About BICS

The BICS Mission

For the past thirty-five years the focus of BICS has been to assist emerging adults in the acquisition of wisdom through lifelong learning and ordered living. At the heart of the BICS mission are the twin turbines of growth in the Lord—the promises of God and His indwelling Holy Spirit. At the surface, BICS operates essentially within an educational model, but beneath the waterline there is the propulsion of discipleship within community.

Statistically, large numbers of evangelical youth are leaving the church after high school; some estimates are as high as 80%. While driven by the models and systems of cultural success, these young people will likely be lost for leadership in the church. Can we afford to lose this generation as our culture undergoes powerful philosophical changes under our feet?

Behind the information technology that powers the teenage experience are people created in the image of God. BICS wants to challenge those young hearts to find significance in the person of Christ rather than the power of self. To do that, we think, is to engage them in real-time relationships, the mentoring model of the New Testament.

Thus, we not only teach but train in basic disciplines of wisdom-based living. We invest in a dynamic community experience. We travel together. We have fun together. We pray together. We wrestle through problems. And we are conscious that our efforts, to be effective, must be informed by principled thinking. To that end we try to be vigilant in our submission to the Word of God, written and incarnate, across the spectrum of life together.

While BICS is not a church, it is also more than a school. Between those two paradigms the Institute seeks to address the basic needs of young people. As they emerge into adult life, BICS points them to the principles of wisdom-based living, to reinforce, not replace, the impulses of the Christian home and the community of faith.

BICS integrates with the life of Hope Church in Lenox, a significant model of worship and service. The Church welcomes our students, offers them venues for ministry involvement and assessment, allows them the use of the facilities, “adopts” them into their families, and benefits them through the pastoral staff who teach at BICS.

Many students are taking a “gap year” after high school graduation. For the maturing believer it makes sense to spend nine months immersed in spiritual formation, developing a biblical worldview – with a 14-day Bible lands travel experience as the capstone of learning!