Ecclesia College is a private

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

work college Work colleges are colleges in the United States that require students to work and integrate that work into the college learning experience. A work college is a public or private non-profit, four-year degree-granting institution with a commitment t ...

Springdale, Arkansas Springdale is the List of cities and towns in Arkansas, fourth-largest city in Arkansas, United States. It is located in both Washington County, Arkansas, Washington and Benton County, Arkansas, Benton counties in Northwest Arkansas. Located on th ...

. It is 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 ...

. The college was founded in 1975 by Oren Paris II, the college's first chancellor and the father of recording artist

Twila Paris Twyla (also Twila) is a given name. Notable people with the name include: Twyla * Twyla Hansen (born 1949), American poet, a Nebraska State Poet * Twyla Herbert (1921–2009), American songwriter * Twyla King (1937-2022), American newspaper edito ...

. The college's name is derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

word ecclesia which means "called-out ones". It was used in

ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...

to describe those who had been called out from general society to come aside and discuss the affairs of state; it is commonly translated as "church" or "assembly".

History

*Jun 1975, Oren and Inez Paris, accompanied by their children and Oren's parents, veterans of the ministry, established Ecclesia Inc. *1976, the school enjoyed a strong and autonomous relationship with Youth With A Mission, "an international movement of Christians dedicated to serving Jesus throughout the world." *1996, Ecclesia College applied for membership in the

. *Mar 1997, Ecclesia's Board of Governance inaugurated Oren Paris III as the new president. *Jul 2003, Ecclesia's Board of Governance named Oren Paris II as Chancellor *Mar 2004, the board confirmed the president's installation of Administrative Council members: the Academic Dean, the Assistant Dean, and four Director positions over Business and Finance, Student Services, Communications and Advancement. *2005, Ecclesia received accreditation and offers degrees both on campus and online. *Jul 2009, Ecclesia College became a member of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU). *Jun 2012, Founder and Chancellor, Oren Paris II, died. His wife of 56 years, Inez Paris, was installed as Chancellor the following July. *Jun 2015, marked Ecclesia's 40th anniversary. *April 2018, Oren Paris III resigns as president. *April 2018, Ecclesia's board of Governance inaugurated Dr. Randall Bell as the new president.

2017 bribery scandal

On January 4, 2017, Arkansas legislator

Micah Neal Micah Scott Neal (born November 8, 1974) is a businessman and politician. Neal represented part of Springdale in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 2013 until 2017. From 2003 to 2011, he was a justice of the peace on the Washington County, ...

pleaded guilty to conspiring to direct $600,000 in state government funds to Ecclesia College and another non-profit in exchange for $38,000 in bribes. The plea agreement also singles out the president of the college (Oren Paris III) as being directly involved with the conspiracy. On March 2, 2017, former State Senator,

Jon Woods Jonathan Earl Woods, known as Jon Woods (born August 23, 1977, in Charlotte, North Carolina), is a Republican former member of both houses of the Arkansas General Assembly, a record producer, and a musician. He is now in federal prison for pol ...

, was indicted on 13 charges by a grand jury in connection to the kickback and bribery scheme. Woods is facing 11 counts of honest services wire fraud, one count of money laundering and one count of honest services mail fraud. The indictment outlined the scheme to steer General Improvement Fund money from the state legislature to projects supported through funding distributed by the Northwest Arkansas Development District. The indictment also named the president of Ecclesia College in Springdale, Oren Paris III, who is facing nine counts of honest services wire fraud and one count of honest services mail fraud after receiving funding from GIF monies. The college is not listed in the indictment. An Alma man, Randell G. Shelton Jr., is also listed in the indictment as part of an unnamed consulting company that was used to pay and conceal the kickbacks that Woods and Neal were allegedly receiving. Both Shelton and Paris initially pleaded not guilty during arraignment hearings

Paris changed his plea to guilty on April 4, 2018 and resigned as president of Ecclesia College.

Athletics

The Ecclesia athletic teams are called the Royals. 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. Ecclesia competes in eight intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country and soccer; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, soccer and softball. The Royals also compete in men's shooting sports.

Ministries

* Bibles for the Nations * Ecclesia Children's Ministries * Ecclesia Prep * Ecclesia Relief and Development * Strategic Missions For Strategic Nations * Twila Paris Productions

Accreditation

Ecclesia College receives institutional accreditation for higher education with the

(ABHE) and has been accredited by ABHE since 2005. Ecclesia is also approved by the Arkansas Course Transfer System (ACTS) which allows a student to transfer their transferable hours from Ecclesia to any college or university in the state of Arkansas.

References

External links

Official website

Official athletics website
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1975 Private universities and colleges in Arkansas Buildings and structures in Springdale, Arkansas Education in Washington County, Arkansas Work colleges 1975 establishments in Arkansas