President’s annual

letter for 2020

2020 began as a most challenging year, not only for Northern Calif. Bible College but for the entire world as well.  We have just taken a major step deeper into the end-times which will bring more things that will be unexpected.

 Fortunately, the pandemic actually helps advance the mission of Northern Calif. Bible College; we were forced to put all of our classes on Zoom livestream.  We thank Joseph Baker for his hard work in doing this.  We are currently into our fourth quarter using this format, and all indications are that the students are quite comfortable with this additional delivery system.  When the pandemic is over, we plan to return to the live classroom but will also continue to offer Zoom as an additional option.

Another major event of this past year and the first part of 2021 was the Zoom visitation from TRACS, as part of our bid to transition from Candidacy to full accreditation.   On January 20th, our entire staff, faculty, and Board met with the TRACS officials to discuss NCBC’s compliance with their list of IER requirements. Though NCBC passed some of the major tests, we were still found “wanting” on 33 others.

TRACS provided us with 9 “Findings, 10 “Recommendations,” and 14 “Suggestions.”  We were given until February 15th to show evidence that these have all been rectified if we are to continue with our plan to stand before the full TRACS Commission in April.  We decided to hit the ground running and address and resolve each concern within the given time period.

From an aerial view, even though the effort has been a sizable challenge, I believe the school will be a much better institution as the result of these changes.  All of our publications have been updated, more voices have been called to speak into things, “expected course outcome” have been added to every syllabus, student and graduate surveys have been conducted, and our Master Assessment Plan has been completely revamped.

In order to remain current with all requirements, we have invited Tim Parks to join us at every board meeting to help formalize the agenda, take minutes, and keep us current with all the demands coming from the newly implemented NCBC Calendar.

Regarding the financials, the school continued to remain in the black; however, it has become clear to the financial committee that a long-term plan must go into effect to solicit donations from donors.  In order for the school to accomplish all that God has called us to, we need more income than what comes in from tuition alone.  We have also decided to shift from a calendar year budget to a fiscal year budget (July 1 – June 30) which begins in 2021.  For the actual budget report, you can refer to the budget that was sent to you on Feb. 4, 2021.

The attendance of the college continues to rise, particularly with the advent of Zoom livestream classes.  With the help of Populi we are able to provide a count of 123 enrolled students and 126 auditors for the 2019-2020 school year, giving us the highest number of students in NCBC’s history: 249 students.  We thank God for His increase.

Going forward, we are excited that Dr. Ray Robles is being considered to join our part-time staff assuming the position of Chief Academic Officer.  Ray has been teaching for two quarters so far, and his students seem very happy with his presentations.

Dan Griffiths has also experienced a surge in student attendance, having invited a representative from Randy Clark Ministries to join him as an assistant. Their emphasis has been upon the supernatural, offering courses on Healing, the Prophetic, and Spiritual Freedom.

Pastor Wayne Mancari continues to draw students from Cathedral of Faith, particularly those called to professional ministry.  So far, 16 of the paid pastoral staff of Cathedral of Faith are all graduates of NCBC.

Pastor Mortara continues to offer excellent teaching, particularly courses that focus upon the New Testament.

I, myself, particularly enjoyed teaching on the Book of Revelation this past summer; we had an attendance of 127 which is the largest class NCBC has ever had.  It shows the current interest in the body of Christ on this important subject!

The Bible college we launched in Kenya continues to do well.  They are looking to expand, as a similar Bible college close by just closed their doors and the students are wanting to now transfer over to KTBC.  We have recently added a seventh objective to the college: “To create an educational model for startup Bible Colleges in foreign countries to follow, as well as help them become established as the Spirit leads.”

A final acknowledgment to Debbie Sell who has done an amazing job of converting NCBC’s entire Student Management System over to Populi.  Her tireless work has brought tremendous clarity and efficiency to what was previously a disorganized and ineffective system of college management.  Thank you, Debbie!

And thank you to all of you who have worked so hard to bring NCBC to where it is today!

Blessings upon 2021 and you and your family!

Pastor David Sell