Year of Jubilee
The year of Jubilee in days of old was a year of celebration, renewal, and restoration (Lev. 25). This year—2025—is jubilee year for Tennessee Bible College. The Lord has blessed us to the half-century mark and with thanksgiving we shall rejoice. A settling of debt was part of jubilee, but by the Lord’s blessing the college was able to do that a long time ago.
In the beginning of 1975, TBC came to life as a night school to enrich, teach, and train preachers. Malcolm Hill was the founding president who brought years of experience in the field of Gospel preaching and Christian education to the new college. He oversaw the founding and development to the 1978 transition into a full-time college of Christian higher education. It was his vision to offer Christian education to anyone desiring to study. “No worthy student will be turned away.” He and many others in the early years were determined by the blessings of Almighty God to develop a program of Bible study without any government money. It was a fierce independence so that education could be pure and free from outside influences of unbelief—a navigational course set and maintained to this day.
By 1995 the College had a building and a beautiful campus. Soon after the completion of the building, TBC was debt free, a status maintained to this writing. The stated goal has always been to train men to preach the gospel of Christ. To train men, women, boys, and girls to be Bible teachers and Christian workers was and continues to be reason for existence.
Doors have been opened that no one could have imagined: mission work all around the world, books, publications, press coverage across Tennessee, around the country and on a couple of occasions internationally. Teaching opportunities in Korea, Russia, China, Africa, the Caribbean in addition to at home—stateside—have been opened to instructors and students from TBC. Doors opened that no man could open and no man could close (Rev. 3:8), but with the opened doors have come many adversaries (I Cor. 16:9).
Back in 1975 no one could have imagined the technology of today. One year after the TBC building was opened, it had to be rewired for networking computers. By 2010 at the close of Malcolm Hill’s tenure the charge was given to all faculty and staff to have a fully operational online degree program. Today, not only is it available, but also a live interactional, digital classroom opens to world to TBC. How many souls won only the Father knows.
This year beginning with RENEW and through all programs we will use only TBC alumni. We begin with RENEW and hope to end with a very special celebration to be announced later.
It has been my blessing and greatest challenge to lead the College for the past 15 years, an experience like I could have never imagined. The Lord has blessed and continues to bless to this good day. What does the future hold? No one can know. My hope and prayer is all done will be to the glory of God and the increase of the great kingdom of Christ.
Thank you to all who have given so much to the work of Christian higher education. As we say here in Tennessee, the door is open, welcome mat out, come see us!
David Hill
Tennessee Bible College
President
