LIFE Central Bible Institute is an extension ministry of LIFE Foursquare Church of Decatur, IL and has been certified as a School of Ministry with the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel.  LCBI was designed to provide college-level education for those individuals feeling God's calling into the ministry, but were unable to attend a Christian college.  Since its beginning, LCBI has provided this service to over 120 students, with some continuing their education at other institutions and some moving into ministerial positions.  But what about those individuals that are not really concerned about college credits, but want a deeper understanding of those things that influenced the lives of people in Scripture and its application to us today?  What about those who are hungry for a deeper relationship with Christ or simply want to know more about God's Word? A recent change in the structure of our program now offers courses on three level of instruction:  Survey, Discipleship and Leadership Development. 

LEVEL 1:  SURVEY LEVEL                                                                                                                         These courses will be offered on Wednesday evenings from 6:30-7:45pm.  Survey Level courses are our fundamental courses.  They are not college level and therefore are non-accredited.  Free of charge, they do not have quizzes, exams, or homework!  They will focus on important areas of Christian knowledge.  Fall 2010 offers BI 101 - The Life and Times of Jesus Christ.  Students will explore the culture and customs of Jewish life and how they impacted the actions and teachings of Jesus.  This course includes a weekly video teaching by historian Ray Vanderlaan (Focus on the Family).  Ray takes us on location to the very sites in the Middle East where these events took place and explains the factors that impacted that event.  John GreenLeaf will be teaching this course.

LEVEL 2:  DISCIPLESHIP LEVEL                                                                                                                     At this level students will move deeper into the practical application side of what it means to be a disciple of Christ.  When Jesus called us to follow Him, what does that really mean?  These are 1 unit courses, which means there is a fee of $50 to take this course.  They include textbooks, homework and some assessments. 

LEVEL 3:  LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT LEVEL                                                                                               These are college-level courses designed to take the student into a much deeper understanding of God's Word, Theology, General Ministry, Communication, and Social and Behavior Science.  Each course is taught by qualified, experienced instructors holding academic credentials from accredited colleges.  These courses are 3 unit hour courses with a cost of $150 each.  The courses include textbooks, homework, and assessments as deemed necessary by the instructor.  Students receive a grade for their course and it is recorded on their transcript.

Interested in a more academic education without receiving college credit or pursuing a diploma?  Unsure of how well you might perform in a college-level course or how much time you might have to invest?  The simple answer is to audit the course.  Auditing means YOU decide what homework, assignments and assessments you will complete.  A student who audits a course will not receive a grade or credit for the course.  Cost for audit students is $25 per unit instead of $50 per unit (Level 2 courses--$25, Leve 3 courses--$75).  Auditing a Leadership Development course is the perfect solution to those students who want the college-leve content of study but are not able to commit themselves to the rigors of study.

LIFE Central Bible Institute is a ministry God has raised up for the purpose of preparing His people.  In Paul's final letter to Timothy Paul pleads with him to "study to present yourself ready for God's purpose, a workman that does not need to be ashamed, because he knows the Truth of God's Word and how to use it."  We hope you will consider joining us.  Should you have any questions, contact the church office at 217-875-2300 or by email at office@decaturfoursquare.org.