Davis College (formerly Practical Bible College) 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 ...

Johnson City, New York Johnson City is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Broome County, New York, Broome County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 15,174 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Binghamton, New York, Bin ...

. It is affiliated with the

Baptist Convention of New York The Baptist Convention of New York (BCNY) is a group of churches affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention located in the U.S. state of New York, Northern New Jersey, and Connecticut. Headquartered in East Syracuse, New York East Syracuse ...

and endorsed by the Baptist Convention of Pennsylvania/South Jersey.

History

Davis College was founded in April 1900 by evangelist Reverend

John Adelbert Davis John Adelbert Davis (August 7, 1871–March 17, 1934) was the founder of the Practical Bible Training School in Johnson City, New York, in 1900. In 2004, Practical Bible was renamed Davis College in his honor. Early life On Melandy Hill in ...

. Rev. Davis wanted to start a school similar to his alma mater,

Moody Bible Institute Moody Bible Institute (MBI) is a private evangelical Christian Bible college founded in the Near North Side of Chicago, Illinois, US by evangelist and businessman Dwight Lyman Moody in 1886. Historically, MBI has maintained positions that have i ...

, located in Chicago. He taught the first classes at what was then known as Practical Bible School with an enrollment of about 80 to 90 students. The school's first classes were held in an upper level of a store in Lestershire ( Johnson City), New York. Davis College is now located at the former location of the

White City Amusement Park White City is the common name of dozens of amusement parks in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Inspired by the White City and Midway Plaisance sections of the World's Columbian Exhibition of 1893, the parks started gaining in p ...

. In 1910, the park went bankrupt, and Rev. Davis purchased the property. Practical Bible Training School moved to the address one year later. Davis died on Saturday, March 17, 1934. His oldest son, Gordon Carr Davis, became the president and Practical Bible Training School changed its legal name to the John A. Davis Memorial Bible School. In 1993, it was renamed Practical Bible College. In August 2004, the college became Davis College in honor of its founder John A. Davis.

Presidents

* John R. Clements, 1900 – July 31, 1914 *

, August 7, 1914 – March 17, 1934 *Gordon Carr Davis, April 30, 1934 – December 7, 1961 *Marion C. Patterson, December 11, 1961 – December 31, 1970 *Kenneth C. Robb, January 1, 1971 – June 30, 1980 *

Woodrow M. Kroll Woodrow Michael Kroll (born October 21, 1944) is an evangelical preacher and radio host. He was the president and Bible teacher for the international ''Back to the Bible'' radio and television ministry. He was president of Davis College (New York) ...

, January 1, 1981 – May 31, 1990 *Dale E. Linebaugh, July 1, 1991 – June 30, 1998 * George D. Miller III, July 1, 1998 – June 30, 200

* Dino Pedrone, Dino J. Pedrone, July 1, 2008 – January 15, 201

*George Snyder Jr., January 16, 2018 – January 17, 2019 (interim) *D. Alan Blanc Sr., January 18, 2019 – present (interim through September 24, 2021)

Academics

In 1993, the school was accredited by the State of New York and became Practical Bible College. Davis College was first regional accreditation, regionally accredited in June 2005 by the

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (Middle States Association or MSA) was a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit association that performed peer evaluation and regional educational accreditation, accreditation of public and priva ...

and accredited nationally 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 Cou ...

in 1985. Specialized ministry programs include Pastoral Studies,

Youth Ministries Youth ministry, also commonly referred to as youth group, is an age-specific Christian ministry, religious ministry of faith groups or other religious organizations, usually from ages 12 to 30, whose mission is to involve and engage with youth, y ...

Teaching English as a Second Language Teaching English as a second language (TESL) or Teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) are terms that refer to teaching English to students whose first language is not English. The terms TESL, TEFL, and TESOL distinguish betwee ...

, Christian Ministries, Intercultural Studies, Music and Worship, and Organizational Leadership. The college also offers a "4 Plus 1" Elementary Education articulation agreement allowing graduates from the Christian Ministries program to pursue a MsEd in Childhood Education at a Christian university. This provides certification that is reciprocal in 48 states, including New York and Florida, allowing graduates to teach in both public and private schools. One year certificates are also offered in Bible and Teaching English as a Second Language. In 2012, Davis College purchased Blessed Sacrament Church, which was heavily damaged by flooding in 2011. This acquisition provided the school with its first distinct chapel. In addition, the college hopes to renovate and utilize this property for offices, classrooms, guest speaker housing, and The Practical Institute.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Association for Biblical Higher Education Education in Broome County, New York Companies based in Binghamton, New York Organizations based in Binghamton, New York 1900 establishments in New York (state) Seminaries and theological colleges in New York (state) Educational institutions established in 1900 USCAA member institutions