West Coast Baptist College is an

independent Baptist Independent Baptist churches (some also called Independent Fundamental Baptist or IFB) are Christian congregations, generally holding to conservative (primarily fundamentalist) Baptist beliefs. Although some Independent Baptist churches refuse af ...

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 ...

in Lancaster,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, offering graduate and undergraduate degrees. West Coast opened in 1995 and is a member of the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools ( TRACS), having been awarded Candidate Status on October 27, 2015 then approved for Accredited Status on April 18, 2019.

History

In July 1986, Paul Chappell became the Pastor of Lancaster Baptist Church in Lancaster, California. In 1988, the church raised an initial $50,000 for the down payment on the first 20 acres of property located on the east side of town. In 1995, Chappell and Lancaster Baptist Church approved the beginning of West Coast Baptist College. West Coast Baptist College started with Chappell, John Goetsch and Mark Rasmussen. Toby Weaver joined the staff and became the Dean of Students. Mike Lester joined the staff as the academic dean. Jerry Goddard is the Administrative Dean. Jim Schettler (former Campus Pastor of

Pensacola Christian College Pensacola Christian College (PCC) is a private Independent Baptist college in Pensacola, Florida. Founded in 1974 by Arlin and Beka Horton, it has been accredited by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools since 2013. H ...

) joined the staff in 2013. In December 2014, the administration of West Coast Baptist College announced their intention to apply for national accreditation with

Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools The Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS) is a U.S. based institutional accreditation organization that focuses on Christian colleges, universities, and seminaries seeking collegiate accreditation in the United Sta ...

. On October 27, 2015, West Coast Baptist College was awarded candidacy status as a Category III institution by the TRACS Accreditation Commission. On April 17, 2019, the institution was awarded accredited status by the TRACS Accreditation Commission.

Campus

West-coast-baptist-college-revels-building

The campus of West Coast Baptist College, extending from Lancaster Boulevard to Avenue J, contains a three story educational building including private piano practice labs, a science lab, two computer labs, a media lab, classrooms, a two hundred seat north auditorium, a library, a Student Life Center, and a three thousand seat main auditorium. WCBC shares the same campus as Lancaster Baptist Church.

GI Bill Eligibility

Veterans who have earned GI Bill benefits may use them to train for the ministry at West Coast Baptist College.

Beliefs

West Coast is an Independent Fundamental

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 ...

college. West Coast Baptist College believes the Bible is the inspired Word of God preserved for the English-speaking people in the

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...

. It also believes in deity of Jesus Christ, salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone, and the worship, fellowship, and service of the local church.

Campuses

* Main Campus (4010 E Lancaster Blvd. Lancaster, CA) * Online * Cojutepeque, El Salvador

Sports

WCBC has a men's basketball program and a ladies volleyball program. They are 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),

Association of Christian College Athletics The Association of Christian College Athletics (ACCA) is an organization of collegiate athletics. It was incorporated to provide an opportunity for smaller Christian college members to compete on an equal level of competition with schools of like ...

(ACCA) and

Pacific Christian Athletic Conference The Pacific Christian Athletic Conference (PCAC) is a conference of small Christian colleges located in the Western United States based out of Everett, Washington whose mission is to provide opportunities for intercollegiate athletic competition in ...

. In the 2007-08 season, the West Coast Baptist College athletics received notoriety from the local newspaper. They followed their journey winning season to the national finals. In 2011-2012, they won the NCCAA Regionals against Portland Bible. In February 2012, they defeated

Korea University Korea University (KU, ) is a private research university in Seoul, South Korea, established in 1905. The university is included as one of the SKY universities, a popular acronym referring to Korea's three most prestigious universities. The ...

105-101.

Notable alumni

Nathan Winters Nathan Winters (born in Thermopolis, Wyoming ) is an American politician and a Republican member of the Wyoming House of Representatives representing District 28 from January 8, 2013, until his successor, John Winter, was seated January 8, 2019. ...

– Republican Representative of District 28,

Wyoming House of Representatives The Wyoming House of Representatives is the lower house of the Wyoming State Legislature. There are 60 Representatives in the House, representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts across the state, each with a population of ...

(Class of 2003)

References

External links

West Coast Baptist College
{{Coord, 34.695297, -118.057552, type:edu_globe:earth_region:US-CA, display=title Independent Baptist universities and colleges in the United States Educational institutions established in 1995 King James Only movement Seminaries and theological colleges in California 1995 establishments in California