At the beginning of this new millennium The Bible Church of Little Rock, according to its commitments to the priorities of evangelism and edification (Matthew 28:19-20; Ephesians 4:11 ff.), launched a new ministry dedicated to equipping people at even higher levels so that they might be better prepared to carry out these divinely mandated responsibilities. The training center’s most basic purpose is to fulfill the Apostle Paul’s command recorded in 2 Timothy 2:2: “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.” Our consequent purpose is to see the local church not only training her own, but also sending them out for service abroad (cf. the Antiochian church model in Acts 13).
Who Would Benefit?
Individuals who might benefit from this ministry of The Bible Church of Little Rock are:
- any committed Christian desiring to stretch and grow more into the
image of Christ and to serve more effectively within the Body of Christ. - someone who may want to “test the waters” by enrolling in some courses
to see if God perhaps would have him seek spiritual leadership in his local church, or even eventually, to prepare himself for a full-time vocational ministry. - someone who is already committed to pursuing future full-time service and needs all the “tools” necessary for effective ministry. (Men from within our church, once they have completed the “Basic Curriculum” and have proven themselves in the areas of personal character and in public ministry, may be ordained by our church.) (Those men from outside our local church, once they have satisfactorily completed the courses contained in the “Basic Curriculum for Pastors and Missionaries,” will receive a Certificate of Completion from the training center.)
- a man already in full-time pastoral ministry wanting to get more
training or to refresh his original training.
A more advanced program is also available on a limited basis.
Upcoming Courses
Download the Ministry Training Center Catalog (coming soon)
Registration & Cost
Several weeks prior to the commencement of a course, prospective students need to make sure they are signed up for it. The per-course cost for non-members is $20. In addition there will be the costs for books and/or syllabi. These additional costs will vary depending upon the course.
Applications
Interested individuals may contact the BCLR office by email or phone at 501-227-4980 for more information. The director will contact interested persons to arrange for interviews.
Our Faculty
Our director (i.e. dean) is George J.Zemek, B.A., M.Div., Th.M., Th.D. He began his teaching career at Grace College where he served as a professor in the Greek department from 1975-1977. He continued as a professor at Grace Seminary in the areas of homiletics, theology, biblical languages and apologetics, as well as serving as the director of the doctoral studies program. From 1988-1994, he taught at the Master’s Seminary in Sun Valley, California. In 1994, Dr. Zemek became the founding vocational Pastor-Teacher and professor respectively of Grace Bible Church and Training Center of Brandon, Florida. He is the author of several books including Doing God’s Business God’s Way, The Word of God in the Child of God, and A Biblical Theology of the Doctrines of Sovereign Grace. Dr. Zemek joined the staff of The Bible Church of Little Rock in 2000 for the purpose of founding the Ministry Training Center.
The training center has other credentialed faculty, all of whom have been and are currently engaged in hands-on shepherding ministries within the context of the local church. The curriculum is made up largely of seminary-level courses (including the biblical languages); however, many of the training center’s offerings are open to a wider circle of interested people.
Brief Statement of Beliefs
The Ministry Training Center of The Bible Church of Little Rock steadfastly affirms the inerrancy, full authority, and total sufficiency of God’s Word, the Bible. Consequently, we emphasize an exegetical (i.e. a biblical) approach to theology, and this in turn leads to an inductively derived methodology for ministry. We, therefore, for example, are unwaveringly committed to the textual exposition of all the Scriptures, preferably based upon the original languages.
Concerning basic doctrines, any applicant should hold minimally to the five statements of belief outlined and discussed in The Fundamentals: A Testimony to the Truth (1910):
- the inerrancy of the Bible
- the miraculous conception of Christ
- the substitutionary work of Christ on the cross
- the physical resurrection
- the literal second coming of Christ.
