Oral Learners Bible Institute
The Oral Learners Bible Institute (olBi) is a unique three-year school that applies the latest technology to train oral learners in a simple distance education model that requires no reading. The school presents lessons through audio and video means and does not require regular in-class attendance. A person can study as an individual. Using local churches as olBi centers can also motivate and mentor groups of students. This easy-to-use model is adaptable for every location.”
How olBi works
Flexible Learning Model
Centers for olBi training in churches can guide and equip students for ministry. Each student can register for courses and receive the lessons through the app. Or, they can use micro-SD cards or other distribution models. Students are able to study at their own pace from their homes or together in groups. Each lesson may be viewed multiple times until the content is understood. Each lesson includes thought-provoking questions to help the student recall the content and apply the principles presented to their lives. They are thus prepared to teach the stories and principles of the lesson to someone else.
Each course is completed when the student returns to the local olBi learning center for review, mentoring, and an oral exam. Their ongoing practical ministry will be monitored and recorded along with their exam scores. This will create a record for their work in olBi.
When a student has completed the three years of courses, they must pass a final oral exam. An additional practical ministry component includes planting a church following a student’s second year of study. After satisfying these requirements, the student will receive a Diploma of Ministry.
Students
Churches Planted
Languages Available
Learn From Anywhere
App-based Learning
The olBi app allows students the flexibility to learn from anywhere at any time of the day. The app works on mobile devices, tablets, and computers, providing easy access to the video lessons. Students work sequentially through the course video lessons. Courses will equip them for pastoral ministry with foundational knowledge in Bible, church leadership, theology, evangelism, and discipleship. The app also allows the mentor to monitor the student’s progress and alerts them if the student has not made progress for a number of days.
Our Courses
Year One – Basics of Christianity
27 Credit hours
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Pr161 - Practical Ministry -
Bi131 - The Gospels 1 - Bi122 - The Gospels 2
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Th131 - God's Plan - Bi133 - Acts
- Th122 - Foundational Doctrines
- Bi123 - Old Testament 1
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Di121 - Effective Communication - Di122 - Essentials of Christianity
- Th123 - A Study of the Holy Spirit
Year Two – Discipleship /
Becoming a Leader
29 Credit Hours
- Pr262 - Practical Ministry
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Ev221 - Sharing your Spiritual Journey - Di223 - We Believe
- Bi235 - Old Testament 2
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Pa221 - Leadership Development - Ev232 - Cross-Cultural Evangelism
- Ev233 - Planting Churches
- Pa232 - Counseling
- Pa233 - Letters to the Churches
- Th224 - Sin & Atonement
Year Three – Pastoral Training
28 Credit Hours
- Pr363 - Practical Ministry
- Di314 - Mentoring Oral Leaners
- Pa324 - The Corinthian Epistles
- Th325 - Understanding the Godhead
- Pa335 - Spiritual Authority
- Bi326 - Understanding Bible Prophecy
- Pa336 Church History
- Th326 - Satan & Demons
- Pa317 - Ordinances of the Church
- Pa328 - Signs & Wonders
- Ev344 - Community Outreach
COURES
Concentrations and Electives
Children’s Ministry Concentration
5 Credit hours
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Ch411 - Children's Ministry Goals - Ch412 - Spiritual Formation in Children
- Ch433 - Children's Ministry Techniques
Youth Ministry Concentration
3 Credit Hours
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Yo411 - Youth Ministry Goals - Yo412 - Youth Ministry Techniques
- Yo413 - Spiritual Formation in Youth
World Religions Concentration
10 Credit Hours
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Wo421 - Understanding Muslims - Wo422 - Approaches to Muslims
- Wo423 - Understanding Animists
- Wo424 - Understanding Hindus
- Wo425 - Understanding Buddhists
Course Certificates
Students earn a certificate of completion for each course they finish. Students must pass an oral exam to complete the course.
olBi app
The olBi app currently uses online videos for each lesson in the course. If a student cannot view the lesson online, there are offline options available.
Planting Churches
Villages are some of the most difficult places to plant churches. Using olBi, believers in or near these villages can become trained pastors who are able to plant a healthy church.
Why olBi Trains Pastors?
There will never be enough missionaries.
The need for evangelism and church planting will never be met through missionaries traveling to remote locations. The church needs to train believers that already live in or near people who desperately need Christ.
Lack of literacy should not keep believers from ministry.
Education deficits often prevent people from receiving Bible knowledge, theology, and practical training needed to become a church planter. Various other circumstances may also hinder their attending an existing school to be equipped. olBi provides unique ministry training for such people.
Video-based lessons help oral learners.
Videos allow olBi students to see and hear the stories used in the Bible school lessons. These video lessons teach oral learners in the way they learn best!
Everyone can minister by sharing stories.
Each olBi lesson asks the student to learn the story and to share it with someone else. Oral learners remember truths by connecting the truth with a story. As students study the courses from the first two years, they are already sharing the stories with their families, their group of friends, or at the preaching point where they will later plant a church.
Sample Lesson
Th122-27
Sample English Lesson
Foundational Doctrines: Judgement of the Saints
What Our Students Say
Watching this lesson, it was as if the Holy Spirit was speaking directly to me.
Pintu
One of the first olBi students, and a pastor in Rajasthan, India.
Without having a high school degree and not being able to leave the growing ministry, I can’t go to a Bible school. olBi has stepped in to train, teach and reach out to people like me to plant a church, minister in my own village and train new young believers in the Word of God.
Amar
A first generation believer in rural Rajasthan, India
FAQ
Frequently Asked
Are you teaching illiterate people to read?
No. Instead, we are teaching them the way they learn best, orally and visually, through storytelling.
Does olBi replace traditional Bible schools?
No. There will always be a need for traditional Bible schools, especially to provide higher level education for the future leaders of the national church. OlBi provides training for believers that might not qualify for traditional Bible schools due to their circumstances
How much does it cost to get ministry training at olBi?
OLBI is FREE to our students. We raise funds to cover the cost of development for a language, about $60,000 per language. This helps with the cost of translation and the video production for the over 1,000 lessons for all the OLBI courses in a specific language.
Is olBi an accredited Bible school?
No. The narrative teaching style used to train oral learners focuses on teaching students Bible knowledge, theology, and practical ministry. This training helps them to successfully plant a church, disciple believers, and evangelize the lost. It does not provide a formal “education” that matches with accreditation.
However, upon completion of the olBi program, students will receive a Certificate or Diploma of Ministry, depending on the national church designation.
Provide an olBi Translation Today!
For less than a typical American college education, you can provide an entire Bible School for a language group where all students receive their Bible school education FREE!
- A donation of $60,000 covers the cost to translate and produce the entire olBi school.
- A donation of $15,000 covers 1 year or the concentration & elective courses.
- A donation of $1,500 covers the cost of 1 course.
When donating you may comment whether you wish to give toward a specific language or to a language with the greatest financial need.
Current language projects that need funding:
Arabic, Cambodian, English for Africa, Mongolian, Portuguese, and Spanish.
As well as Indian languages:
Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Nepali, Punjabi and Tamil.
(Please fill out the comment field on the donation page)
olBi
Oral Learners Bible Institute is an Oral Learners Initiative. Part of the International Ministries region of the Assemblies of God World Missions.