Timothy Institute

About Us

The Timothy Institute is a ministry of the Berean Bible Church of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. The purpose of the Institute is to provide learning resources to men and women who are interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the Bible. The goal is in developing their knowledge, skills and abilities in ministering the Word of God rightly divided in their local communities and become leaders in grace churches.

The objective of this program is to provide the student with:

1. A working knowledge of the Word of God;
2. Skill in presenting the Word of truth to lost people so they become saved (justified) people and then to take them on to come to the knowledge of the truth of the Word of God rightly divided; and
3. To develop the ability to work with others in providing leadership skills in the context of a local church ministry.

This program is intended to assist men and women in developing their Bible knowledge and their communication skills and the ability to minister the Word of God in local churches or home study groups. The most important characteristic in a saint is a sanctified life. Effective spiritual leadership must be rooted in a disciplined life. People participating in the program are encouraged to:

• Read the Bible through each year (it takes 20 to thirty minutes per day).
• Do targeted studies by quarter. Timothy students seeking credit for coursework are expected to submit answers to study guide questions. Develop personal study notes on the material for personal future reference. Note: Study Guides with Annotations are available for each of the Bible study courses but the student is encouraged to develop his/her own personal study notes.
• Establish and keep up to date with a personal schedule for personal growth in the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to be effective in ministering the Word of God for themselves, their families, and the spiritual community of which they are a part.
• Always apply the Berean principal (Acts 17:11) on anyone’s study notes or commentary so that the Bible is always the final authority in anyone’s personal study.
• Consistently apply what you learn to life so as to be an example of the believer in godliness and honesty.

Cost of the Program

We estimate, based on a review of similar on line programs from Bible colleges, that the cost of an equivalent program lists at anywhere from $25,000 to $55,000. However, our interest is to make this as affordable as possible. Therefore, as a ministry of Berean Bible Church, the only cost to the Timothy students is the cost of the study guides as they are purchased on line or ordered from BBC. The average cost in paper back format ranges in cost from $15 to $27. We expect to have all of the study guides available in eBook format at a cost of under $3 each. The Timothy students are however, encouraged to make donations as they feel led. Donations can be made to Berean Bible Church.

Teaching Resources

Basic Resources:

Part I of the Curriculum consists of a Study Guide for each course with study guide questions at the end of each chapter. These study guides are in the process of being published. They can be purchased from Amazon or from MJTiry.com. If a student needs a study guide that has not been published yet, it can be purchased from Berean Bible Church in a comb bound format at the cost of production plus postage.

Supplemental Resources:

• How to Study the Bible* is available in pdf and in a comb bound document. There are no study guide questions on this course.
• Book “You and Your Creator”* is currently out of print but should be available again shortly. This study guide is available as a reference. It can be (or will be available for) purchase from Amazon.
• Course “Things that Differ” This text is available from the Berean Bible Society:
  N112 W17761 Mequon Road
  PO Box 756
  Germantown, WI 53022
  www.bereanbiblesociety.org
• A Dispensational Survey of the Old Testament – Study Material by Joel Finck. We expect each student to be able to know the theme, thesis and main characters of each of the Old Testament Books. Upon completion of the Timothy Institute, each student should be able to give a brief dissertation of each of the Books of the Old Testament without notes. This resource is available from:
  Parsons Publishing Company
  30448 427th Ave.
  Tabor, South Dakota 57063
  www.parsonspublishingcompany.com
• The Covenants of God and the Mystery: This material is covered in the reference “You and Your Creator.”

Scope and Sequence:

Part I of the Timothy Program is geared to provide a working knowledge of the Bible. The Study Guides are set up as expository presentations of the following books of the Bible:

• A Study in Genesis; the first twelve chapters.
• A Study in the Book of Daniel – the Kingdom in Prophecy
• A Study in Matthew’s Gospel – the King and His Kingdom
• A Study in the Book of Hebrews – Israel and the New Covenant
• A Study in the Revelation—the End Time Fulfillment of Bible Prophecy
• Super Abounding Grace – A Study in the Book of Romans
• Galatians – a Study in the Transition from Law to Grace
• The Corinthians Epistles – A study in the Corporate Life of the Local Church
• The Grace Trilogy – a Study in Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians
• First and Second Timothy

Certification of Completion of the Basic Bible Curriculum (Part I of the program) will be awarded upon the satisfactory completion of the Study Guide Questions for each of the study guides listed above.

Part II of the Institute is for those who desire training in various ministerial aspects of the local church’s operation. This would be advanced training beyond the Basic Bible Curriculum. The training would be tailor made to fit the needs of the Timothy student to provide him with the skill set to function in whatever capacity he is involved in relative to his local church participation.

Skill in Verbal communication – Deliver a message at the quarterly meetings

• Homiletics – Learn by doing as you deliver messages with supervision.
• The course “Expository Preaching” is required along with the course “How to Study the Bible.” These two courses will be offered via zoom as power point presentations from time to time. Each Timothy student should have attended at least one presentation of each.

Skill in Written Communications – The ability to communicate in writing is essential in a well-rounded ministry of the Word of God. A certain amount of writing is therefore a part of the Institute. This is accomplished in answering questions in the following studies as articles written so as to convince a skeptic of the truth of the Word of God.

• Answer the essay questions at the end of each chapter of Things that Differ
• Answer the essay questions at the end of each chapter of the Romans course (Super Abounding Grace parts I, II, & III).

Language Helps – A course in Koine Greek (the language in which the New Testament was written) is available. Our King James Bible is a reliable translation of the preserved text of the Word of God. A working knowledge of the KJV will therefore equip you to teach the Word of God. It is not absolutely necessary to have a working knowledge of the original language of the New Testament but it is definitely helpful in gaining a deeper understanding of it. This course is designed to give the student the information by which he can utilize the language helps that are available. This course is available at the request of the student and will require a weekly time for a conference call and the memorizing of Greek vocabulary and rules of the language.

Pastoral Studies For those interested in going beyond a teaching ministry to the work of the ministry in a local church, additional resource are available.

• I & II Timothy*
• Titus*
• Philemon
• Timothy Institute Course on Conducting Weddings and Funerals* (Material was developed by Rollin Wilson – former pastor at Berean Bible Church)
• Timothy Institute course on counseling (pre-marriage, marriage, dealing with grief)
• The Study “Leadership and Teamwork in the Body of Christ”*

Certification of Completion

Upon satisfactory completion of the course work in Part I, the Timothy student will receive a certification of Completion of the Basic Bible Curriculum. The completion of the course work includes submitting answers to the study guide questions at the end of each chapter in the study guides. The Timothy Institute is not accredited by any college or university. We are strictly a Bible teaching ministry of Berean Bible Church.

We view the only real authority that anyone has is to function as an ambassador for Christ being equipped by the Word of God to understand that “¹⁶All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: ¹⁷That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17) Further, we see a man as being approved of God by diligent study of the Word of God rightly divided according to the apostle’s admonition to “¹⁵ Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)

On the Subject of Ordination

Since the Timothy Institute is a ministry of Berean Bible Church, Inc., any ordination would be done according to the constitution of this church.

Berean Bible Church does have in its constitution provision for ordination of men to the ministry. It is our opinion that the ordination should be done by the group (the local church) that calls the man to teach and preach. Also, we shy away from putting titles on men (Job 32:21-22). We note that Paul put titles on only one person, the Lord Jesus Christ for He is the only one deserving and the only one capable of handling it. However, where the recognition of ordination to the ministry would be helpful to the man, such recognition can be given to indicate that there has been preparation for ministry.

Before looking at the BBC’s ordination procedures, let’s look at what the Bible says about the subject of ordination. It is interesting that Paul never talked about ordaining pastors but he ordained elders. Note these passages:

Acts 14:21-23 (KJV)
“²¹And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch,”
“²²Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.”
“²³And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.”

Titus 1:5 (KJV)
“⁵For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:”

It is also interesting to note that no church mentioned in the New Testament had just one elder. We see the job of the elders defined in Acts 20:17-28…

“¹⁷And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church. …”
“²⁸Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.”

Note that he is talking to the elders of the church at Ephesus and tells them that the Holy Ghost has made them overseers of the church of God (referring to the local grace church at Ephesus) and that their job as overseers was to feed that local church. The word overseers is from “episcopos” the same word translated “Bishop” in passages as Philippians 1:1, 1 Timothy 3:1&2, Titus 1:7 and 1 Peter 2:25. The word translated “to feed” is from the infinitive form of the Greek verb “to shepherd: or “to pastor.” The noun form of that Greek word is translated “pastor” in Ephesians 4:11. The word translated “elders” in Acts 20:17 is from “presbuteros” from which we get “Presbyterian” and “Presbytery.”

Also note 1 Timothy 5:17 defines for us the man who serves in the position that we commonly call the pastor of the local church as one of the elders who labors in the word and doctrine. He is an elder but more than that he is also one that labors in the word and doctrine. Also, the double honor means that he should rightfully be supported financially for his labors in the word (i.e. studying the word to learn it) and doctrine (laboring to put messages together to teach it).

“¹⁷Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. ¹⁸For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward. “

As we study these passages in their contexts, we come to a conclusion:

• The term “elder” refers to the man who fills the position of leadership in a local church as one of a number of elders.
• These men (the elders) corporately have the job of feeding (shepherding, pastoring) the local church.
• These men are to be supported financially if possible by the local church that they serve.
  

The apostle actually defines three offices in a local church. In Philippians 1:1 the word is “Bishops (overseer), deacons, and saints.” He defines the office of the deacons in 1 Timothy Chapter 3. The difference is that the Bishops (elders) provide oversight and teaching to the local church (as Peter instructs them in 1 Peter 5:2) while the deacons (who can be either men or women) provide more of the care taking service to the local church.

Below is an excerpt from our constitution regarding ordination. We propose to offer a certification of completion or a diploma to those who have finished the entire curriculum and have passed examination by an advisory board (or ordination committee) to verify their readiness to minister the Word and be honoring to the Lord in doing so. The entire curriculum (scope and sequence) is available as a separate document upon request.

For informational purposes, we present below the procedures in the Berean Bible Church constitution regarding ordination. We see this being used primarily for someone going into a mission position whereby he needs the credibility of having graduated from a genuine Bible curriculum that prepares him for the work. In actual practice, a man is ordained to preach when he is called by a local church to do so.

ARTICLE VIII: ORDINATION AND SEAL

Section 1: Purpose.

We believe from time to time spiritual men will be called out from among us to proclaim the gospel of the grace of God, and such men shall have a hearty endorsement and cooperation of this congregation. Such men may be given ordination as a commission to preach, teach, and to administer the affairs of the ministry of the gospel.

Section 2: Method.

The ordination procedure shall be by a majority vote of the Board of Elders. Provided they are convinced that the candidate has suitable character and training and that their judgment is based upon actual experience of the candidate in preaching the gospel. The experience shall cover a period of not less than one (1) year of public preaching or teaching. The Board shall appoint an ordination counsel who shall examine the individual as to doctrinal position.

Class Room

Students can submit questions that they have during the course of the week in their personal studies. The questions will be addressed during the next weekly Zoom meetings.

Contact Us

We can be reached by email at: Contact@BereanBibleChurch.com. By phone: Mike 715-225-9292.

Tentative Quarterly Calendar

* Denotes study guides available upon request. Contact at www.BereanBibleChurch .com.

Study Guides Available

Course	Chapters	Quarter
Hebrews	13	Q1
Genesis (From Adam to Abraham	12	Q2
Book of Daniel	12	Q3
Matthew’s Gospel	28	Q4 & Q5
Acts (Part 1)	12	Q6
Romans (Part 1 – Chapters 1 thru 8)	8	Q7
Romans (Part 2 – Chapters 9 thru 11)	3	“
Romans (Part 3 – Chapters 12 thru 16)	5	“
1 Corinthians	16	Q8
2 Corinthians	13	Q9
Galatians	6	Q10
Ephesians	6	“
Colossians	4	Q11
1 Timothy	4	“
2 Timothy	4	“
The Revelation	22	Q12 & Q13
How to Study the Bible	audit	Q1
You and Your Creator	audit	Resource
Leadership and Teamwork in the Body of Christ	audit	Resource
	168	3.5 years estimated total time

The time requirement at the rate of one chapter per week would be about 3 years and 3 months.
The Cost for Study Guides is approximately $15.00 each. The published study guides can also be purchased through the MJTiry.com web site or from Amazon. Unpublished study guides are available in comb bound format