Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary
Acting President: Dr. Lynn Jost
Associate Dean: Dr.Bruce Guenther
Mission
The mission of MBBS is to inspire and equip men and women to live as disciples of Jesus Christ, and to serve and lead in the church and in the world.
Unique Facts
Founded in 1955 in Fresno, CA.
Canadian MB Conference joined in supporting the Seminary in 1975.
Faculty authored a book Out of the Strange Silence in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the seminary.
Denominational leadership training now available in three locations: Fresno, CA, Langley, BC and Winnipeg, MB.
Historical Profile
MBBS-ACTS began as the BC Centre of Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary in 1995 with courses beginning in September 1995. The purpose of the BC program was to provide a church-based program of theological education and leadership training in conjunction with the theological and church resources already available. The Seminary established this off-campus program in BC to serve the large concentration of MBs in that region.
In 1999, MB Biblical Seminary joined as a full member of Associated Canadian Theological Schools (ACTS), a consortium of seminaries at Trinity Western University in Langley, BC. MBBS-ACTS has, on average, 60-65 students, currently led by three faculty members who work alongside faculty from the other partner seminaries.
MBBS is an educational community that includes students from many denominations, cultures and nations. It is rooted in the Anabaptist and Evangelical traditions, and is the seminary of the Mennonite Brethren churches in the United States and Canada.
The Seminary's theological identity is expressed in the Mennonite Brethren Confession of Faith of United States and Canada. The theological origins of the Mennonite Brethren Church are in the Anabaptist movement of the Reformation, and its theological character has been significantly shaped by the global Evangelical movement. This means a strong emphasis on a Believers Church, conversion, baptism, discipleship, evangelism, service, non-violent peacemaking and nonconformity to the world. The concern to be a faithful church in contemporary society shapes and guides Mennonite Brethren churches.
Faculty and Administrators
Bruce Guenther, Ph.D., Associate Dean of MBBS, Associate Professor of Church History and Mennonite Studies
Doug Berg, Ph.D., , Associate Professor of Leadership Studies
Ron Toews, D.Min., Adjunct Faculty