Steinbach Bible College will be moving to a new campus in 2026.
The announcement was made Thursday morning in a joint statement from both the Steinbach Bible College and Steinbach Christian School. The two organizations currently share a building but the Christian school recently acquired all of SBC’s properties.
SBC President Dave Reimer says they already have their new home picked out.
“SCS will be moving into our part of the building, and we'll be moving to the Steinbach Family Medical building on Loewen, and we're really excited about that.”
Reimer says this is big news as SBC and SCS have been operating out of one building for 75 years, educating students in the way of Christ.
This plan has been years in the making. Back in 2019, the schools subdivided the property, with Steinbach Christian School agreeing to purchase the classroom buildings. When growth allowed for it, the schools planned to separate and move into separate buildings and that time has now come.
SCS Principal Thor Barkman says their student body has grown to 436 K-12 students and purchasing the SBC parcel will allow for further growth.
“We're looking forward to, and we are already looking at bringing in new students, students who have been applying and are interested. So, we're seeing a lot of growth and interest from the communities in the region, and so to have space for them, that's a big deal because often we have been short of space, unable to bring in students at every grade and at every grade level.”
Barkman notes they have had a great relationship with SBC over the years but over time space has become hard to come by and both organizations will benefit from this move.
Reimer agrees. He notes board members and staff at Steinbach Bible College are excited with what this new campus will have to offer.
“That location sings sweet songs in our minds as we consider being in the heart of the City of Steinbach, not far from the rec center that's coming up, not far from the hospital where some of our service learning happens for our students, in a community with churches, Red River College close by, the beautiful walkway, the green spaces, A.D. Penner Park and all of that.”
He adds “There's just an encouragement about the environment of this place and we're excited about what all of that means for the future of Steinbach Bible College.”
However, to get to that point, Reimer says a lot of work needs to be done at their new home, the former Steinbach Family Medical building.
“The current building isn't quite big enough for what we need as a school, and so we will be renovating and we will be adding on to the West End of that building to make it Steinbach Bible College.”
With the goal of moving in for the 2026-2027 school year, Reimer says they have a tight renovation and expansion timeline.
“There's the preparation of the building and then there's the drawings and then there's the planning and then there's all of the work that needs to be done. So, it's one step at a time, the two years will go very quickly.”
In fact, renovations have already begun.
One question still remains, what about student housing?
Reimer says “That's the one next big question that we need to answer in the next couple of months. We're working on a few options, but we will move the students to be closer to the campus for sure.”
Whether student housing will be on site at 333 Loewen Boulevard or nearby, Reimer says having a tight-knit college community close to the campus is important for the student experience.
He adds, they may have to continue using the student housing at their current location, but that would only be an interim solution.
Reimer and Barkman both say their respective organizations are grateful to have grown alongside one another over the years. They are both excited about the next chapter.
“SBC and SCS have been strengthened by each other over the years. We are grateful to have grown alongside them and will continue to maintain relationship,” Barkman added. “Organizational independence is important for us now in order to grow our capacity to serve the community.”