John’s Gospel unlocked in Kelowna

The Gospel of John came under eager scrutiny in Kelowna, B.C. this summer as MB Biblical Seminary and Columbia Bible College joined with two local Mennonite Brethren churches – Willow Park Church and Kelowna Gospel Fellowship – to offer a credit course by MBBS professor of pastoral ministries Raymond Bystrom.

Raymond Bystrom

It was the first time the two institutions had partnered with churches to offer a course.

“Unlocking the riches of John’s Gospel” ran Monday evenings, May 22 through June 26, at Willow Park Church. Registration was twice what had been anticipated, with attendance averaging 18 students per evening.

The study of selected texts and themes in John included required readings, preparation of an adult education lesson or sermon, and a final review in the form of a take-home assignment.

Most students took the course for personal enrichment. Those taking the course for credit (offered through both MBBS and CBC) attended an additional three-hour seminar on “Preaching and teaching John’s Gospel.”

Church Based Leadership Training Okanagan – the name of the two-church partnership – coordinated the six-week event.

Bystrom, professor of pastoral ministries at the seminary’s Fresno, Cal. campus, said it was a “delightful teaching experience.” He would like to offer a second course, in the Pastoral Letters (1 and 2 Timothy, Titus), and CBLT Okanagan has already received numerous requests for him to teach next summer.

Ron Penner, interim president of Columbia Bible College, Abbotsford, B.C., is excited at the opportunity to draw the two schools and two churches together to provide biblical and leadership education.

“It’s a great way to make such education accessible for more people,” he said. “We hope it will be just the first of many more such courses in Kelowna.”

—from report by Megan E. Richard, MBBS