New Hope Bible Institute was founded in the Fall of 2002. My sister, Rachel Sugimoto, and I had just left our assignments with Dayspring University, a school located in Northern California. Rachel was serving as an instructor and I as the Dean of Academics. After leaving Dayspring, the Lord began to put a burden in both of our hearts to start a school. The Lord continued for the next few months, prompting us to start a school. The decision to commence this project came in a most unusual setting.
We were in the parking lot of Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier after attending a relative’s funeral, when it all came together. I turned to my sister Rachel and said, “Why don’t we start a school?” She looked at me and replied, “Yes, let’s start a school!” That’s where the idea for a school was birthed.
There were two main reasons why we felt led to start a school. First of all, our own organization did not have a school and we felt God could use this school to meet this need. Secondly, we wanted a school for people who could not afford to attend a four year program.
It is our desire that God will use this institute to train men and women of God to serve their generation. The Bible says, “The harvest is ripe, but the laborers are few” (Matthew 9:37). We want to do our part to prepare laborers to reach that harvest.
We pursued accreditation because we wanted to be able to grant Associate and Bachelor level degrees to students who qualified for this recognition. We are now fully accredited with National Accrediting Agency of private Theological Institutions since May 23, 2014 and also recognized with the State of California BPPE as a religious organization lawfully operating as a nonprofit religious corporation that offers degrees within the scope of our beliefs and practices of our church. Being accredited with NAAPTI affords the student opportunity to transfer their credits to another school for post graduate study to earn a Master’s or Doctorate Degree.
Finally, this school belongs to the Lord. Any success that comes its way, rest assured, all the glory will go to the Lord. My sister and I are just servants of the Lord.
In the cause that counts,
Rev. Samuel C. Fillon,
Founder NHBC