The Rio Grande Bible Institute, Inc. was founded in 1946 by Rev. M.C. Ehlert, a Baptist pastor and evangelist, who came to the Rio Grande Valley in 1937 to do tent evangelism. He saw a great need to train Hispanic believers and new converts because there was very little Bible training available for them.

Mr. Ehlert’s vision led to the purchase of 40 acres of land in Edinburg, Texas, the heart of the lower Rio Grande Valley. The first buildings were erected, and classes began in the spring of 1947. The school was unique in that it was bilingual, offering three years of comprehensive Bible training in either English or Spanish.

In 1955, the English Bible Institute was discontinued and the Missionary Language School (designed to teach Spanish language skills to missionaries) was begun in its place. Later the Bible Institute program was lengthened to four years, one- and two-year programs were added, and the Missionary Language School was integrated into the college program as the Intercultural Studies program.

In 1999, the Rio Grande Bible Institute (Seminario Bíblico Río Grande in Spanish) was accredited by the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE). In 2016, the Intercultural Studies program received accreditation. The online studies department has grown exponentially and in 2020 approval was granted to offer 100% of the college program online for credit. In November 2023, the first master’s level program was approved by the ABHE and online classes for the Graduate program began in January, 2024. In February, 2024, Rio Grande received reaffirmation of accreditation status for an additional ten years. The authorization to function in Texas is overseen by the Texas Workforce Commission.

Seminario Bíblico Río Grande is located in Edinburg, Texas, USA, in a region known as the Rio Grande Valley, which forms the border between Mexico and Texas. It is about 25 kilometers from the border city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico. The school is duly authorized by the US government to receive students from foreign countries.

God has prospered the school. More than 6,000 people from mainly Latin and North America have come to study. Annual enrollment in the Bible Institute averages 120 students on campus. About a dozen of those are enrolled in the Intercultural Studies program (formerly the Missionary Language School). In addition, around ninety online students are enrolled in undergraduate studies. The master’s program’s first cohort has more than a dozen students.

Throughout the past 78 years, God has blessed Rio Grande with a forty-nine acre campus and expanded the ministry beyond its perimeters. In 1983, God added the ministry of broadcasting through Radio Esperanza. In 2008, the radio station broadcasting from Roma, Texas, was acquired, with the signal reaching the lower and mid-Rio Grande Valley and deep into northern Mexico. Recently, another station with its tower in Port Isabel began broadcasting, dramatically improving coverage in the lower Rio Grande Valley.

Radio Esperanza currently broadcasts over on AM and three FM stations. Through the internet, Radio Esperanza can be heard all around the world, touching lives with God’s Word.

In 1993, Bibleville, a non-denominational Bible Conference Center near Alamo, Texas, was added to the Rio Grande family of ministries. There “Winter Texans” host Bible conferences and music concerts during the winter months and have become important prayer and ministry partners to Rio Grande Bible Ministries staff and students.

Rio Grande Global is the mission mobilization arm of Rio Grande Bible Ministries. Rio Grande Global exists to mobilize the Latin American Church for God’s global harvest. It is our vision to see the Latin American churches actively engaged in praying for world missions, sending missionaries around the world, funding the missionaries that they send, and encouraging other churches to become involved in labors towards God’s global harvest.

Rio Grande Global comes alongside local churches and pastors, teaching and encouraging them to embrace the great commission mandate to go into all the world to make disciples of all nations. It usually begins with teaching and conferences. Rio Grande then comes alongside the local churches to help them form formal missions committees, begin actively praying for and supporting missions, and finally choosing their own missionaries and preparing them for a life of service overseas.

Servant life

Most of the school’s workers and students live in apartments and houses on the same campus, thus forming an educational community. The teaching staff is made up of qualified teachers with good academic preparation. They are united in the sacred calling to invest their lives and knowledge in the future leaders of the Spanish-speaking world.

Seminary support

Seminario Bíblico Río Grande is sustained by the faithful prayers and generous support of God’s people. The ministry places its complete trust in the Lord for every need, and it is a core value that students learn to cultivate that same dependence from the very beginning of their journey.

Seminary staff rely on personally raised financial and prayer support, choosing this model over a traditional fixed salary to foster deeper community engagement and spiritual partnership. This model of ministry keeps educational costs remarkably low, making biblical training accessible to all—especially those with limited financial means. Its main purpose is: “To glorify God, serving the Hispanic church through the preparation of leaders, the edification of believers, and the evangelization of the lost. It seeks to achieve this purpose under the direction of the Holy Spirit in accordance with the missionary mandate of the infallible Word.”

Student life in the seminary

The student who comes to Seminario Bíblico Río Grande will find a school where the development of his spiritual life is considered the highest priority. The classes will challenge you academically, but the focus of them is obedience to the Word of God, and knowledge alone is not enough. Emphasis is placed on the believer’s union with Christ and the impact of this on his or her life. Leadership is approached as a “service” to the Lord and his church, which is achieved through good preparation and the constant direction of the Holy Spirit.

The student will be forced to discipline himself in the use of his time. The work program (for inmates) along with studies and coexistence in a new culture, formed by the union of people from different places, requires a unique adaptation and discipline on the part of the student. The intensity of the studies (with homework, exams, etc.), the practical service and the work program combine to demand proper discipline from the student who wants to have a good testimony in everything he or she does. does. Graduates of the school greatly appreciate the discipline they learned during their time here and which will serve them for the rest of their lives.

Student challenges

The student will be challenged to discipline himself in his personal life. The school believes that a worker for the Lord must maintain a blameless life and have high standards of behavior that apply to all. Obedience and submission even under difficult situations are seen as crucial in preparing to serve God. The rules will not always be the same as those of your family and/or church, but no student should come to Seminario Bíblico Río Grande if they are not willing to obey and be subject to the school’s rules.

Our goal is comprehensive preparation, seeking excellence in ministry, which is seen as “service” in the church for Christ our Lord.

About our Names
Question: I’ve seen Rio Grande Bible Institute, Rio Grande Bible Ministries, and Rio Grande Bible College in your publications. What is the difference?
Answer: Yes, it can be confusing. Let us explain:
(1) Rio Grande Bible Institute, Inc. is the historical and official name of our organization.
(2) Rio Grande Bible Ministries is the title that we use to indicate all the divisions and branches of our organization (Seminario Bíblico Río Grande, Radio Esperanza, Bibleville, and Rio Grande Global).
(3) Seminario Bíblico Río Grande is the Spanish name of our Bible college.