Here are some of the highlights of 2025:
- TIBI celebrated its 23nd anniversary. From that first meeting at the Pasadena Iglesia de Cristo in Houston on a cold, rainy January night with what would become our first board, to our current admin team and faculty of 33 people, and 5800+ students, we have seen the Lord do marvelous things in people, churches, and the world.
- We have 363 current full-time students or graduates working in 258 congregations in 179 cities in 21 countries. This does not include all the part-time students working in many more places.
- We have helped plant 81 new congregations since 2009, and there have been 6100+ baptisms since 2009 in places where we help train people.
- 22 more students graduated in July with our bachelors’ degree and 11 in August with our masters’ degree.
- Several TIBI and RIB graduates are now teaching TIBI courses: Benjamin Matul, (Counseling for undergraduate, graduate levels); Cesar Paez (Spiritual Formation); Wladimir Herrera (coordinating several TIBI graduates in Religious Groups); Leonardo Capodicasa (co-teaching Praise and Worship); and Carlos Garcia and Alejandro Mena (teaching assistants in Greek and Hebrew).
- In July, Carlos Camacho and Steve Austin went to Cuba to train 34 church leaders, as well as conduct a graduation ceremony for the latest group of graduates there.
- One major addition to our program this year occurred in August when we welcomed Tim Archer as Director of Development, half-time. He is involved in all aspects of fundraising efforts with individuals, churches, grants, and foundations. Tim has taught for TIBI for a number of years, so he is well-regarded by TIBI’s leadership team, faculty, and students. He brings 40 years of experience in Latin American missions and training to TIBI.
- Besides coordinating with us, Tim also works with Jorge Pineda, who began to help TIBI with fundraising in October 2024. Jorge has been a respected teacher at TIBI since the beginning, whether live or online, and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in church work and teaching all over Latin America. Both these men have begun well with us and already have helped TIBI grow and benefit.
- Early in 2025, we began to study Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how it might be useful to TIBI. Rather than ignoring, prohibiting, or fearing it, we want to be proactive in using it in productive, creative, ground-breaking, time-saving ways. Through our relationship with a company called Boodlebox, which focuses on educational collaboration through AI, we obtained access to a suite of almost 1000 AI bots and models, which is constantly updated. We trained our faculty and students on this throughout 2025 in various ways and now offer this valuable tool to all 150 of our Zoom and RIB students and faculty.
- We have other exciting opportunities for 2026, including welcoming a new partner in Honduras, Predisan.