An Online Bible School in New Castle, Delaware
Tucked into a quiet stretch of Wilton Boulevard in New Castle, Delaware, the headquarters of Jesus Experience houses a worldwide classroom. The ministry is the online arm of Christian Outreach Fellowship, and it carries the same name as its long-running program: the School of Biblical Studies. More than half a million students have completed courses through this school since 1986, working through a structured two-year curriculum of theology, scripture survey, and practical ministry from wherever they live.
Online study is the heart of the operation. Courses are available twenty-four hours a day at jesusexperience.com and through a companion mobile app called Jesus Exp. The school is not a regionally accredited college, but the Jesus Experience team has built a relationship with an accredited Christian college that accepts its credits toward a degree, and every completed course earns a certificate that students can download and keep.
The Founder's Story
Dr. Gary V. Whetstone leads Jesus Experience as president and founder. In 1971 he says he experienced a personal breakthrough, what he describes as a miraculous deliverance and healing from drug addiction and mental illness through the power of God. That experience redirected his life, and he has spent the decades since then teaching the Bible, holding evangelistic crusades, and mentoring believers in churches and seminars around the world.
He founded Gary Whetstone Worldwide Ministries and travels frequently to minister in person and through live interactive webinars. Friends and students know him as a teacher who pairs doctrine with demonstration; he preaches the finished work of Christ and prays for healings and miracles alongside the teaching. His voice is the one students hear most often inside the audio courses that make up the bulk of the curriculum.
From 1984 to a Worldwide Online Campus
God put the idea for a Bible school on Dr. Whetstone's heart in 1984. He was, in his words, empowered by the Holy Spirit to create and develop the School of Biblical Studies with a strong conviction that the Word of God would reveal the life of Jesus and train believers to become effective ministers.
The first classrooms opened in 1986, with tuition and study guides offered at the main campus in New Castle and at branch schools that soon spread around the world. Believers of every age, educational background, denomination, and nationality have come through the program, and tens of thousands have been shaped by its teaching. In 2013, Dr. Whetstone moved the school online in an audio format with downloadable study guides. That same year he opened the entire curriculum for audit, meaning anyone can take a course tuition-free, without credit or a certificate. The online campus now offers more than thirty-seven life-transforming courses.
More than five hundred thousand students have completed the School of Biblical Studies since 1986, and current students learn exclusively through distance education, from any device, at their own pace.
Two Years of Coursework
The School of Biblical Studies is built as a two-year college integrating coursework and practical application. The catalog is divided into a Junior Year of thirty-five units and a Senior Year of thirty-seven units, each split into three terms. Students can enroll in single courses or in a full term at a time, choosing between a credit track that awards a certificate of completion and an audit track that does not. Audited courses are free; credit courses are priced per term.
Course categories include Theology, Faith, Practical Revelation, Practical Ministry, New Testament, and Old Testament. The teaching team includes Dr. June E. Austin, who carries much of the scripture survey load, along with Rev. Gif Wilson, Dr. LaMar Boschman, and Rev. Jon Hooper, each contributing courses in their area of gift. Three guest instructors also co-teach Principles of Biblical Economics in the senior year: Dr. Tunde Bakare and Dr. John Avanzini join Rev. Gif Wilson for that three-unit class.
Junior Year: Building a Foundation
The first term of the Junior Year lays a spiritual foundation. Each course in this term is offered free of charge during the special $100 start offer.
- TH 101 - Your Liberty in Christ (Dr. Gary Whetstone, 2 units). Insecurity, inferiority, guilt, and fear cripple many believers, but Jesus sets the captive free. The course walks students into liberty through the revelation of His righteousness and a cleansed conscience.
- F 101 - Foundations of Faith (Dr. June Austin, 2 units). A study of what faith is and what it is not, where it comes from, and how to grow in it according to the Word of God.
- PR 102 - How to Study the Bible (Dr. June Austin, 2 units). Students learn to prove the Bible is true, why to study it, how to read it, and which study methods and tools lead to real understanding.
- TH 103 - Spirit, Soul, and Body (Dr. Gary Whetstone, 2 units). A clear breakdown of the nature and operations of the human spirit, soul, and body, with practical guidance on harnessing the mind.
- TH 108 - Evidence (Dr. Gary Whetstone, 2 units). A course on the proof and demonstration of the Christian experience in the life, blood, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
- PM 101 - Healing is For Today (Dr. Gary Whetstone, 2 units). A study of the biblical and practical ministry of healing, framed as one-third of the Great Commission.
Second-term students move into New Testament Survey I and II, taught by Dr. June Austin, which give a concentrated look at the Gospels and the apostolic letters. Dr. Whetstone's Dynamic Family takes a hard look at family-related struggles; the catalog notes that over eighty percent of all prayer requests, the greatest cause of abuse, alcoholism, depression, and dysfunction is summed up in one misunderstood word, family. Other second-term courses include Battle of the Bloodline, God's Power with Legal Right to Use It, and Blood Covenant.
The third term of Junior Year opens with Old Testament Survey I, takes students through Faith: Jesus's Life in Action, His New and Living Way, Today Hear His Voice, Holy Spirit, and the Ministry of Serving, taught by Rev. Gif Wilson. Total units across the Junior Year: thirty-five, with tuition running roughly $800 for the full year.
Senior Year: Ministry, Leadership, and the Last Days
The Senior Year pushes students toward active service. First-term courses include Victory in Spiritual Warfare, Wake Up Ye Mighty Men, the Book of Revelation, Ministry Gifts and His Church, Principles of Biblical Economics, and Motivational Gifts. Dr. June Austin carries the Book of Revelation, while Dr. Whetstone leads the warfare and ministry-gifts courses. Principles of Biblical Economics, a three-unit class, is co-taught by Rev. Gif Wilson, Dr. Tunde Bakare, and Dr. John Avanzini.
Second-term students study the Book of Acts, Power Principles of Prayer, Effective Leadership, the Character of God, How to Teach and Preach, and Praise and Worship. Dr. LaMar Boschman, a respected worship teacher, brings the praise and worship class to life. The term totals thirteen units.
Third-term courses include the Epistles of John, Old Testament Survey II, Psalms Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, Keys to God's Abundance, How to Stop Satan's Attack on God's Timing Plans and Purposes, Developing Excellence, Souls God's Heartbeat, and Building the Indigenous Church, taught by Rev. Jon Hooper. The senior year totals thirty-seven units, with tuition of about $1,050 for the full year.
Life's Answers: Short Courses for Real Situations
Alongside the two-year degree track, Jesus Experience offers a series of short courses under the label Life's Answers. These are practical, audio-driven teachings designed to address specific situations believers face at home, in relationships, and in daily life. Three courses are currently most requested: How to Build the Communication Bridge, What God Has Joined Together, and How to Fight for Your Family.
How to Fight for Your Family is taught by Dr. Gary Whetstone and is structured around eight audio sessions. Topics include Who Do We Fight Against, How Do We Identify the Types of Conflicts, Seeing the Unseen Enemy, How to Fight Opposite Not Equal, Rescue the Lost or Bound Family Member, Set Up an Impenetrable Wall of Defense, Move Your Family Forward to Fulfill God's Will, and Releasing the Healing Waters. A study guide accompanies the audio. Other stand-alone courses in the catalog include Your Liberty in Christ (a free entry point for new students) and The Journey from Frustration to Fulfillment, a six-session course designed to help students move past barriers into purpose and increase.
How a Course Works
Each course follows a familiar rhythm. Students download a study guide and a list of required readings, listen to the audio classes at their own pace, complete any assignments, and take a final exam. The final exam is usually twenty-five true-false or multiple-choice questions that can be retaken multiple times. Upon passing, the credit-track student receives a downloadable certificate of completion. Audit-track students take the same material without exams or certificates.
The online classroom runs on jesusexperience.com, where the catalog is organized by year and term for easy navigation. A quick tutorial walks new students through the progress bar, the Mark Complete button on each lesson, and the My Results page where earned certificates are stored. Course content can be accessed from any device, anywhere, and the catalog boasts more than sixty hours of on-demand audio in the foundational first term alone. The school is open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
What the School Believes
The ministry's statement of faith outlines thirteen core teachings. The Bible is the inspired, infallible, and authoritative Word of God. There is one true God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is perfect deity and perfect humanity, born of a virgin, sinless in life, mighty in miracles, crucified and risen, now ascended to the right hand of the Father, with a personal return in power and glory and a millennial reign to come.
Salvation comes by grace through faith, by believing in the heart that God raised Jesus from the dead and confessing with the mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord. Regeneration by the Holy Spirit is essential for the new birth. Water baptism and the Lord's Supper are ordinances of the church. The initial physical evidence of the in-filling of the Holy Spirit is speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance, followed by the manifestation of spiritual power in public testimony and service.
The church is the body of Christ, the dwelling place of God through the Holy Spirit. The school teaches bodily resurrection for both the saved and the lost, the atonement as the basis for deliverance from sickness, and total prosperity covering the spiritual, mental, physical, financial, and social realms. Women are welcomed into ministry, with the statement noting there is no scriptural prohibition against women ministering in the church. The statement closes with Titus 2:13 and the blessed hope of the appearing of the great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
The Vision: Worship, Prayer, Fellowship, Word, Evangelism
The ministry frames its daily life around five words: a life of worship, a life of prayer, a life of fellowship, a life of God's Word, and a life of evangelism. This vision shapes both the curriculum and the partnership program. Dr. Whetstone often says he expects the Word of God to cover the earth as the waters cover the sea, and the school's reach, with branch schools that have spread across the world and an online campus that has trained students on every continent, reflects that expectation.
Victory Live and Live Streaming
Beyond the recorded courses, Jesus Experience keeps a live presence through Victory Live. The ministry livestreams on its YouTube channel and on social channels where Dr. Whetstone and guest teachers bring Bible teaching, ministry updates, and prayer. Audiences can follow along on Facebook, X, Instagram, or the Jesus Experience YouTube channel, and an audio archive of Dr. Whetstone's teachings is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts.
Partners: Standing with the Ministry
Jesus Experience runs a Partners program for believers who want to walk alongside the ministry. The ministry describes partners as a community of believers who have answered the call of God to have Jesus revealed within. They acknowledge the finished work of Christ, faithfully support the ministry financially, share the life of Christ with those they touch, pray for the ministry and Dr. Whetstone, and receive commissioning to mentor others.
Partner benefits begin with enrollment in an auto-debit giving relationship of any amount. In return, partners are connected to mission trips, Bible school resources, live streaming, teachings, productions, webinars, mentoring, and home fellowships. Giving is set up through Pushpay and PayPal on the Jesus Experience site, with recurring gifts serving as the foundation of the partnership.
Getting in Touch
The Jesus Experience headquarters sits at 100 Wilton Boulevard in New Castle, Delaware 19720. The office is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The main phone line is (302) 324-5400, with a direct support number at (302) 561-6800. General questions and support requests go to support@jesusexperience.com, and privacy-related messages go to info@jesusexperience.com. The ministry also accepts prayer requests and contact messages through an online form, and invites new believers to write so the team can rejoice with them and offer a free training course to take the next step.