A Resource Centre is a local church Bible College or Ministry Training Centre, run by the local church and its ministry team using the resources of Vision Internet Bible College.
- Students enjoy the benefit of local ministry team teaching while they are a part of a world-wide international network of over 150,000 students, yet they are being trained locally for local ministry and beyond.
- Lecturers enjoy the role of teaching students and can place all of there energy into teaching and training.
- Vision Internet Bible College provides the curriculum, handles the student records, marks the papers and issues awards and provides international recognition and covering.
- The Church enjoys a financial blessing by way of a discount of fees to the Resource Centre
The requirements for starting a Resource Centre are simple a desire to teach, train and develop the members of your church for ministry.
You will need to consider the following points, they are not presented in a particular order of importance and there are often other issues to consider, however the following points are offered for consideration...
- The Staff
- Student Body
- Contact Vision Christian College
- enrol Students
- Choose Subject Material
- Decide on Teaching Method
1. The Staff
The number of students and the size of the Resource Centre will determine the number and size of the staff.
The Resource Centre Director. The Director will communicate between the Resource Centre and Vision Internet Bible College and will be responsible to the Pastor, the students and Vision Internet Bible College. The Director attends to the administrative responsibilities of the local Resource Centre and is the link with Vision Internet Bible College.
The Teacher. A vital requirement of every Resource Centre is that someone is appointed to teach. The teacher does not need to be a qualified teacher, but certainly an anointing or aptitude for teaching is important. No matter how good the material is the personal approach of the teacher is a vital factor in the success of the Resource Centre. The Teacher not only presents the material to the student but should also be able to present the material in the context of the local church or ministry, where appropriate, thus the teacher is vital in the training and development of the student for ministry.
2. The Student Body.
At least 5 students are required to start a Resource Centre. There is no upper limit on the student body. Entry requirements beyond those of Vision Internet Bible College are entirely at the discretion of the local Resource Centre.A group of less than 5 may meet together for the mutual benefit of study however they will not be recognised as a formal Resource Centre.
3. Contact Vision Internet Bible College
You can contact Vision Internet Bible College for specific details that may apply to your situation by or by email or fax. A face to face interview with the Principal of the College will be arranged wherever possible. If that is not possible then a telephone interview will be used to establish the relationship with Vision Internet Bible College.
As soon as the local ministry and Vision Internet Bible College mutually agree to establish the Resource Centre a Covenant Agreement is drawn up that shows the responsibility of each party.
The Covenant Agreement is not intended to be a legally binding document, but rather a statement of intent. Vision Internet Bible College prefers not to deal with contractual arrangements but rather to work within the framework of mutual agreement and responsibility.4. Enrol Students
Students are enrolled and the student fee must be paid to Vision Internet Bible College. If the local Resource Centre wishes to add a fee for its own purposes they are free to do so. Effectively a student is effectively enrolled into two colleges, the local Resource Centre and Vision Internet Bible College. For both student and the Resource Centre this brings the added esteem of being a part of an internationally recognised education network. If the student leaves the Resource Centre they may continue their studies in another Resource Centre, by mail or through the Internet without any loss of credit or recognition.
5. Choose Subject Material
- Foundational Studies
- Biblical Studies
- Christian Life Studies
- Church Studies
- Counselling Studies
- Doctrinal Studies
- General Education
- Missions Studies
We believe that the staff of the Resource centre are suited to select the subjects for the student body.They understand the students issues, the subjects that most need to be taught to develop the ministry potential of the student body.
There are more than 100 subjects from which to choose in 8 streams of study.
While we will provide the Resource Centre with a "Model" curriculum on request we do encourage the Resource Centre to select one subject from each stream in rotation. The effect of this system is that the Resource Centre has a greater control over the subjects being taught by selecting the subject most appropriate while the streaming maintains the balance of the material.
This program utilities the "Credit Points" system rather than a fixed curriculum. Each subject has the same value. As long as a student completes any 10 subjects with Vision they will earn the award they are enrolled into.
If the Resource Centre is offering Accredited Awards the subjects offered are less flexible and the costs are higher. However the Resource Centre is able to offer fully accredited awards without the overheads of maintaining their own Accredited College. Vision Christian College bears this responsibility.
Recognised Awards
- Certificate in Biblical Studies
- Associate in Biblical Studies
- Diploma of Ministry
- Diploma of Theology
6. Decide on the Teaching Method
The Resource centre is best placed to determine the teaching/lecturing method to be employed.
Some use a once a month weekend seminar style, others use a one or two evenings a week with college style lectures, while others employ a mentoring style to teach students.
We do not impose on the Resource Centre a fixed style, preferring to believe that the local Resource Centre is best suited to understand the needs of the student body and the ministry training program.
