OCTOBER 2018

From the Principal's Desk

We are grateful to the Lord for bringing us this far through 2018. The end of our academic year is around the corner. We are likely to finish this year with 68 students. The number of students from our neighbouring countries has also decreased to two (2) in 2018. However, we continue to see an encouraging interest that our communities have in the Union Bible Institute as a school of choice for the training of their students. We have also noted that more and more students would like to enroll for the BTh degree instead of the Diploma in Theology in the English stream.

We are pleased to mention that at our next graduation Ceremony on November 24^th, 2018 we will witness the second group of students to receive the BTh degree. We have seen God come through in the lives of the students during the year and meeting their needs in many different ways. We appreciate the confidence and trust that the sending churches and organizations continue to put in the UBI staff to look after their called men and women during their theological training.

When we started the third term we received from the USA Mr. Wes Spradley, who came to teach at UBI from July to September. We were also blessed with the visit of Mr. and Mrs. Simpson, also from the USA. Mr. Simpson helped us in the IT department as he did in 2017. We praise the Lord for giving us these partners who come to partake in what God is doing at UBI.

We thank God for the arrival of Rev. P. Zondi who was seconded to UBI by the Holiness Union Church (HUC). The HUC takes care of all the needs of Rev. Zondi while he is serving at UBI. Rev. Zondi serves as a lecturer at UBI and he is a former student of UBI. We are grateful to the Lord for this wonderful and timely gift.

Yours in Christ,

George Mnisi

Staff Spotlight: KEEGAN NOBLE

Position at UBI: Lecturer and Registrar, since July 2014

Education: Diploma in Theology (UBI, 2013), Bachelor of Theology (BTC, 2014)

Favourite courses to teach: My number one subject is probably Bibliology. My interest in the Bible began when I became a Christian in 2005. That interest grew when I started working at the Bible Centre in 2007. I was exposed to numerous translations, and customers had questions about how and why translations are different. It caused me to read up on Bible translation. I developed an interest in knowing the history of the Bible. Also, and maybe more importantly, I wanted to know why modern translations seem to leave out verses (I say ‘seem’, because I came to see that there are legitimate reasons for this). I sometimes found myself having to explain these things to friends, family and customers. So, even before I was a student at UBI, and long before I started teaching the subject, I had a personal interest it. All this makes it a pleasure for me to be teaching Bibliology at UBI.

My second favourite subject is Church History. Again, I had developed a personal interest in it before I was a student at UBI. That interest came about as a result of being exposed to different teachings/doctrines, especially those made popular through Christian television. Since modern Christians disagree on what ‘true’ Christianity is, I wanted to discover how the earliest Christians understood and lived out the gospel. So, my interest was and is in early Christianity. Being a Christian, I thought it is also important to know our heritage. How did we get from the first century to today? Many of us naturally find history boring, but Christian history shouldn’t be! We learn about many who died for the faith, inspiring us to persevere through hardships. We learn about the sacrifices people made to give us the Bible in our own languages. We learn about how orthodox doctrine developed (what is within the boundaries of Scripture, and what lies beyond the bounds). We may live in very different times and cultures, but one thing we share with Christians of the past is our faith in Jesus Christ and our hope of his return. I find it interesting to see how Christians of the past tried to live out the gospel (with their mistakes and weaknesses). We can learn from the past.

Why you appreciate UBI: I appreciate that UBI is multi-cultural and interdenominational. It’s good to associate with and interact with people who think differently to us. It helps us to sometimes rethink some things we believe to be true. It also helps us (me) to appreciate and respect the diversity within the body of Christ.

UPCOMING EVENTS

4 November: Afternoon of Song, 3pm

24 November: Graduation + Motto Service, 9am

21 January: First Term Begins

Contact the office for more details on these events.

Your are cordially invited to the 2018 Graduation Exercises and Motto Service at 9h00 on Saturday, 24 November.

1000 Partners for R100/month

In order to continue developing Christ-like servant-leaders who are committed Christ and his Great Commission, we recognize that we need to keep fees as low as possible for students.

To this end, Dr. Mnisi has been redeployed this term from teaching to fundraising for the school with effect from September 25, 2018. His vision is to rally 1000 partners for UBI who are committed to giving R100/month.

We would appreciate your prayers for him as he ventures into this new territory as well as the success of the project. Please complete this support form, or contact the office for additional information. We thank the Lord for all our past and current partners who continue to be a part of what God is doing at UBI.

PRAYER REQUESTS

PRAY for all the third year students, as they finish well and move on to the next chapter.

PRAY that Dr. Mnisi’s fundraising campaign would be successful.

PRAY that UBI would be granted reaccreditation.

PRAY for unity and good fellowship among staff members.

We appreciate your prayers!

We are saddened by the loss of one of our students, Mr. Jabulane Madela. Mr. Madela passed away shortly after returning from a ministry trip. His last days were spent in the Lord, doing the work of the Lord, and he is now in the presence of the Lord.

UBI NOW ACCEPTING BOOKINGS for conferences and weddings during winter and summer holidays. For more informations, contact the office.

Banking Details for Giving in South Africa:
General Account:
Standard Bank
Branch: 05-7525
Account: 05208-7964

From the US, you can give through TEAM. Visit www.team.org or click here and type UBI in the search bar.

From the UK, Australia & NZ you may give through SIM. Visit www.sim.org and quote project number ZA 89510--Operational Assistance to Union Bible Institute.

Contact details:
45 Dennis Shepstone Dr
PO BOX 50, Hilton, 3245

Cell: 27 82 447 7877
Phone: 27 33 343 4547
FAX: 27 86 443 5077

Email: admin@ubi.ac.za
Website: www.ubi.ac.za