History

In 1971, Ernest B. Gentile, founding pastor of Gospel Temple Church in San Jose, California, started Northern California 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 allowing NCBC to become a California Degree-Granting institution.

In 1973 NCBC expanded by offering evening and Saturday classes throughout the greater San Francisco Bay Area.  Shortly afterward about 20 Bay Area churches were now sending students to NCBC for ministry preparation.

In 1984, NCBC helped start a sister college in Owerri, Nigeria (West African Advanced School of Theology) which has since become fully accredited and trains a student population of over 450 full-time students.

In 1987 NCBC changed ownership and moved to Pleasanton, California, where it continues under the direction of Pastor David Sell (former president).

In 1999, NCBC developed its first website and began offering courses through distance education. Discovering NCBC online, students from other cities, states, and countries were now able to pursue their degree program from the comfort of their own homes. Each class offered at the five Bay Area teaching sites would be recorded and made available through CD, DVD, or MP3/MP4.  Today, students attend from as far away as Kenya and Australia.

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 scientific discovery. Student taking online courses from this respected organization could now receive college credit through NCBC.

In 2005 the Cathedral of Faith in San Jose, a church of about 8000 members, requested that NCBC establish an instructional program at their campus to train their leadership team.  Since then over 20 of the pastors associated with Cathedral are graduates of NCBC.

In 2011 a partnership was forged with Jubilee Christian Center, now Redemption Church, in San Jose to enable graduates of Jubilee Bible College to transfer credits into NCBC and earn their B.A. degree in Biblical Studies. Redemption Church remains one of our teaching locations, located in north San Jose.

In 2013, NCBC began providing instruction at Gateway City Church in San Jose where classes meet regularly on Tuesday nights.  Gateway City Church is pastored by Dr. David Cannistraci and is located in south San Jose.  Students from Gateway’s in-house School of Ministry, “Impact,” can transfer credits into NCBC toward earning a B.A. degree in Biblical Studies.

In 2017, NCBC helped found a second sister Bible College in Kenya, East Africa. NCBC raised over $12,000 to help start a sister Bible college in Kenya, East Africa. In December two NCBC faculty members and three students traveled to Kenya to participate in their first graduation ceremony. The team also conducted a Pastor’s Conference and Women’s Conference.

In 2018, NCBC attained Candidacy status with TRACS (Transnational Association of Colleges and Schools) with a continued commitment to earn full status with TRACS.

In 2019, NCBC moved its Tri-Valley location to the Fountain Church in Pleasanton.

In 2021, NCBC earned full national accreditation with TRACS.

In 2022, NCBC moved its administrative offices to Campbell, CA, and became a Category III institution as TRACS approved a new Master in Biblical and Practical Theology degree, which was launched in the Fall of 2022.

In July 2022, Pastor David Sell retired as president of the college, though he still teaches to this day. He and the Board of Directors of NCBC installed a new president, Greg Holsclaw, and a new Chief Academic Officer, Dr. Tracy Nicole Holsclaw into their leadership roles over the college.