About C-BTE

Welcome to The Foothills! C-BTE means church-based theological education. We are a member of a world-wide community of churches who are striving to reclaim the biblical mandate to train and equip our people for the work of the ministry in accordance with Ephesians 4:11. The C-BTE process is like an adventure-some journey with a number of stages. This page introduces you to the first three stages of the process. We cordially invite you to join us!

History of the Movement


The epicenter of the C-BTE movement is the Oakwood Road Church in Ames, Iowa. The person whom God has used to shape and propel this movement is Jeff Reed, Senior Pastor of the Oakwood Road Church.

The C-BTE concept began taking shape in the late 1970s. Since then, it has been gathering momentum under the hand of God. It presently involves 40-some churches in the United States and 14 major groups of churches internationally. In particular, under the leadership of one of our supported missionaries, C-BTE is being practiced among a burgeoning community of house churches in South Asia. The global outreach of The Foothills has contributed significantly to the success of this work.

Five Pillars of the C-BTE Process


1. That the Pauline model should be followed for establishing believers, families, and churches.
2. That the Pauline model should be followed for training and equipping leaders and entrusting them with ministry responsibility.
3. That theological education and ministry preparation should be church-based.
4. That doing theology is a lifelong project in which every believer should be engaged.
5. That every believer should be established in the essential principles of the Christian faith.

Local Embodiment


The local embodiment of C-BTE for adult learners is the Daystar Institute of Biblical Theology & Leadership Development. Click here or additional information concerning Daystar Institute.

Biblical Basis


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As illustrated in the above figure, in Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus delivered His powerful Great
Commission mandate, “Make disciples... teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you...” The preaching and teaching of the apostles flow from this mandate. The preaching of the apostles is called the kerygma, and the teaching of the apostles is called the didache. Examples of the kerygma are found in the narrative of Acts, and the content of the didache is distributed through the Epistles. The kerygma and the didache are normative for the church. That is, they are to be faithfully proclaimed, taught by the church, and practiced by all Christians from one generation of believers to the next.

In Ephesians 4:11, Paul charged that it was the responsibility of the pastors of a church to train and equip the people and then entrust them with ministry responsibility. Models of entrusting are presented by...

Summary of the Process


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At The Foothills, we offer a very strategic and intentional process for helping believers grow toward Christ-likeness and spiritual maturity. The process is illustrated in the above figure. It consists of three levels of growth opportunities each of which entail learning opportunities and parallel ministry opportunities.

Level 1 growth opportunities include learning opportunities that are foundational and require a minimal amount of outside work coupled with ministry opportunities that entail low levels of commitment and responsibility.

Level 2 growth opportunities consist of learning opportunities that are intermediate in nature and require some outside work coupled with ministry opportunities that entail moderate levels of commitment and responsibility.

Level 3 growth opportunities consist of advanced learning opportunities that require a large amount of outside work coupled with ministry opportunities that entail high levels of commitment and responsibility.

Ordered Discipleship Process


Picking up on the journey theme featured in our church logo, the ordered discipleship process we have laid out is like a journey consisting of three stages. Each of the stages incorporates learning experiences and growth opportunities at various levels as follows:

Stage One consists of three learning experiences that are essential for every believer.

In all three of these courses we seek to experience life transformation in the form of significant wisdom-based breakthroughs impacting values, attitudes, beliefs, and, thereby, behaviors.

Stage Two consists of two learning experiences that build upon and complement those of Stage One.

Stage Three consists of four Level 3 learning experiences which are foundational to doing ministry at The Foothills.

Transformational Learning Experiences


We describe the learning experiences included in Stages One, Two, and Three as “transformational” in the sense that we endeavor to bring about much more than mere transfer of knowledge. Each of the learning experiences is designed to achieve positive life change in terms of spiritual formation and development of Christian character.

Lifelong Learning


The ordered discipleship process outlined above is how the journey begins. Your leaders at
The Foothills endeavor to model the principle and the spirit of lifelong learning. In our
pursuit of lifelong learning, we define doing theology as the act of deriving theological
principles from Scripture through proper hermeneutical procedure and skillfully applying
those principles to the practical issues of life and ministry in community and in culture.
Moreover, we define theological education as the discipleship process by which those who
have embraced Jesus Christ as Savior and have placed themselves under His authority as
Lord acquire skill in doing theology. The scope and rigor of theological education required by
a disciple of Christ is a function of his or her ministry identity, defined as the unique profile
of talents and endowments that determine the particular set of ministry arenas in which he or
she can perform with great power, impact, and fruitfulness. Theology as habitus is the
desired outcome of theological education whereby the disciple habitually applies theological
principles to all aspects of life and ministry, and he or she thereby walks in the way of Christ
and the apostles – that is, the way of wisdom. Click here for more information concerning a
Pauline template for theological education.

 

12504 Candelaria Road NE
Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA 87112

505-294-0016