Baptist Bible College (BBC) is a private

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

bible college A Bible college, sometimes referred to as a Bible institute or theological institute, is an evangelical Christian or Restoration Movement Christian institution of higher education which prepares students for Christian ministry with theological educ ...

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an estimat ...

. Founded in 1950, BBC focuses on training Christian professionals and ministers. It offers accredited associate,

bachelor's A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ye ...

, and

master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

degrees.

History

Baptist Bible College has its origins in a May 1950 meeting of Baptist ministers at the Texas Hotel in

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

. In the summer of 1950 land was bought at the intersection of Summit Avenue and Kearney Street in Springfield, Missouri. This former city park was turned into dormitories, which opened on September 5, 1950. From the founding until 1975, George Beauchamp Vick, pastor of the Temple Baptist Church of

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

(currently NorthRidge Church), was the president of the college. Vick's executive vice president, W. E. Dowell Sr., became president for the following eight years. In 1983, A. V. Henderson led the school for three years. In 1986, Leland Kennedy presided over the institution for 15 years. In 2001, BBC received probationary accreditation from the

North Central Association of Colleges and Schools The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), also known as the North Central Association, was a membership organization, consisting of colleges, universities, and schools in 19 U.S. states engaged in educational accreditation. It w ...

. The Higher Learning Commission: Info on Baptist Bible College
/ref> Mike Randall was installed as the fifth president on February 20, 2002. Accreditation was received in 2005, due in part to Randall's hard work but mostly due to the hard work of Russell Dell who served as Baptist Bible College's academic dean for many years. In 2008, Jim Edge was appointed to office, and resigned after three years. The Board of Trustees named Ron Sears as interim president and began the search for a new president. In 2012, by a unanimous vote of the trustees, Mark Milioni was named as the new president. Following a decline from its peak enrollment of over 2,600 in the 1970s, Baptist Bible College has continued to see increased enrollment since 2013. In 2016 the school was placed on probation by its regional accreditor and has seen a decrease in enrollment. That probation was lifted in the spring of 2019.

Academics

Accreditation

Baptist Bible College was first accredited by the

in 2001 and is also accredited by the

Association for Biblical Higher Education The Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE), formerly The Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges (AABC) is an evangelical Christian organization of bible colleges in the United States and Canada. It is a member of the International Co ...

(ABHE).The Association for Biblical Higher Education: List of Members
/ref> Although the college was placed on probation by the Higher Learning Commission in 2016, it was removed from probation in 2019.

Financial information

Tuition Tuition payments, usually known as tuition in American English and as tuition fees in Commonwealth English, are fees charged by education institutions for instruction or other services. Besides public spending (by governments and other public bo ...

is $450 per credit hour for undergraduate students and $450 per credit hour for graduate students, plus additional fees. Room and board costs are approximately $7,500 per year for students residing on-campus. The estimated total cost per undergraduate year before financial aid is $18,590.

Athletics

The Baptist Bible athletic teams are called the Patriots. The college is a member of the

National Christian College Athletic Association The National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) is an association of Christian universities, colleges, and Bible colleges in the United States and Canada whose mission is "the promotion and enhancement of intercollegiate athletic co ...

(NCCAA), primarily competing as an independent in the Central Region of the Division I level. Baptist Bible competes in seven intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball and golf; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf and volleyball. Former sports included men's soccer.

Men's basketball

The Patriots men's basketball team won the 2022 NCCAA Division I National Championship by defeating

Lancaster Bible College Lancaster Bible College , Capital Seminary and Graduate School (LBC , Capital) is a private Bible college, seminary, and graduate school in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Lancaster Bible College offers non-credit courses, undergraduate, master's ...

77–70.Patriots Repeat as National Champions, This Time at NCCAA D1 Level - Baptist Bible College
/ref>

Notable alumni

Jerry Falwell Jerry Laymon Falwell Sr. (August 11, 1933 – May 15, 2007) was an American Baptist pastor, televangelism, televangelist, and conservatism in the United States, conservative activist. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, ...

–

Bachelor of Theology The Bachelor of Theology degree (BTh, ThB, or BTheol) is a three- to five-year undergraduate degree in theological disciplines and is typically pursued by those seeking ordination for ministry in a church, denomination, or parachurch organization. ...

in 1956 *

Jerry Prevo Jerry Lee Prevo (born January 12, 1945) is an American academic administrator and retired Baptist minister. As of 2022, he is the president of Liberty University. Early life and education Prevo was born on January 12, 1945, in Oak Ridge, Tenne ...

– acting President of

Liberty University Liberty University (LU) is a private Baptist university in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia (Southern Baptist Convention). Founded in 1971 by Jerry Falwell Sr. and Elmer L. Towns, Liberty i ...

References

External links

*
Official athletics website
{{Authority control Association for Biblical Higher Education Baptist universities and colleges in the United States Universities and colleges in Springfield, Missouri Bible colleges Educational institutions established in 1950 1950 establishments in Missouri