We do not require that students be college graduates; however, if they plan to attend college, we recommend that they come to BBTI after college graduation so that their phonetic and linguistic skills will be sharper when they depart for the field. We suggest that all students have a good working knowledge of the Bible and basic Bible doctrine. We ask that students come with the approval and blessing of their pastor and church. We essentially trust their pastor’s judgment as to their spiritual maturity. We want mature (not necessarily old), serious-minded, and disciplined people. We do not have any "dorm parents" to look after students. Students are responsible for their own cooking, housekeeping, laundry, etc. The mission field is no place for lazy people, and neither is BBTI.

We only accept those who believe in basic Bible doctrine, such as the exclusive authority of the Word of God, eternal salvation by grace with no mixture of human works, baptism by immersion of believers only, a Trinitarian view of God, and a Biblical view of the Holy Spirit (to the exclusion of Pentecostals and Charismatics). We also refuse to train those who hold to the false doctrines of Calvinism.

The first requirement for entrance is the completion of an application and a written testimony of salvation. Married students must submit separate applications. The BBTI staff and sponsoring church pastor then consider the applications. Both husband and wife are required to take most of the classes together. Although some of the courses are technical and difficult, our classes are small, and we give personal, hands-on help to each student. With completion of our training, students gain confidence in their ability to accomplish language and culture learning assignments for any mission field.