HISTORY

The foundation for Horizon Education Network was laid in the mid-1990s through the ministry of the Spanish-speaking missionaries of the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism (ABWE). These missionaries realized that each theological school in the area possessed unique resources and that the quality of theological education could be enhanced if the schools would work together and share these resources. They began holding a series of weeklong summits to strategize about how seminaries could cooperate through the sharing of curriculum and faculty. The result was the founding of the Universidad Bautista Internacional de Estudio Teológicos (UBIET). After a few years, the group changed its name to International Baptist University (IBU) to allow for schools beyond the Spanish speaking world to join in this vision.

The early 2000s marked a change in the trajectory of the organization. It began by adopting the mission and purpose of training Christian workers around the world within their own language and culture for effective ministry. In 2003, IBU joined the Learning Alliance founded by Moody Bible Institute along with the Greater European Mission and Missionary Aviation Fellowship. In addition to developing a shared curriculum, the Learning Alliance promoted a Kingdom mindset focused on accomplishing the mission of training leaders for Christ’s church around the world. A few years later, IBU began using a new open-source learning management system called Moodle to host courses. This multilingual platform enabled the organization to develop an adaptable resource-sharing network, allowing the mission to be more easily accomplished. Around the same time, IBU changed its name to Horizon International Schools in an effort to facilitate operations and meet accreditation standards in other countries.

For nearly a decade, Horizon International Schools grew in its capacity to partner with theological schools, assisting them in curriculum, administrative, and faculty development. During this time, Horizon recognized the strategic value of helping these schools to work together to achieve their missions. As a result, Horizon International Schools became Horizon Education Network in 2015 and registered as a non-profit organization with missionaries seconded from several mission agencies. Today, Horizon continues to support theological schools and organizations by developing and sharing resources and tools. Through association with other theological education organizations, Horizon continues to partner with seminaries across the globe, helping them to develop more effective approaches to the training of pastors and leaders for the church. In all of its efforts, Horizon continues to fulfill its purpose of equipping ministry leaders for global service.