Who We Are
Our Mission
The Evangelical Foundation for Biblical Research designs opportunities, events, and publications to promote biblical studies from an evangelical Christian perspective in ways that assist the Church.
Currently, the foundation sponsors gatherings designed for edifying fellowship within the scholarly conversational formats in order for evangelical scholar-pastors to bring scholarship into the service of the local church. Broader impact then comes from refereed publications arising from these conferences.
Our History
Some who had been beneficiaries of a rich community of evangelical scholars at conferences at Tyndale House, Cambridge, had dreamed of creating a similar experience in the United States. So, forming a similar residential research facility became a charter objective for the Institute for Biblical Research in the early 1970s. However, for several reasons, another brick-and-mortar research center such as Tyndale House was not a sustainable project for a handful of academics.
In the meantime, a separate and independent board familiar with Tyndale Fellowship and IBR had formed to pursue such a facility, but wisdom prevailed again; so, the communal concept for scholars like that of Tyndale House had to be reimagined. A vision surfaced to restructure typical academic gatherings into a more conversational experience where profound discussion would flourish in fellowship rather than in the mere routine of reading papers followed by short moments of Q&A. Thus, the Evangelical Foundation for Biblical Research now designs gatherings that emphasize intimate circles of vibrant conversations rather than rows of silent listeners.
This colloquial design has proven supportive and encouraging to scholars as they focus on biblical studies topics and in the subsequent publications spawned by the conferences. The year 2010 launched an intense focus on the ultimate goal of these relaxed academic gatherings: evangelical scholarship in the service of pastors and the laity. With a goal of warm dialogue among budding exegetes, a series of Young Scholars Summits was held at Tyndale House (2012–2016). Since then, our mission of evangelical scholarship serving the Church has become sharper with increased closeness of conference participants who are creating helpful academic resources.
Our Leadership
Randy Richards
Daniel C. Fredericks
Terry Wilder
