Portland Bible College is celebrating the 10th year anniversary of our online degree program!
In 2010, with the approval of the Eldership of Mannahouse, PBC piloted a few courses with the ambitious goal of replicating decades of in-person classroom impartation through an online environment. Since then, the Online Program has grown to a six-member team hosting more than 50 courses in three different languages (English, Spanish and Portuguese). Today, a student can complete their entire Bachelor of Theology degree online from anywhere in the world.
Since 1967, Portland Bible College was founded in the hopes of training leaders in God’s word for the local church all around the world. God’s faithfulness and favor on the online program has contributed to it being a strategic piece for PBC to fulfill this mandate. Today, our online family includes over 1800 students, representing 25 different countries such as Japan, Brazil, Uganda, Germany, Canada, Indonesia, Mexico, and so many more.
Dean Ken Malmin says, “Over 10 years, we’ve proven that the online program can match the live experience in quality of education, can successfully impart the heart and values of our school, and most importantly produce the fruit that we desire to see in our graduates.”
The online program has allowed PBC to train people where they are at right now – in all kinds of jobs, seasons and walks of life. Our students vary from Lead pastors, stay-at-home parents, those in support ministries, high school graduates and those simply desiring to deepen their understanding of God and His Word. Many of our students have shared their excitement over the accessibility to PBC impartation and content as well as the flexibility of our program.
In the case of recent graduate, Josh McCann, PBC Online allowed him to fulfill a personal core value, “the desire to be a life-long learner.” As a lead pastor and father of four, “busy” would be an understatement. Josh stated, “The beauty about PBC’s Online Program is the flexibility. There were times where I had to take one of my sons to his football practices, and I would sit in the back of our Suburban with the back hatch up, watching his practice for a few minutes and then doing homework for a few minutes.”
For Donna Jameson, who attended PBC in the 80’s, the online program allowed her to complete her bachelor’s degree in theology while raising her family and serving in ministry. Donna commented, “I have thoroughly enjoyed learning through the online program. While getting my BTh was the end goal, what I gained along the way was so much more valuable – a deeper hunger to know God and His Word. You are never too old to learn and study the Bible.”
In commemorating this 10 year mark, we look back and celebrate all those who dared to dream to further the reach of God’s kingdom and who worked hard to lay the foundation for this program’s success. We honor the faculty who developed time-tested and relevant curriculum and poured their heart and time into caring for and investing into our online student body. We celebrate each and every single online student who has prioritized and fought hard to create space for God to equip them and speak to them; investing time and money into the future God has for them. Most of all, we remember God’s goodness and faithfulness in blessing the small seed we sowed in faith ten years ago.
Special thanks go to our past and current team members over the last 10 years:
Jeneisha Anderson, Rachel Arnold , Carlos Campa, P. Samuel de Sousa, Eugene Greco, P. Alessander Guimaraes, Letícia Henriques, P. Justin Jaquith, Steve Jimenez, Ashish Joy, Daniel Lont, P. David Lont, Bryana (Lopez) Pytaris, Marina Martins, Leandro Martins da Silva, Hana Ng, Marcos Quiñonez, Rashmi Shrestha, P. Lucas de Sousa, P. Ramon de Suze, P. Miriam Trolese, Natalie Wilcox and many others who volunteered their time and expertise to make this possible.
We also honor Sarah Nashif-Tan; her steadfast and faithful leadership has built the program from its inception to what it is today.
Happy 10th year anniversary PBC Online! Here’s to the next decade!