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More Details about DIBS

If you really want a fuller picture of DIBS, you should download the catalog and sample syllabi. However, the following information summarizes some of the major points about DIBS which are of special interest to prospective students.

What Is DIBS? A Closer View

The mission of Disciples' Institute of Biblical Studies is to provide tailor-made Biblical education for every believer. To that end DIBS offers individualized Biblical education at every academic level from a grace-based perspective. The following description highlights some of the major points that make DIBS distinctive.
  

  • DIBS aim is to combine the academic learning of a solid Biblical education with the spiritual shepherding of a serious discipleship program. The program is individualized for each person so that all believers can grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord.
      
  • DIBS aims to provide individualized teaching and training to each student. Each student's program is tailored to meet him at his own level, to teach him at his own pace, and to train him in the area of his own gifts and needs. As a result, the student studies each course until he has finished the subject and learned the material.
      
  • DIBS is a ministry, not a business, so it is supported entirely by gifts. There are no tuition and fees. We believe it is best to finance the ministry to students at DIBS in the same way that the ministry to believers in Sunday school, church, and home Bible studies is financed. Christ said, "Freely you received, freely give." However, students are encouraged to give often and generously.
      
  • DIBS is a ministry whose rule book is the Bible. Students are shepherded in their personal walk with the Lord. The motivation for this walk comes through internal, spiritual vitality, rather than through external, physical compulsion. Consequently, DIBS neither has nor needs any legalistic rules and regulations. Such manmade rules are well intentioned, but they are not the Biblical method for achieving godliness and spirituality. For they have a form or appearance of godliness, but they lack the power of godliness. The godly don't need them, and the ungodly aren't helped by them.
      
  • DIBS offers individualized study programs at every academic level, which includes: Bible Certificate, three bachelor's programs, three master's programs, and three doctoral programs. Because students study the material until it has been sufficiently mastered, and because DIBS has very high academic standards, students who complete any of these academic programs will probably have reached their academic potential.
      
  • DIBS gives the students a tremendous amount of flexibility and opportunity. Because DIBS does not use the semester system, students can start their study at any time, go as fast or as slow as they feel is necessary, and can do their study at essentially any location.
      
  • DIBS is not only designed to train believers for the ministry, it is designed to duplicate itself all over the country. We anticipate seeing graduates go out and start up copies of DIBS at other locations. We believe that within a decade you will be able to find DIBS satellites throughout the country. DIBS will become to Biblical education what home schooling has become to K-12. DIBS is not just another isolated school, it is the beginning of a movement. At the beginning it might seem small, but because of its design, it will become very large and will deeply impact the lives of multitudes of people.

How the Student Learns at DIBS

The primary study method of DIBS is independent study. We plot the course and show the student what tools he needs, but the student does the study. If you are familiar with home schooling, you will see many similarities between DIBS and home schooling. We show you which books to study, what goals to aim at, and how to do the study. We are here to answer your questions, to give guidance and encouragement, and to help you evaluate your progress. While we would like to convince you of our positions, we are especially interested in getting you to come to your own well-informed conclusions. Our students do their study by distance and communicate with us by e-mail.


What Are the Academic Programs of DIBS?

DIBS provides the highest quality of Biblical and theological education at the following levels: Bible certificate, 3 Bachelor's programs, 3 Master's programs, and 3 Doctoral programs. We also have degree completion programs for each level.
  

The following chart shows the academic program paths at DIBS. The programs on the right are more demanding and difficult than the programs on the left, while the ones on the left are less difficult and are open to virtually everyone. Any believer who has the basic skills of reading and writing can (and maybe even should) do the Bible Certificate program and the Bachelor of Bible program.


How Hard Is DIBS?

On the one hand, you will find that DIBS is not hard, because it takes you at your own pace and at your own level. You never "get in over your head."

On the other hand, you will find that the academic demands of DIBS are probably higher than those at any other Bible college or seminary. One reason for this is that the student is expected to master the material. For example, students in the Master of Theology program are expected to be able to read the Greek New Testament with ease and accuracy before getting credit for their study of Greek. Another reason why DIBS is more demanding is that we have not limited the required number of credit hours of the various programs to the standard number of credits required at other institutions. Instead, we began by defining how much training someone at a given degree level should have, and then matched the courses to that. The result is that we feel that someone with almost any of our degrees should have more training than is currently demanded by other colleges or seminaries. (In fact, the trend among many schools is to "dumb down" their programs. At DIBS we want to "smarten up" our program.) Consequently, the Bachelor's programs at DIBS take at least 137 credits (the norm elsewhere is between 120 and 128 hours). The Master of Divinity program takes 140 credits (at other seminaries, that degree usually only requires about 100 hours--that's semester credit hours). So, if you are looking for an easier way to get a degree, anyplace place else would be "better" for you. But if you are looking for an easier or better way to learn and master the material, then you don't need to look any further.
  

What is important is not how many more or how many fewer credit hours one program has than another. The important things are whether the student is learning at the best of his ability, whether he is mastering the material, and whether he is learning what he really needs to learn. At DIBS all three of these important principles are fulfilled.

For more information, download the whole catalog.