Spring Trumpet2025 Trumpet
Shaping the Future
At PRBI, we continually ask ourselves crucial questions about our mission and purpose. What kind of school do we want to be? What kind of students do we hope to attract? And ultimately, what kind of graduates do we aim to send out into the world? These questions shape our vision, guide our decisions, and reinforce our commitment to Christcentred education. Looking ahead, we remain dedicated to providing a learning environment that fosters spiritual growth, academic excellence, and practical ministry skills.
A Christ-Centred Institution
At the heart of PRBI is our desire to be a Christ-centred institution. Everything we do—our teaching, mentoring, community life, and
Kim Cairns President
ministry opportunities—is rooted in Scripture and directed towards growing in Christ. We are more than an academic institution; we are also a discipleship community. Our aim is to provide an environment where students experience not just intellectual stimulation but also spiritual and personal formation. Through intentional mentoring relationships, small group interactions, and practical ministry engagement, we seek to cultivate hearts and minds that are fully devoted to Christ.
As we strive to be a place of spiritual growth, we also emphasize the importance of intellectual and practical development. We believe that deep thinking about God’s Word strengthens our faith and prepares
PRBI’s Vision for Discipleship and Growth
us to engage the world with wisdom and grace. Our curriculum is designed to challenge students intellectually while grounding them in biblical truth. Real-world ministry experience enhances classroom learning, helping students put their faith into action.
The Students We Seek
A school’s identity is shaped not only by its faculty and leadership, but also by the students who walk through its doors. We seek students who are eager to grow in their faith, who are teachable and who are willing to be challenged. PRBI is not just for those who already have everything figured out, it is also for those who desire to be shaped by God, who are open to transformation, and who are hungry to learn.
The students we seek recognize that their time at PRBI is an opportunity to deepen their relationship with Christ while being equipped for future ministry and personal growth. They come with a willingness to wrestle with tough questions, to engage in community, and to be stretched beyond their comfort zones. They understand that learning at PRBI is not passive, but an active process that involves studying Scripture, engaging in deep discussions, and applying biblical principles in reallife settings.
The Graduates We Send
Our ultimate goal is to send out graduates who are spiritually mature, confident in their identity in Christ, and equipped to make disciples. The time students spend at PRBI is not
an end in itself; it is preparation for a lifetime of service. Whether they go on to serve in full-time ministry, the marketplace, missions, or their local church, we want our graduates to be ready to impact the world for Christ.
PRBI graduates understand the importance of both knowledge and action. Biblical truth is not their only area of expertise; they are encouraged to live it out. Our graduates can disciple others, lead in ministry, and engage the world with a biblical perspective. Our aim is to send them out from PRBI with a strong theological base, hands-on ministry experience, and a fervent love for God and His church.
Looking Ahead
As we move forward, we remain committed to our mission of Christ-
centred education, discipleship, and ministry training. PRBI is more than a place of learning; it is a launching pad for future leaders, servants, and disciple-makers. The questions we ask about our identity, our students, and our graduates are not just theoretical—they are foundational to who we are and who we are becoming as a school.
We invite your prayers, partnership, and continued support of God’s work at PRBI. As we pursue this vision, we trust that He will continue to raise up students who are eager to learn, ready to grow, and prepared to make an impact for His Kingdom. May PRBI always be a place where Christ is at the centre, where faith is deepened, and where lives are transformed for His glory!
College News
We have had a wonderful school year, not to mention a full one! There is a lot to update you on, which I will do briefly, and then I want to focus on our students’ experiences.
Giving has been tremendous. Over $115,000 was donated toward our February Campaign, exceeding the goal by $40,000. Learning for Life and the Alumni Choir both boast strong enrollment. Youth Alert was also sold out!
In the midst of all of this, the Lord has been faithful to our students. What follows is transcribed audio from a testimony video that we filmed. It will give you a glimpse into what Jesus is doing in the lives of students. May their words bless you and inspire you to encourage someone you know to consider a year at PRBI.
Why come to PRBI?
“You get as much free coffee as you want every day!”
“You get to build a strong sense of community and learn more about yourself and Jesus.”
“You get to have those amazing latenight conversations in the dorm with all of your friends.”
Jeremy Johnston Vice President
“You make friends with other believers who you can take from this place, and they’ll be your friends for life.”
“You get to know friends who have similar ways of life as you, and also grow in your relationship with Christ with them.”
“You get to build a strong sense of community and learn more about yourself and Jesus.”
“You get to learn to play as a Christian sports team, showing the love of Jesus to those on the court.”
How has PRBI Changed your life?
“Before PRBI, I was on my way out of the faith. I was done with God, Jesus, and the church. But I came to PRBI, and God essentially grabbed me by the collar of my shirt because I wasn’t going to notice Him any other way. He said, ‘Listen to me. I’m trying to help you.’ He brought me back to Him, and that’s how PRBI has changed my life.”
“Coming to PRBI has renewed my relationship with Him. I’ve rekindled the fire that I lost in my teenage years when I grew up hearing His name, but it was mostly used as a cuss word in high school. Now, it’s become a sense of security. It’s become a
stronghold that I can rely on instead of just seeing it as another name. The friends that I’ve made at PRBI, I will know for the rest of my life. I’ve never made better relationships with people. I’ve never forged such intimate friendships, and the people here are ones I could trust with my life. They would have my back with whatever help I needed, whatever problem I had.”
“I went from, before PRBI, being the know-it-all Sunday School student, the ace memorizer at camp, to realizing at PRBI that there’s so much more to Christianity than just the facts. It was all in my head. PRBI really showed me the value of understanding why I believe what I believe, and all that knowledge slowly started trickling down from my head to my heart. I can’t be more blessed to understand the value of knowing my Saviour, my best friend, in a deeper way than just through lessons themselves.”
“Through strong relationships with my friends, professors, and mentors, I have been able to grow in my faith in ways I never imagined. Every day, I am becoming more confident in where my salvation truly lies. I am no longer living for others’ expectations but embracing my faith as my own.”
“PRBI has helped me grow in my leadership abilities. Now, as I prepare to move beyond PRBI into the next stage of my life in ministry, I feel as ready as I can be, and PRBI deserves a lot of credit for that.”
“PRBI has helped me see the ways I need to change, the different problems I have, and the character flaws I need to work on. Just recognizing that those are problems is one thing, but having a great community to grow from has made the difference. Being able to take small steps at a time has helped me grow more and more and strengthen my relationship with Christ. It’s a wonderful place for all these things.”
“PRBI has changed my life in ways that I would’ve never expected. I needed to change things as simple as just remembering to spend time in the Word of God, to dig into my Bible, and to try to understand what it’s trying to tell me. Things like that—really core things—that before coming to PRBI, I kind of forgot about or put on the back burner.”
“PRBI has changed my life in ways that I did not envision when I first came here. The friendships I have forged are stronger because they are built on a foundation of Jesus Christ.”
These testimonies are just a small glimpse into the impact PRBI is having in the lives of students. As students grow in their faith, build lasting relationships, and step into their calling, we are grateful for God’s faithfulness and for the generous support that makes this possible. Thank you for being part of this journey. Please pray for our students as they wrap up their year.
Both And
If you are a farmer, then you probably know what it means if someone asks whether you prefer your tractor green or red. If you follow provincial politics, you understand what it means to vote blue or orange. I still recall some awkward moments in restaurants as a kid when the waitress asked my dad, “Is Coke okay?” and he responded strongly that they would only stay in business if they started serving Pepsi. In matters large and small, people have found a way to be polarized when it comes to their preferences – and seemingly more today than ever before.
It is into this space that I recently challenged the teens attending our Youth Alert weekend to consider a theological “both, and.” The God we worship is both power and person –
force and face.
This line of thinking began for me several years ago when I was teaching about the prophet Elijah’s encounter with 450 prophets of Ba’al on Mt. Carmel in 1 Kings 18. Despite crying out to it, “cut[ting] themselves with swords and lances until the blood gushed out over them” (1 Ki 18:28, NRSV), the multitude received “no voice, no answer, and no response” (v. 29). As many Sunday school kids will no doubt recall, God’s response to Elijah was very different. After arranging all the pieces of an altar built in the name of the LORD, it took but two sentences to elicit fire from heaven which “consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and even licked up the water that was in the trench” (v. 38).
The LORD provided both the fire and later the rain that the so-called storm god simply could not.
Yet there is a surprising twist to Elijah’s story. For all the fire and fury on the mountain, it did little to dislodge the sinful resolve buried in Queen Jezebel’s heart. She immediately sent a messenger to Elijah, vowing to take his own life just as he had been responsible for taking the lives of her many prophets (1 Ki 19:2). The twist is not really in Jezebel’s response but in Elijah’s. For all the violence he commanded on behalf of the LORD, it was Jezebel’s voice that rattled around in his head and sent him fleeing for his life (v. 3). So began a long and frantic journey as Elijah ran in stages all the way from Mt. Carmel to Mt. Horeb. Frantic though
it was, it was marked by God’s care and attentiveness to provide Elijah with rest and sustenance during his escape.
How I wish we had some video footage of Elijah’s arrival at Mt. Horeb. How I wish we could make out in a few pixelated frames a short sentence scratched into the wall of the cave he entered: “Moses was here.” There is no way to know for sure if it was the famous cleft of the rock of Exodus 33:22, but we do know that Mt. Horeb was in fact the Mt. Sinai of old. This was indeed the Mount of the LORD.
Elijah’s experience on Mt. Horeb was pointedly and specifically different than on Mt. Carmel. Though we might quickly skip to the familiar
Scott Butler Faculty
portion about the earthquake and fire, notice how that section is framed. First, in 1 Kings 19:9, “the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’” (NASB). Then, the exact same question is again repeated in verse 13. God makes a point of demonstrating that He is not found in the strong wind, earthquake, or fire, but in the contrasting silence from which He spoke to Elijah. He both speaks, and listens. To the same question, repeated verbatim on both sides of God’s self-revelation, Elijah twice shares the exhausted frustration he carries at being singularly devoted to God and hunted for his life.
On Mt. Carmel, the LORD revealed Himself in the unmistakable natural phenomena of the storm. When Elijah was facing a storm of his own, God met him as a person with a voice and an ear. Our God is both power and person, both force and face.
Do you remember who Jesus met and spoke with on the Mount of Transfiguration? It was a chilling experience when I realized that the story of Jesus’ transfiguration was not only a revelation but a reunion! Atop that mountain, as Jesus’ face shone like the sun (Mt 17:2) and “His clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning” (Lk 9:29), He was joined by Moses and Elijah. These men had been to the mountain
retreat before at key moments in their lives when God met with them in power and person. Here, so many centuries later, they joined Him again to see His shining face and hear His determined voice.
It is one thing to realize, as Peter, James, and John somehow did, that their Bible story heroes were standing in their midst. It is another to realize that the man they had been eating fish with all this time was God! But Moses and Elijah knew. They knew because they had been with Him before and recognized His face and His voice.
It remains my sincere hope and prayer for all the teens at Youth Alert that they meet the God of the mountain. And that they know and experience the God who showed up in force on Mt. Carmel. And that in His wisdom and by His miraculous intervention they too could have their focus turn away from figments and fixations that promise to provide but only end up injuring. I pray that they know the God who spoke and listened on Mt. Horeb – and that in His loving kindness He finds them when they are exhausted and anxious and sets their feet back under them for the journey ahead. And I pray that, maybe here at PRBI, they encounter the glorified Christ in ways that transfigure their lives, energize their churches, and impact their world.
Graduation 2025
PERFORMING ARTS SHOWCASE
APRIL 11 OR 13
SPRING TOUR APRIL 27 - MAY 4
ADMISSIONS OPEN HOUSE JUNE 6
MONTHLY GIVING
BE A PRAYER PARTNER
LEGACY
REFER A STUDENT
Peace River Bible Institute is recognized as a degree-granting Bible College by the Province of Alberta. Building on Christ as our foundation, PRBI values Biblical Training, Authentic Relationships, Kingdom Service, and Strategic Partnerships. Our vision is that every student encounters Christ in ways that transform their life, energize their church, and impact their world. We are a Bible College for Life!
For more information on our Mission, Vision, and Values, go to www.prbi.edu.
you can now give via etransfer. Visit www.prbi.edu/etransfer for more info.
