Faithful since 1991.
From a small beginning in Korosten to a college in Kyiv that trained leaders from many denominations and countries.
Founded in Korosten
St. James Bible Institute was founded in May 1991 in Korosten, in what was then the USSR — at the very moment the doors to Bible education were opening.
Opening in Kyiv
In August 1992 the college opened in Kyiv, Ukraine, offering two years of intensive Christian ministry training for pastors, teachers, educators and leaders.
An international faculty
Teachers, professors and ministers from the United States, Canada and Europe — drawn from a wide array of churches and para-church organizations — taught at St. James.
Opening the door to women
St. James was the first Christian college in Ukraine to allow women to enroll, with students coming from many denominations and countries.
Built with the wider church
The school partnered with Church of the Highlands, Precept Ministries International, CoMission, Campus Crusade for Christ, Billy Graham Crusades and Every Home for Christ, among many other missionary and Christian organizations.
The alumni project
A return to Kyiv began the work of reconnecting with graduates — visiting churches, meeting pastors and gathering the stories of what God has done since graduation.
Changing the mission field to a mission force.
Ukraine was once seen as a mission field. Our conviction was that its own believers would become the mission force.
That is exactly what our graduates have done — returning to their towns, planting churches across borders, teaching in seminaries and serving in congregations from Minsk to western Ukraine.
See where they are nowPaul Ilyin Memorial
A slideshow remembering Paul Ilyin.