Judson Education Center, aka Judson Bible College (JECBC), was formerly known as Burmese Bible School (BBS). BBS was founded in 2008 under the auspices of Mission for Christ, in partnership with the Wesleyan Clergy Educational program (Central New York District of the Wesleyan Church) in Syracuse, NY, to train and equip the laity for church planting and leadership development. BBS initially operated its centers as training centers from July 2008 to February 2013 and issued the students a Certificate in Ministerial Studies of Completion upon the successful completion of their respective (Ministerial Preparation; Education and Clergy Development of The Wesleyan Church) courses.
When Dr. Thuam Cin Khai served as principal of the school (March 1, 2009 - Present), certificate-level courses (for licensed ministers) were upgraded to diploma-level courses by introducing a carefully designed curriculum that met the requirements for a diploma (for ordination). BBS was renamed Judson Education Center (JEC), aka Judson Bible College (JBC), on March 1, 2013, thereby becoming a nonprofit and charitable religious and educational entity following its release from and secession from the Wesleyan Church. JECBC moved its central office from New York to Maryland. Judson Bible College is named after the first American missionary to Burma, Adoniram Judson, who directly translated the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts of the Holy Bible into Burmese and completed the English-Burmese-English Dictionary for the people of Myanmar.
JECBC is committed to providing a quality education to Myanmar immigrants in the United States and around the world through pedagogy: traditional, onsite, campus, and innovative church-based education; andragogy: self-directed, blended, adult, and continuing distance and onsite learning; synagogue; and competency-based programs. JEC is currently focused on diaspora multiethnic groups from Myanmar who have resettled in various states in the United States as refugees and asylum seekers. In the long term, our enrollees will not be limited to Myanmar immigrants; we will incorporate other communities, regardless of ethnicity. Currently, JECBC campuses are located in immigrant population centers in the United States and Malaysia.
On July 14, 2019, after some discussion with JBC's Founding President, Chief Executive Officer, and Board, its representative, Dr. Thuam Cin Khai, authorized the Formation of Judson Bible College Malaysia (JBCM) to carry on the same spirit and vision of JBC USA. The founding leaders of JBCM are the late Michael Moey (Kuala Lumpur International Friends Fellowship, KLIFF) and Mung Khat (Malaysia Siyin Church, MSC). JBCM is run by a Board of migrant workers, refugees, and local evangelical Christians. JBC Myanmar is launching a Certificate in Theological Studies and English Language Learner (ELL) Program in partnership with the Theological Education Department of Siyin Region Baptist Association, Myanmar Baptist Churches USA, and Judson Education Center, in partnership with Penn Foster High School, and Judson Education Center, aka Judson Bible College, as the contextualization partner of Kairos University, from June 2023.
