View source for Institut Biblique Bethel

Institut biblique Béthel in Sherbrooke, Québec, was founded in 1948 and functioned under this name until 1993 when it was turned over to Word of Life International with headquarters in Schroon Lake, New York. The school continues to operate today under the name of Parole de Vie-Béthel (Word of Life-Bethel).

Although an interdenominational effort from the outset, nonetheless five of the institute's six directors were from Brethren assemblies. These include Walter Angst, Dr. Sheldon Bard, Norman Buchanan, Dr. Homer Payne and Richard Strout. Dr. Arthur C. Hill, M.D., from Grace Chapel in Sherbrooke, was its first chairman of the board and served in that capacity for many years. Many of its staff and faculty came from francophone assemblies around the province.

The school was a key player in the growing evangelization of the province, not only by its training of leaders but also via the printed page. It was while on staff, beginning in 1950, that Norman Buchanan conceived the idea of a printing department for the school, an idea that eventually resulted in the birth of Publications Chrétiennes upon his move to Cap-de-la-Madeleine in 1957. Then, too, the school was headquarters for the dissemination and correction of the French-language Emmaus Bible correspondence courses, especially in connection with the Every Home Crusade of the 1950s and Sermons from Science at Expo ’67. 

Its history appears in ''Bethel's Story : A Light in a Dark Place'' compiled by Margaret Payne and published by the school.

Richard Strout
September 2018