Our History

From a public school to a Bible School...

Originally called the Biblical Mennonite Alliance Bible Institute (BMABI), EBI began in 2000. The 2000-2003 terms were held in local churches located in South Carolina, Indiana, Virginia, and Ohio. For the first two years, BMABI offered one three-week term per year until 2002, when the Institute began offering a six-week term in place of the three-week term. In the winter of 2004, BMABI moved into the old public school building in Elnora, IN. 

The original school building, now the Elnora Bible Institute, was completed in 1899. For the next 100 years, it served the Daviess County community as a public school. In the 1990s, however, Daviess County combined several of its small schools into one large school, leaving an empty building. In December of 2002, the Biblical Mennonite Alliance purchased the empty school building.

A dormitory was built in 2003, and the first term in Elnora as held in 2004. In 2005, the Institute began offering two terms. Elnora Bible Institute became the school’s official name in the summer of 2008. A third term, three weeks long was added in 2012. In the fall of 2013, a 15-week term was added to complete a full school year.