bible-colleges-California

Northern California Bible College History

By Joe Felim

In 1971, Ernest B. Gentile, founding pastor of Gospel Temple Church in San Jose, California, founded Northern Calif. Bible College in an effort to train men and women to become ministers of the Gospel. California state authorization from the Private Postsecondary Commission for Vocational and Higher Education was granted, along with Veterans benefits approval.

In 1973 NCBC continued to offer day classes, and began offering evening and Saturday classes primarily to Christians throughout the greater San Francisco Bay Area.

In 1984, NCBC helped start a sister college in Owerri, Nigeria, which has since become fully accredited and trains a student population of over 450 full time students. The school is called West African Advanced School of Theology (WAAST). Curriculum written by the NCBC faculty is used by the Nigerian faculty.

In 1987 the school changed ownership and moved to Pleasanton, California, where it continues under the director of Pastor David Sell up to the present. The founding president, Pastor Ernest Gentile, continues to serve as the college president.

In 1999, NCBC developed its first web-site and began offering its courses through a distance learning format to students. Discovering NCBC on the internet, students from other cities and states could now also pursue their degree program. Each class offered on the Pleasanton campus was recorded and made available through audio cassettes and CDs. To help promote the college program, faculty began to travel to various cities throughout California to teach in satellite campuses. This began the ultimate shift from being a traditional college to becoming a “distance learning center.”

In 2004, a partnership was forged with “Reasons To Believe,” located in Glendora, California. “Reasons to Believe” is considered a Christian “think-tank” specializing in the correlations between the Bible and proven scientific discovery. Student taking on-line courses from this well-known organization could now receive college credit through NCBC