Justin Reed sits at Vanilla Bean Baking Company studying his Bible using the Bible Correspondence Course run by Mt. Leo Church of Christ.
He is one of 330,401 students since the program began in 1970 with a mission to spread the gospel with simple lessons sent through the mail.
Justin says it’s a nice overview of different biblical topics. For him, the lessons are a nice refresher as the information isn’t new to him. In fact, when he worked for a Christian bookstore in Murfreesboro, he sold religious literature but had never taken the course before.
“The great thing is they are written in a way that explains things to somebody who is unfamiliar with the passage,” said Justin. “It’s information the believer already knows, but the author does not take for granted that the person already knows it. For example, I just did one on patriarchs and it has in a box what patriarch means and we study Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
Each lesson, sent three at a time to a student, includes readings and related questions that students fill out and return to the church. Once the lessons are returned and graded, volunteers like Jeanne Dickson, Mt. Leo’s secretary, fold three more lessons into an envelope for the mail.
The free course is 30 lessons total and those who finish it receive a completion certificate.
“It’s enjoyable,” said Jeanne, who’s been grading for over 30 years now. “I like to make sure students have the right answers. There is not a time limit and I tell them to take their time and study it.”
Jeanne said one of the most commonly missed questions is: How many times did the children of Israel walked around the walls of Jericho?
“The most common answer is six or seven, so on that one I’ll write the correct answer 13 in the blank,” said Jeanne. “Then I explain, one time each day for six days equals six and on the seventh day they marched seven times so six plus seven equals 13.”
Today, students have come from all 50 states, 31 countries and nearly every prison system. Since its inception, 31,264 have graduated from the program. Jeanne shared that recently, a student who took the course in the late 1990s, reenrolled.
“This lady hadn’t taken them in 20 years and she ran across the old papers and asked if she could finish it so we sent her the lessons and she did,” said Jeanne.
Despite the fact a person can sign up for the Bible Correspondence Course online, the method of correspondence between Mt. Leo’s Bible class and world has not changed. The program remains lessons sent through the mail, return envelope included.
“I like the format and I don’t think going electronic would be as effective because they grade it and send it back,” said Justin. “They are already pre-punched for you to put in a binder to keep and look back at.”
If you are interested in participating, contact Mt. Leo Church of Christ at 473-5812 or enroll online at www.tnchurchofchrist.org/BCC_form.html.
“Anybody can use them if they are willing, but it does you no good if you don’t open the envelope,” said Justin. “The answers can all be found in the Bible.”
