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HISTORY OF CBS ASIA
Since the arrival of CB missionaries in the late 1940’s, the CB church planting movement has steadily advanced. To date, CBAP has established more than 400 local churches and outreaches. However, without proper and effective training of leaders, this growth of the CB movement in the Philippines would not have been sustained. Ministerial training has always been an important component of the movement.
To insure the integrity of its doctrinal position, CB leaders had to use and/or develop training programs that were consistent with Baptist polity and doctrine. FEBIAS Febias College was an institution of choice for CB missionaries and workers for a number of years. Febias College, however, required its students to take up residence at its campus in Valenzuela City for four to five years, something that not all students could afford financially. Apart from finances, distance has also prevented a number of both potential and full-time pastors and leaders based in the provinces from completing formal education at the college.
To overcome this problem, CB missionaries and leaders had to find ways where finances and distance would not be much of a hindrance to training. The solution was to conduct training programs where students live, rather than sending students for training away from their ministry work.  LBI LBI An early form of this training program was the Laguna Bible Institute (LBI), which was used as a church-strengthening base in the town of Pagsanjan for the new churches in Laguna. Beginning 1951, the LBI conducted three to four classes in one designated night each week. Classes were held to train deacons, elders, and Sunday School superintendents and teachers in the new CB churches. This went on for several years, MBI Meanwhile, in Quezon City, CB missionaries, Art Beals and Orman Knight established the Metropolitan Bible Institute (MBI) at a rented property of Capitol City Baptist Church (CCBC) in Philamlife Homes in Quezon City. MBI served a nighttime institute for lay people who wanted to do ministry not fulltime, but ministry while they were vocationally engaged. With the success of the MBI model, other CB churches in Metro Manila also put up their own training institutes.  CBBC CBBC
The need intensified for formal Bible training by the mid 1960s. CB leaders decided to establish the Conservative Baptist Bible College (CBBC), which officially opened at the lot behind the CCBC in Quezon City on July 4, 1968 with Rev. Oman Knight as its first director. Years later, CBBC acquired a property in the mountains of San Mateo, Rizal for its new and wider campus. There, the school put up a facility for classrooms, dormitory, library, and administrative offices. CBS-Asia In 1998, under the leadership of Dr. Rene Chanco, the school was renamed CBS-Asia and the training program had major modifications. In place of the residence format, the school pursued a consortium concept, wherein it partnered with other Bible colleges and seminaries through memorandum of agreements (MOAs). CBS-Asia dropped its own degree programs. Instead, CBS-Asia has agreed to contribute finances, faculty, staff, and students to these learning institutions. However, the consortium concept was not able to meet the growing needs of training CB pastors and leaders. CBS-Asia, The Present
In 2004 CBS-Asia adopted the Regional Training Center (RTC) approach, which introduced two programs, namely: the Church Leadership Program (CLP) and the advanced Pastoral Ministry Program (PMP). The RTC approach establishes training centers around the country, so that students can attend classroom lessons at a center nearest to their homes. The idea was to take the education to the students rather than bring the students to their education. Under this paradigm, focus was given to providing college level training to lay leaders.
To date, thirteen RTCs have already been established. Thes include training centers in Quezon City; Region 1; Nueva Ecija; Calamba and Santa Cruz, Laguna; Dasmarinas and Imus, Cavite; Marikina and Antipolo for East Manila-Rizal area, Naga City in Bicol, and Sariyaia and Lucena City in Quezon Province. This year, CBS-Asia has also opened the RTC atop Hope Mountain in Davao City.
So far CBS-Asia has established… - 13 Regional Training Centers in the country which cater to more than 300 students.
- Students are serving their local churches as pastors, lay leaders, volunteer workers.
- A number of lay leaders are now considering full-time ministry. About 10% from non-CBAP churches.
Apart from the CLP program, CBS- Asia also offers the Pastoral Ministry Program (PMP), a three-year modular course that holds classroom lessons one week each month in the CBM Guesthouse in Quezon City. PMP was designed for pastors or Christian workers who have no prior formal theological training. |
