Rio Grande Bible Institute - Purpose

Purpose

Today the campus, located just within the southern portion of the city of Edinburg, still includes dual schools (a Spanish Bible institute and a Spanish language school) on its 62 acres (251,000 m²). Its purpose continues to be to train godly Christian leaders for the Spanish-speaking church. The Bible Institute has a four-year program, as well as one- and two-year programs in Biblical studies and theology. In the four-year program the student may choose an emphasis in Christian Education, Pastoral Ministry, or Missions. The Missionary Language School offers an intensive, nine-month program for career missionaries preparing to minister to Spanish-speaking people. These students have already been accepted by a mission agency or local church and are making RGBI Language School their final stop before leaving for their particular area of service.

Other ministries of the organization include correspondence and online courses in Spanish, a night school with both English and Spanish course offerings, Christian video courses, and a Spanish AM and FM radio ministry. In addition, RGBI has its own art department and print shop which produce devotional, informational, and promotional literature. The campus bookstore provides Bibles, books, CDs, DVDs and supplies not only for the students but also for the public. Each year more than one hundred retirees known as "Winter Volunteers" descend on campus to provide much appreciated help throughout the winter months. For the past thirty years these energetic people, mostly from the North, have constructed most of the campus buildings and done a myriad of other tasks from sewing, quilting, and cooking to pouring cement, repairing roofs and building a wall around the campus. About six miles from the Edinburg campus, Bibleville, a Christian conference center, attracts another three hundred "Winter Texans" each winter. There the residents, who live in their own homes or RVs, enjoy Bible conferences every other week and music concerts each Saturday as well as Sunday services. They become involved in a variety of outreach ministries including volunteering at the Bible Institute, as tutors in local schools, or at area churches.