Rev. and Mrs. James A. Finke

Missionaries to Greece with Greater Europe Mission

 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH – 2009

 Jim – I was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1947.  At age six I received the gospel of Christ and began my relationship with Him by faith.

I attended Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota for a year and then joined the Air Force. After my discharge from the Air Force, I was involved in ministry with the Central Union Mission, a rescue mission in Washington, D.C., and  finished an undergraduate program at the University of Maryland in 1973. In 1977 I earned a Master of Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary

From 1978 to 1980 I served as pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Marshfield, Wisconsin where I was also ordained. In 1980 we accepted appointment to Greece with Greater Europe Mission.

 We arrived in Greece in 1984 and I began teaching at the Greek Bible Institute. In 1989, I became the acting Academic Dean, Christian Service Director and full time teacher. In 1990 I was appointed as Academic Dean and served in this position until 2003 when I resigned prior to our extended home assignment for study purposes.

Currently, I am serving as co-director of the Alpha Program (a one-year Bible curriculum for English speakers who live in Greece or English speakers from abroad), in which I also teach.  Also, I am the co-ordinator of the 4th year of studies in our Greek baccalaureate degree program.

RUTH – I was born in Dallas, Texas and grew up attending a Southern Baptist church.  When I was nine years old I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord and as a young teenager I committed my life to serve God.

Following graduation from Texas Woman’s University in 1974, I held a teaching position at Dallas Christian Academy and while teaching there, spent a summer in Grenada, West Indies as a summer missionary teacher with Berean Mission.  Beginning in 1976 I held a two year teaching position at a public elementary school and in 1981 I completed a Masters Degree in Education from Texas Woman’s University.

During our time in Greece I served on various committees at the Bible Institute. In 1989 I became the institute’s librarian and continued in that position until 2002.  Since 2005, my efforts have been concentrated on establishing a women’s Bible class in the Athens area. This has involved leading prayer groups and a Bible study. In addition to this effort, I have assisted in the women’s ministry of the church we attend.

Our Missionary Vision — Greece

Although very religious on the surface (with 95% of Greece’s people belonging to the Greek Orthodox Church), only about two percent of the people are regular church goers.  There are fewer than four persons per thousand who are evangelical Christians.  Prior to the establishment of the Greek Bible Institute in 1980 many of the few evangelicals who left Greece for further Biblical training did not return to help the evangelical church.  The residence program of the Greek Bible Institute was begun with the goal of training and keeping national believers in Greece. To this date, over 400 students have been trained with 80 – 85% of the graduates involved in ministry or in further education for ministry.

Greek Bible Institute programs include the following:

• a one year program designed for people who want some basic Bible training to become more effective in the local churches and for personal spiritual development,

•  a three-year program which gives a more in depth Biblical training and also prepares students for vocational Christian service or future graduate level Biblical training.

• A bacculareate degree, recognized by the European Evangelical Accrediting Association, on the completion of an additional 4th year of studies.

• In conjunction with Liberty University in Lynchburg,VA., GrBI offers the Delta Program.  Courses by video from Liberty, in conjuction with our three-year program, results in a bachelor’s degree awarded by Liberty University.  A Master’s degree in Christian Counseling, from Liberty University, is also offered