An Update on St. Barnabas Bible School

I’m sure that at least some of you have noticed that this website, and our social media channels, have been pretty-much silent since our summer conference back in May. The time has come to give something of an update on the state of St. Barnabas Bible School.

The first and biggest piece of news is that Dr. Zack Kail has recently moved back to his native Pennsylvania to take up a position as the ‘Chair of Biblical Studies, Philosophy, and Ministry’ at Geneva College.

I (David) have been glad to have Zack as a co-labourer on this project, and I am sure that many of you have benefitted from his teaching at our conferences this year, in his evening classes and through his blog posts and our podcast. And though his new position is very well suited to him and I know that he will seek to serve the Lord faithfully at Geneva, I am sorry to see him go.

So where does this change leave St. Barnabas Bible School?

In the summer of 2023 we hoped we would be able to start a one-day a week bible and theology course. Though this project was met with considerable enthusiasm, it turned out that it wasn’t logistically feasible. Instead, when September 2023 came around, we set out to offer as many opportunities as we could for the church in Cyprus to grow in theological and biblical understanding.

Those who have been following our ministry closely will know that we have been running a podcast, evening classes twice a week during term time, writing articles, and running day conferences. And in each of these things we have had some measure of success, and a general satisfaction that our teaching has been good quality and beneficial to those listening.

But, addressing ourselves honestly and (not wishing to move the goal-posts) the project has not taken off in the way that we hoped. With Zack leaving, and also with significant changes coming for me and my family, it seems that St. Barnabas Bible School is reaching the end of its road.

This website will be online until November, and all the materials on it will be preserved and made available through other channels. In fact, one channel to be aware of even now is my own personal SubStack page: davidely.substack.com where I will be posting both existing material from this website and new material as I keep writing.

Conference talks will remain available on our YouTube channel, and podcast episodes will remain in all the places they already are, at least for the moment.

Though I say that St. Barnabas Bible School seems to be reaching the end of its road, at least in this current form, it should be noted that I hope to organise at least one more Saturday conference as well as some more evening classes in the Autumn of this year, so keep an eye out for news about those opportunities.

Let me take this opportunity to thank you all for your support and also to remind you that though the seeds planted by this endeavour may look small and few at this point, the Lord has promised that his word will not return to him empty, and that he often brings great fruit in surprising and unexpected ways. I will continue to watch patiently to see something of the fruit of these labours, and I hope that you would join me in doing the same.

The Lord be with you,

David Ely