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Thomas Herrington Bible Institute
On October 8th more than 500 people from the United States, Nicaragua and Honduras gathered at the Thomas Herrington Bible Institute to celebrate the graduation of 19 students from the Bible Institute programs of 2011. Mark Mayfield, former BMDMI missionary and now pastor of Leighton Baptist Church, Leighton, AL preached the commencement sermon. Three young men completed three years of full-time study and 12 men received diplomas in Biblical and Ministry Studies. Also, five ladies received diplomas in Christian Education and Leadership. The part-time program is a program developed by Bible Training Center for Pastors (www.btcp.com) that we have been using for several years. More than 150 graduates have completed this study at our Bible Institute. .
The full-time program is a three-year study program that has been developed by BMDMI over the years. It includes 36 courses of 3 semester hours each. In addition to the classroom work, students are involved in off-campus evangelism and outreach one day each week and are assigned to work in a local church each weekend.
All those in attendance were really encouraged by the graduation of Sixto Herrera. At 89 years of age, Sixto is the oldest person to graduate from one of our programs. He was greeted by a standing ovation as he marched proudly down the aisle during the processional. After the ceremony, I had time to talk with Sixto and asked him what led him to begin to study at the age of 86. He said, "About 4 years ago I was very sick and felt that I was about to die. At that time, I made a recommitment to the Lord and promised the Lord that I would serve him faithfully for the rest of my days. When I heard of the opportunity to study at the Bible Institute, I realized that this in what I needed to do in order that I might serve the Lord better. Also, I wanted to be a good example for my children and grandchildren. The Lord has been very faithful and has blessed me a lot during these past four years and I want to continue to serve him for as long as I live."
Luis Vargus, (photo above in group of four photos; bottom, right) has been living at BMDMI's Good Shepherd Children's Home for the past 14 years. Luis came to the children's home with his three sisters in 1998 when he was just 8 years old. About 70 children and staff members of GSCH were in attendance to see Luis graduate. Kelly Lawrence, interim director of GSCH, said, "This marks a special day in the life of GSCH. We are so proud of all that Greg and Eva Vaughn and our staff have done to make this ministry so successful. We are so very proud of Luis and his accomplishments. And we are equally proud of others from the home that have gone out into the world and are doing equally as well."
Ribbon cutting. In a short ceremony of dedication of the new chapel at the Bible Institute a ribbon was cut to mark the occasion. Those participating in the ribbon-cutting were, Mike Edwards, Mark Mayfield, Eli Lopez, Soteros Rodriguez, Dwight Carr, Francisco Campos, Yonis Aguijo, and Darrel Johnson. Yonis Arguijo, director of the Biblle Institute said, "This is a very special day for the Thomas Herrington bible Institute. This new chapel is going to be a tremendous blessing to the ministry here. Now we will be able to have sufficient seating for everyone when we have our pastor's conferences. It is so beautiful and is an offering of sacrifice and praise to the Lord. We are so thankful for those donors in the United States who made this beautiful house of worship become a reality." The cost of the construction was about $150,000 and we have raised all but about $25,000. I want to thank all of you who have given to this project. I would like to encourage you to continue to support this project so that we may pay the $25,000 we still owe on it.
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