April 21, 2003
HBTS moves on name change, expansion
___By Ken Camp
___Texas Baptist Communications
___ABILENE--Hispanic Baptist Theological School has moved one step closer to a name change and received initial approval for a possible campus relocation.
___The Christian Education Coordinating Board, meeting April 14-15 at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, affirmed proposals to change the name of Hispanic Baptist Theological School to Baptist University of the Americas and to move toward purchasing land across I-35 from the current south San Antonio campus.
___President Albert Reyes first announced the relocation plan to HBTS supporters at a Founders' Day banquet April 10. The proposal received strong support there.
___At its meeting the next week, the coordinating board voted unanimously to approve the relocation plan and a charter change for the school, changing its name to Baptist University of the Americas. The charter change still requires approval by the Baptist General Convention of Texas at its annual session in Lubbock Nov. 10-11.
___In January, the Christian Education Coordinating Board tabled the proposed name change after several board members raised questions about use of the word "university."
___ At the April 14-15 meeting, however, some of those same board members spoke in favor of the name change.
___"I feel really positive about the name change," said Craig Voss of Bethesda Baptist Church in Burleson. "I think it speaks to the school's Hispanic constituency. I'm convinced that they have chosen the right name for the right reasons."
___Linda Brian of First Baptist Church in Amarillo noted that her initial questions about the use of the term "university" by a Bible college had been answered.
___"I think the school's witness will be empowered by this," she said. "The name fits the vision."
___Reyes briefly reiterated the rationale for the name change. The word "Baptist" is included to reflect the school's commitment to theological distinctives, he said. And "of the Americas" identifies the school with missions beyond Texas, expressing affinity with all the people of Latin America.
___Trustees chose the word "university" rather than "college" because the Spanish translations of the two terms carry different connotations than in English, he added. "Colegio" in Hispanic culture means high school or vocational school, while "universidad" means a degree-granting institution.
___The name is both "contextually and missiologically" appropriate, he emphasized. The school wants to provide an equipping platform for students who will serve in missions and ministry internationally.
___"We're not a liberal arts university with multiple schools," Reyes said. "We're a Bible college, and we plan to pursue that with everything we have."
___The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board voted Jan. 30 to give HBTS a certificate of authority to grant degrees. That board holds state authority to approve the granting of degrees by private post-secondary educational institutions.
___HBTS has achieved candidate status with the Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges, the major accrediting agency of Bible colleges in the United States.
___The Christian Education Coordinating Board also unanimously granted permission for the San Antonio school to incur up to $4.5 million in debt for a land purchase across the freeway from its existing campus. Approval for incurring the debt is contingent upon the school funding the down payment and closing costs of about $1.3 million.
___Soil problems at the current location, along with issues regarding asbestos and wiring, will necessitate either costly abatement processes or relocation within the next several years, Reyes reported.
___The 70-acre site proposed for purchase provides adequate room for future growth, Reyes said. And since it has easy pedestrian access to the existing campus by way of an elevated walkway, a complete transition to the new site could be phased in over a period of years, he added.
___The master plan calls for constructing an administration building, academic building, student services center, learning resource center, student housing and recreation fields on the new site.
___Present owners of the land have agreed to accept a 30 percent down payment and to finance the land for interest-only payments for two years, 15-year amortization after that, with the balance payable in five years.
___Reyes expressed confidence that God, "who owns the cattle on a thousand hills," will provide the resources for the relocation.
___"We have the money. I just haven't identified the donor yet," he said.
___At the Founders' Day dinner, Reyes said the school needs to raise $35,000 by May 15 for feasibility studies and environmental studies on the property. Nearly half that amount already has been raised.
___Then by July 15, HBTS needs the first $1 million toward the purchase price to close the deal. The total price is $5 million.
___The larger site is needed because the school's vision for the future far exceeds the capabilities of the current land, Reyes told the Founders' Day crowd.
___"We intend to work toward an enrollment of 1,000 students at our main campus and 7,000 students in our ACE programs by 2012," he said. "This dream is feasible with the advent of the Internet and the delivery of distance education. Given that every-other Texan will be Hispanic by 2012 and that Hispanics constitute the largest minority in our nation, we must think in bigger terms if we are going to provide leadership to reach a predominantly Hispanic state with the gospel."
___With additional reporting by Managing Editor Mark Wingfield
___
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