Bethlehem Bible College — We Wait in Hope

In our waiting and grief over our tremendous losses, sometimes we cannot help but cry out with the psalmist, “Relent, Lord! How long will it be? Have compassion on your servants. Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days” (Psalm 90:13-14). Our hearts long for the joy and gladness of Christmas and the celebration of our Lord and King. We do live daily in a deep reverence for the wonder that is the Christ Child, that He was given to us here, even in our hometown!

Middle East, Partnership, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationDecember 28, 2023Bethlehem Bible College, Bethlehem, Israel, Palestine

Prayers for Peace

Peace and grace to you all in the mighty name of the Prince of Peace, Jesus. This is our second letter from Bethlehem Bible College after passing a very difficult week as a people and as a country.

It has been 10 days since the Hamas attack and since Israel began to attack Gaza unleashing the worst ever attack on Gaza and its people. I am not sure if you know that Gaza is one of the smallest and most densely packed cities in the world. The area around Gaza City is home to nearly 2 million people living in an 88-square-mile expanse, which is about 21,000 people per square mile.

Bethlehem Bible College - April 2022 Update

My name is Ghadeer Hanna Khoury. I’m a wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend! I’m the mother of triplets, Youhanna, Itay, and Andrew; they are six years old and a true blessing from the Lord. I have been working as the registrar at Bethlehem Bible College since 2012. The college is a blessing, with so many genuine friends who build me up every day, and of course, the word of God which we listen to daily, and which helps us grow in faith.

Middle East, Partnership, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationApril 14, 2022Bethlehem Bible College, Israel, Palestine

Bethlehem Bible College - December 2021 Update

Graduates Making a Difference in Christ’s Kingdom

Baseel and Ghaida Daibes are Bethlehem Bible College (BBC) graduates. Baseel graduated in 2016 and Ghaida in 2017, both from the Biblical Studies program. They met at the college, fell in love, and got married in 2015. They now have a beautiful boy named Iyad, and they live in a small town north of Palestine called Zababdeh. They shared:

Bethlehem Bible College had a huge effect on our lives; we learned incredible things about the Bible, and we grew in our faith. But mostly we loved the atmosphere and the relationships between the students, faculty, and staff!

Bethlehem Bible College - February 2021 Update

Bethlehem Bible College (BBC) is an evangelical, inter-denominational Bible College in Palestine where students can study and serve in their native land. Students Nahida Sleibi and Marsail Al-Jilda share their stories here:

Nahida Sleibi

I thank God with all my heart for the blessing he has bestowed upon me, so that I may grow in his love, gain more knowledge in his holy word, and draw closer to his divine mercy day after day. I also thank Bethlehem Bible College for opening the way for me to study and delve deeper into the Bible and the Word of God, which will enable and qualify me for Christian ministry in my community.

This past fall, the last semester before submitting my master’s thesis, I studied two subjects. The first was Pastoral Care and Counseling, which added a lot to my knowledge, especially in Christian guidance and methods of counseling for people in need, by telling them they are loved by God and they are created in his image and likeness. This course also contributed to the development of the necessary skills that I must possess, such as the art of good listening, which will help enable me to serve in the church. It is important for us to reflect love and unity with each other, to be witnesses of the love of Christ, and to convey salvation to every needy and seeking person that God puts in our way.

Middle East, Partnership, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationFebruary 4, 2021Bethlehem Bible College, Israel, Palestine

Bethlehem Bible College - June 2019 Update

Greetings on behalf of Bethlehem Bible College, dear friends!

Summer is upon us, and another academic year is nearly finished at Bethlehem Bible College (BBC). We give thanks for BBC’s 40 years of service to Bethlehem, Palestine and around the world.

Ongoing Journey of Faithfulness: Overcoming the Challenges!
Was it easy to start a Bible college from scratch, and build it to be one of the most important Christian educational institutions in the region? What kind of challenges have we faced? How did we manage to overcome them? We endured two Intifadas, several wars on Gaza, lack of money, increasing emigration, and much more. How did we survive? “He was faithful,” answered Dr. Bishara Awad, founder of Bethlehem Bible College.

Middle East, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationJune 24, 2019Bethlehem Bible College, Bethlehem, Palestine, Israel

Bethlehem Bible College - April 2019 Update

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Bethlehem Bible College (BBC). They recently shared the following stories about their ministry and involvement in the local community in God’s mission in the world.

After the resurrection, Jesus met his disciples in Galilee where he gave them the Great Commission “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations ...” Matthew 28:16-20

The classic cross, pictured here, is seen throughout the Holy Land and is known as the Jerusalem cross. It is made from locally sourced olive wood and crafted by artisans in the Bethlehem area.

The shape of the cross has a deep historical and spiritual significance. The large cross represents Jesus. The four smaller ones represent the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – going out to the four corners of the world.

Middle East, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationApril 15, 2019Bethlehem Bible College, Bethlehem, Israel, Palestine

Bethlehem Bible College - April 2018 Update

In February of this year, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was temporarily closed by Jerusalem’s Christian leaders in protest of a new taxation imposed upon the Christian institutions by the city of Jerusalem. This was an unexpected break in the status quo going back to the Ottoman era which had previously granted tax-free status to the city’s religious institutions. The shocking announcement included a century of back taxes, totaling almost $200 million; an expense that would have forced many ministries out of the land. Some leaders felt this imposition was a way to continue to weaken the presence of Christians in the city. In protest, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, one of Jerusalem’s most-visited sites was closed.

Because this event took place about a month before Easter, there were worries that the church would remain shut during our holiest season. Thankfully, after three days of closure the situation was at least temporarily resolved, and the doors of one of the world’s oldest churches were swung back open.

Middle East, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationMay 3, 2018Bethlehem Bible College, Bethlehem, Palestine

Bethlehem Bible College - November 2017 Update

Dear friends,

Greetings from Bethlehem Bible College! I hope you are well and prospering in all that our Lord has called you to do.

As we approach the end of 2017, we look back over the year to evaluate how we have managed what the Lord has given into our hands and to look forward to planning how we can best follow in his footsteps in the future. We are happy to share the success of our college programs. We have students studying for their BA degree in Biblical Studies and Christian Education, for their MA degree in Christian Leadership and Ministry, and for their diploma in Tour Guiding and Mass Media.

God has opened yet another door for us at Bethlehem Bible College – our Online Diploma Program in Biblical Studies has attracted students from around the world! Refugees from Syria and Iraq, Palestinians living abroad, and others from the very heart of the Muslim world study together in this interactive program.

Middle East, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationNovember 29, 2017Bethlehem Bible College, Israel, Palestine

Bethlehem Bible College - May 2017 Update

An invitation to the Bethlehem Bible College Conference
Christ and the Checkpoint: Jesus at the Center
May 28 – June 1, 2018

We believe that theology and religion are important and continue to shape how people around the world view the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. There is a lot of fear and rejection of the "other" and the commandments of Jesus are cast aside. Our goal is to return to the basics of our faith and bring Jesus back to the center when it comes to kingdom and end-time theology, Christian advocacy for peace that is rooted in justice, and our mission to our neighbor.

Bethlehem Bible College invites you to the fifth "Christ at the Checkpoint" conference in Bethlehem from May 28-June 1, 2018. The conference hopes to follow the success of the first four conferences. The theme of this conference will be "Christ at the Checkpoint 5: Jesus at the Center."

Middle East, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationMay 30, 2017Bethlehem Bible College, Israel, Palestine

Bethlehem Bible College - March 2017 Update

I was a stranger and you did not take me in, I was naked and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit me. Matthew 25: 43

Dear friends of Bethlehem Bible College,

What we do for one, we do as if we are serving Jesus. This was the mentality of a group of BBC staff who visited the governmental hospital in Bethlehem to spend time with patients in need of dialysis. The staff spent time sitting, talking and laughing alongside those that were undergoing treatment.

This BBC group was the first to visit the dialysis section in the hospital. It was a big room with around twenty-two patients that undergo the process three times a week for five hours each time. In the Bethlehem area alone, there are one hundred patients including children.

Middle East, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationMarch 2, 2017Bethlehem Bible College, Israel, Palestine, Bethlehem

Bethlehem Bible College - November 2016 Update

Dear friends of Bethlehem Bible College,

We trust that the end of the year is wrapping up well for you! As the year 2016 comes to an end, we reflect on where we have come from but also plan for where we are headed. The past year has been full of amazing opportunities for BBC to reach out to our community through our students and staff, our faculty and those that partner with us from abroad or by coming and volunteering locally. Our hope and focus is that what is taught and modeled here at BBC will extend beyond the classroom, and that our students will be ambassadors to whatever workplace or ministry they work in on behalf of the kingdom of God.

Middle East, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationNovember 23, 2016Bethlehem Bible College, Bethlehem, Palestine

Bethlehem Bible College - July 2015 Update

Grace and peace to you from the Land of Christ, the very place that Jesus came to earth to be born, to live and die and pay the ultimate sacrifice for the whole world. But also from the land of resurrection and Pentecost. God has honored Bethlehem Bible College to be the only Palestinian Arabic training college in the whole country, where leaders and students come to learn and be equipped for the work of the Kingdom and for advancing the cause of Christ not just locally but also globally.

Projects, Middle EastThe Outreach FoundationJuly 8, 2015Bethlehem Bible College, Israel