To offer Christian education in vernacular has been a life-long dream of many of our forefathers. The territory of Slovakia has an exciting and troublesome past. It´s pioneer missionaries, St. Cyril and St. Methodius, already in 9^th century brought not only written alphabet, they also introduced the Bible and the liturgy in vernacular. All-the-more, they launched a school of higher Christian education for the Slavs. The school, however, did not thrive for long due to the opposition of political power after the death of the two missionaries. Centuries later, after the first glimpses of Post-Reformation religious freedom, and all-the-more in the religious and political turbulences in mid-19th century, the perennial dream of spreading the good news of Jesus Christ via Christian schools was resurrected. The dream, however, could not take place due to various forms of oppression – be it the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, the Third Reich, or the long-reigning communist regime. Our generation is the first one, after many decades, granted freedom to proclaim the gospel freely and to equip lay leaders to be missionaries of Christ. To miss this window of opportunity would be more than irresponsible. We welcome and employ this opportunity, transferring it to the place where all generations can learn about the love of God and how to serve Him, the place originally called the Bible School, now the Center for Christian Education.

The launching of the Bible School dates back to 1998 when it first offered a weekend study program in Bible and Christian elementary teaching. Its primary purpose was to provide nurturing Christian education for those who sensed the inadequacy of their knowledge in their Christian roots. The Bible School education portfolio soon included basics in social work and pastoral care. The Bible School outgrew its initial purpose and developed into the Center for Christian Education and today we are experiencing our dream-come-true as have the opportunity to provide Christian-based education in Slovakia and Eastern Europe, from preschool to elementary and middle school, high school, and even college and university level programs. Yet three of the core programs of the original Bible School are continuously nurturing the lay ministry of the Slovak Christians, namely:

• Basic biblical training: a two-year long distance program for lay people, focusing on the Bible, Christian history, Systematic theology and Practical theology.
• BeFriender ministry – one-year long distance program of Christian pastoral care and counseling for lay people enabling them to establish various grief support groups.
• Timothy – two-year long distance training for teenagers – future youth work coordinators, focusing on Bible, congregation and youth ministry. Special focus is on fellowship, practical in-field training and cooperation with students´ congregations.

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