated a couple of years ago.)

Board vice-chair Michael Dick unveiled a plaque naming the presidents of the separate Bible schools, and framed photos of Columbia’s presidents. These will be hung in the lobby of the Columbia Resource Centre.

New Board members affirmed at this meeting were Dan Rempel and Randy Redekop from the Conference of Mennonites in B.C. and John Wiens, Rick Goossen, Doreen Dahl and Leonard Klassen from the B.C. MB Conference.

Board vice-chair Michael Dick (left) unveiled portraits of Columbia’s presidents, including P.R. Toews (centre) and Walter Unger (right).

A taste of Columbia

The annual meeting, which was attended by well over 100 people, was a pleasant, well-run, upbeat evening. Perhaps half of those present were current or former faculty or staff at the College, there was little discussion from the floor, and the meeting lasted a concise two hours.

The business was conducted in the second half of the meeting. In the first half of the meeting (before a break in which delicious desserts were served), the College presented several brief reports offering “a taste of Columbia”:

Four faculty members (Ken Esau, Ron Penner, Merv Boschman and John Schmidt) formed a quartet to sing some much appreciated gospel music. Carleigh Harris, a student from the US, described how she had found Columbia on the Internet and chosen it over 100 other colleges because of its mission statement, its program (she is enrolled in the new outdoor education program) and its affordability (Columbia is a bargain in US dollars). Faculty member Ron Voth gave four reasons why he delights in coming to work in the morning; they boil down to the joy of making a difference in the lives of various kinds of students. Chad Teigen, a Columbia graduate, praised his Columbia experience. He explained that he is now working for MCC Supportive Care Services, where part of his responsibility is assisting Eric Balzer to attend Columbia in spite of a disability. Teigen eloquently explained the need for a chairlift in the academic building. A recent donation of $25,000 has brought the amount raised for this purpose to over $40,000, and it was hoped that an offering at this meeting would raise the rest of the money needed to install the lift. A student string quartet played during the offering.  – JC

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Last modified December 6, 1999.

© 1999 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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