BETHEL BIBLE COLLEGE OF THE CARIBBEAN-JAMAICA

The first educational endeavour of the New Testament Church of God in Jamaica was the founding of three (3) grammar schools for underprivileged children by Rev. F. I. Thibodeau, a Canadian visitor to the island in 1943. In 1944, one (1) of these schools developed into a Bible Training School under the direction of Thibodeau’s successor, David L. Lemons. The school was called the Evangelical Institute, located at Stony Hill. In 1953 the property at Stony Hill was sold under the name of Jamaica School of Theology.  The school was then held in temporary quarters. After a while, the School relocated to Water Lane in Montego Bay, St James. In 1956 it was again relocated, this time to Windsor Castle in St. Mary, and was renamed Bethel Bible College (BBC). In 1984 the leadership of the New Testament Church of God in Jamaica took the decision to relocate the College to a more central and accessible location, so that it would be better able to serve churches and the Jamaican community in general, hence the present site at 7 Patrick Road, Mandeville.
In 2012, the Caribbean Field Director and the Caribbean Board made the decision that all the theological institutions within the region be integrated. Consequently, all the schools in the English-speaking Caribbean will have the name Bethel Bible College of the Caribbean; each school will add the name of its country in its appellation. As such, the local institution is now named Bethel Bible College of the Caribbean – Jamaica.
Today, Bethel Bible College of the Caribbean – Jamaica lies approximately one and a half (1½) miles north of the Mandeville town centre. It sits on three acres of land that is set for growth and development. The future beckons for this noble institution.