Mission Southland Bible Institute was founded to meet a specific need.
Christian workers in this area believed that a Bible Institute
was needed to train those who had been reached with the
Gospel so that they, in turn, could reach others (II Timothy 2:2). That basic purpose has not changed in over 82 years of
Southland's existence. We attempt to give the earnest
Christian a thorough knowledge of Biblical truth. The purpose
for such study is fourfold:
1. to encourage each student to be Christlike by a
constant, conscious communion with the Lord
through His Word.
2. to enable him to lead others into a personal
relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
3. to prepare him to be a pillar of established Christian
testimony in his local community.
4. to help train him in skills necessary for full-time
service at home or abroad.
In order to accomplish these goals, Southland offers courses
of study which:
1. acquaint students with the truths of God's Word,
along with tools for self-directed study.
2. promote personal communion with the Lord Jesus
Christ and application of His truth.
3. expose students to the techniques of effective
ministry in a variety of settings.
4. provide students with skills necessary to effectively
communicate God's truth to others.
TRAINING THAT PREPARES FOR SERVICE History In September 1942, at the insistence of several missionaries
of the mountain area, and under the leadership of Rev. and
Mrs. J. S. Otteson, Southland Bible Institute came into being.
The original campus was located seventeen miles southeast
of Pikeville, KY, on approximately eighty acres of mountain
land. Christian workers had prayed for years that God would
raise up a teaching ministry in this area. In answer to this
prayer, God raised up a Bible Institute and a Home Missions
program.
Southland Bible Institute was opened on September 17, 1945,
with a full-time training program geared to train dedicated men
and women to be workers for Christ, both at home and
abroad.
After twenty years of a faithful and fruitful ministry, Rev.
Otteson resigned as the President of the Institute. Rev.
Raymond Childress, a graduate of 1949, was appointed
President effective July 1, 1961. In May of 1973, Rev.
Childress resigned and, after much prayer and consideration,
Rev. Arnold Cook, a graduate of 1949, was asked to assume
the position. The school year of 1976-1977 was one of severe testing for
Southland. November 10, 1976, the ladies dorm and all its
contents burned, including the school’s radio and printing
equipment. Pike County's flood in the spring of 1977 caused
considerable damage to school property. The decision to
relocate was made by the Board, and the present site in
Ashland, KY was selected, and purchased after the sale of the
old campus.
May 6, 1977, Rev. Ken Tuinstra was commissioned as the
new President of Southland. Later that same year, Rev.
Joseph Otteson was promoted to be with his Lord (September
17).
We began the decade of the 1990's with renewed vigor and
dedication. In 1991, Rev. Arnold Adams was appointed
President of the Institute, providing a fresh vision of the role
of Southland in preparing men and women for service in God’s
great harvest field. The Lord has blessed abundantly since the opening of
Southland Bible Institute. He has supplied and added
facilities to meet the needs of a growing student body, and we
believe that He will continue to make it possible for the
Institute to expand as the need arises.
Southland's alumni are found in service on the foreign and
home mission fields, in pastorates, and in the classroom.
Several have taken further training before going into their
sphere of Christian service. The men and women who have
graduated from the school are living examples of what God is
doing at Southland Bible Institute.
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