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Open
Bible Churches
Permission requested to use information from www.openbible.org
Open Bible Churches is an association of evangelical
Pentecostal/Charismatic churches called to be a vital organ in the
Body of Christ. Jesus is blowing a fresh breeze of repentance, prayer,
fasting, and evangelistic fervor into our movement. Our mandate
includes the development of healthy, loving relationships that produce
support and accountability among our ministers and churches. God
is giving us ever clearer vision, vibrant leadership, and comprehensive
strategic planning that He might cause Open Bible to fulfill His
purposes in this generation...and generations to come.
Open Bible Churches is a charter member of the National Association
of Evangelicals, the Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches of North America,
and the Pentecostal World Conference. Open Bible is also active
in the Mission America movement.
Open Bible Churches originated from two revival movements: Bible
Standard Conference, founded in Eugene, Oregon, in 1919, and Open
Bible Evangelistic Association, founded in Des Moines, Iowa, in
1932. Similar in doctrine and structure, the two groups amalgamated
in 1935 as “Open Bible Standard Churches” with the national
office located in Des Moines. In 1996 the movement began to officially
do busines as “Open Bible Churches,” though the legal
name retains the word “Standard”...which the Bible is.
Roots of the parent groups reach back to the outpouring
of the Holy Spirit in 1906 at Azusa Street Mission in Los Angeles,
and to the full gospel movement in the Midwest. Both were organized
under the impetus of Pentecostal revival. Simple faith, emphasis
on prayer, evangelism, international missions, and free fellowship
with other groups were characteristics of the growing organization.
The membership of Open Bible Churches is the highest governing body.
Their convention meets biennially and consists of credentialed ministers
in good standing, national directors, and one voting delegate per
100 members from each officially affiliated church. A national board
of directors, composed of national directors and regional representatives,
is delegated to conduct the business of the association.
Our Web site may be visited at www.openbible.org. Open Bible’s
official publication is the award-winning Message of the Open Bible.
Heritage and Horizons is the official history book. Open Bible's
international missions’ history is published in Heritage and
Harvests.
Both traditional and non-traditional leadership development and
ministerial training tracks are available to the Open Bible constituency.
Eugene Bible College, situated on a beautifully modern campus overlooking
the city of Eugene, Oregon, provides traditional, campus-based education,
and is Open Bible's accredited and official Bible college. INSTE
(Institute of Theology by Extension) is Open Bible's church-based
in-service program offering systematic discipleship and leadership
training, including academic preparation for ministerial credentials.
INSTE is available in the U.S. in English and Spanish, and is rapidly
becoming Open Bible's primary international ministerial preparation
program and is being utilized in many sister denominations and churches
around the world. Other models combining the strengths of both traditional
and non-traditional programs are also available, e.g., Master’s
Commission, and Eugene Bible College extension classes.
National and regional Refocus Networks provide in-service
training for
those involved in active ministry.
Contact the national office directly at:
INFO@OPENBIBLE.ORG
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