God's Bible School and College

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

God's Bible School and College is located in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. Its religious affiliation is interdenominational. The school's current student body stands at more than 230 men and women. They are from 25 different states and 15 foreign countries. GBS has an average class size of 17. The current President is Dr. Michael R. Avery, who is in his 11th year as President.

1 History
2 Name
3 Accreditation/Recognition
4 Campus Facilities
5 College Ministries
6 External links
7 References

[edit] History

Originally known as God’s Bible School, the college was founded by Martin Wells Knapp in 1900 and is one of the oldest Bible colleges in America. It began as a diploma course, devoted almost exclusively to the study of the Bible and of practical subjects to enable the student to be an effective worker in what M.W. Knapp called the “great, whitened harvest field.” The original course was called the Christian Worker’s Course. Later, it was expanded to a three-year course and, in 1936, to a regular four-year collegiate course. At that time, the Department of Education of the State of Ohio granted authorization to God’s Bible School to confer baccalaureate degrees.

God's Bible School is also known as the only American home of Oswald Chambers, who taught here soon after the school was founded.

[edit] Name

The name “God’s Bible School” was chosen by its founder to emphasize its purpose to train students to give God priority in their lives. M.W. Knapp also used the title “Missionary Training Home” to give prominence to the urgent need of preparing students for worldwide missions. In some of his early advertising, he referred to the school as a “drilling school for Christian soldiers” to emphasize the practical side of the education offered. The name is confusing to some since the word “school” frequently denotes education below that of a collegiate level, but it has long been well-known among the school’s constituency so the name has been retained. The title of “college” has been added to show the type of educational programs that the college now offere.

[edit] Accreditation/Recognition

God’s Bible School and College is authorized by the Department of Education of the State of Ohio to award associate and baccalaureate degrees. It is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE). The ABHE is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) as the national accrediting agency for Bible colleges.

Since 2001, the college has been pursuing regional accreditation with the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. In February 2006, the college received candidacy status with HLC.

The college is approved by the State Approving Agency of the State Department of Education of Ohio to give training to veterans and veterans’ orphans who qualify for benefits. It is approved by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service to enroll foreign students and by the Social Security Administration to give training to those who qualify to receive benefits under the Social Security Program. God’s Bible School and College is also authorized by the Ohio Board of Regents to grant degrees in the state of Ohio.

[edit] Campus Facilities

God’s Bible School and College has six major buildings. The Administration Building houses administrative offices, the Revivalist offices, faculty offices, and classrooms. The Deets-Miller Student Center houses a dining hall, student snack bar, Presidential Dining Room, a full-size recreation area, and faculty offices. The Knapp Memorial Building houses a chapel, a men’s residence hall, and classrooms. The McNeill Music Hall houses faculty offices, classrooms, and practice rooms. The Revivalist Memorial Building houses a women’s residence hall and the Aldersgate Christian Academy. The R.G. Flexon Memorial Library provides shelf space for 50,000 volumes, student study area, offices, and archives.

[edit] College Ministries

The students of God's Bible School & College operate several inner-city ministries in downtown Cincinnati. They include the Main Street Chapel, Main Street Kid's Club, Vine Street Chape, Vine Street Kid's Club, Laurel Homes Kid's Club, Mount Auburn Kid's Club, Teens of Power School, Teen Power, Teen Praise. They also participate in local church, nursing home and jail ministries. The college also publishes a magazine called God's Revivalist and Bible Advocate.