History
Virginia Baptist College was conceived in the hearts of three Fredericksburg area pastors, Don Forrester (Faith Baptist Church, Fredericksburg, VA), Mickey Creed (Colonial Baptist Church, Stafford, VA), and Tom McGee (Ambassador Baptist Church, Woodford, VA). God laid upon these men a burden to further the purposes of their churches, through a combined effort, by providing college-level training for Christian workers. The deacons of Faith Baptist Church voted unanimously on April 16, 1984, to establish the institute as a ministry of the church and named the three cooperating pastors as the Board of Directors.
The school was born as Berean Baptist Institute in the fall of 1984, offering a three-year Graduate of Theology diploma. In keeping with the Institute’s purpose, the first students were a combination of those seeking to improve their knowledge and skills for ministry as lay people in their current churches as well as those who had committed themselves to full-time Christian ministry. Since the students were local and were already employed full-time, classes were scheduled on Monday, Thursday, and Friday evenings, with class sizes ranging from five to twenty students. BBI produced its first graduate on May 26, 1985. From 1985 to 1990, seven students graduated from the Institute.
God wonderfully blessed the Institute. During the late 1980s, students enrolled from numerous independent Baptist and other conservative churches in the Fredericksburg area and surrounding counties. The faculty expanded from the three original pastors to include qualified instructors from other churches.
The Board of Directors named Don Forrester as President in June of 1989 and reorganized the school in 1990 as a four-year bachelor’s degree program. The two course tracks were Pastoral Studies and Christian Education. On April 7, 1992, the school received recognition by the Commonwealth of Virginia Council of Higher Education as a religiously exempt degree-granting institution. The first graduate of this program received his degree on May 26, 1992.
In 1994, the curriculum expanded to include a major in Ministry with concentrations in Pastoral Studies, Christian Education, and Bible, and a major in Elementary Education. Minors were introduced in Office Administration, Music, and Youth Ministry, as well as an associate’s degree in Secretarial Science. The Institute’s name was changed to Virginia Baptist College to more accurately reflect the nature and scope of its program. The Commonwealth of Virginia Council of Higher Education formally recognized the College under its new name on July 12, 1994, as a religiously exempt degree-granting institution.
In the mid 1990s, the school grew both in student body and organization. Because of students attending from greater distances, the College began teaching classes in Leesburg, Virginia, and Waldorf, Maryland, to allow students to take classes without commuting to Fredericksburg. Dr. David Freshour served as the College administrator from August 1997 to August 1999. VBC offices were opened in Leland Hall in the summer of 1998 and a full-time secretary was employed. The College was accepted as a member of the American Association of Christian Colleges and Seminaries on February 9, 1999.
On February 17, 1999, the deacons of Faith Baptist Church voted unanimously to add three pastors—Eugene Nichols (Loudoun Baptist Temple, Leesburg, VA), Harold Dixon (Calvary Baptist Church, Waldorf, MD), and Mike Reid (Temple Baptist Church, Fredericksburg, VA)—to the College Board of Directors. This step was taken to reflect the wider participation of churches within a 90-mile radius of Fredericksburg.
Recognizing the value of continued self-improvement, the Board of Directors voted on September 19, 2000, to make application to the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS). TRACS accepted VBC as an applicant on December 19, 2000.
In an effort to better define and develop the College governing board and administration, the Board of Directors, in its July 13, 2001 meeting, adopted new by-laws. These by-laws were submitted to the deacons of Faith Baptist Church, who approved them on July 18, 2001. The VBC Committee, comprised of the deacons of Faith Baptist Church who are not employees of Virginia Baptist College, was formed to elect a new Board of Trustees as required under the new by-laws. On August 17, 2001, the Committee elected the first Board of Trustees, which included Dan Wells, Jeff Walton, Dale DeBuhr, Gerry Boynton, Rev. Harold Dixon, and Dr. John Halsey. Dr. Don Forrester completed the seven-member board as an ex-officio voting member.
The College administration was reorganized in August of 2001. In addition to Dr. Don Forrester as President and Rev. Wayne Scott as the Director of Admissions and Records, Dr. Eugene Nichols accepted the position of Academic Dean, and Rev. Mickey Creed assumed the duties of Director of Student Services.
On February 15, 2002, the Executive Committee appointed Dr. Eugene Nichols as Executive Vice President in addition to his duties as the Academic Dean. The Board of Trustees named Harold Dixon as the Business Manager on October 29, 2002. By May of 2004, the College had graduated 40 students.
During the fall 2003 semester, the Board gave approval for VBC to launch the Video Conferencing Center (VCC) pilot program for the existing centers in Leesburg, VA, and Waldorf, MD. This program incorporated the latest technology to transmit courses to other centers real-time. Students at other centers could now see, hear, and interact with the instructor just as if they were sitting in the same classroom. In the summer and fall of 2004, VBC added a VCC in Nokesville, VA; Alexandria, VA; and Richmond, VA. In the summer of 2005, a VCC was added in Fairfax, VA.
In January 2004, VBC began the Master of Ministry program (M.Min.). This is a 32 credit-hour module program designed for those who desire advanced training on a graduate level in order to enhance their Bible knowledge and ministry skills. Fifteen students composed the first module course.
In the summer of 2004, the Board of Trustees voted to appoint Jeff Walton as Executive Vice President. Jeff Walton would replace Dr. Eugene Nichols who stepped down from the position in January 2005.
In the fall of 2005, VBC added a 32-hour Bible certificate, a 64-hour Ministry Associate’s Degree with concentrations in Bible, Christian Education, and Pastoral Studies. In addition, a 64-hour Early Childhood Education Associate’s Degree and a 64-hour Christian Elementary Education Associate’s Degree were added.
In December 2005, the administration submitted a request from TRACS to begin the process of
moving from applicant to candidate status. In January 2007, TRACS granted approval for the college to proceed with a self-study in preparation for an accreditation team visit scheduled for January 2008.
For the fall of 2007, the college expanded the Christian education major to include a secondary education concentration and added minors in English and History.
In December 2005, the administration submitted a request to TRACS to begin the process of moving from applicant to candidate status. In January 2007 TRACS granted approval for the college to proceed with a self-study in preparation for an accreditation team visit. The self-study was completed during the spring and summer of 2007 and was followed by a successful accreditation team visit to the campus in January 2008. On April 14, 2008 Virginia Baptist College was granted candidate status by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS). TRACS is recognized by both the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation as a national accrediting body for Christian colleges and seminaries. This recognition is an important step in the process that was started by college leadership in 2000. Candidate status indicates that an institution is in basic compliance with the Standards of Accreditation, has been evaluated by an on-site peer team, and in the professional judgment of the evaluation team and the Accreditation Commission, provides quality instruction and student services. This status is effective for a period of five years, during which period the college intends to complete the additional steps needed to achieve fully accredited status.
The college was separately incorporated effective June 7, 2010. As a result, the term Board of Trustees has been changed to Board of Directors to conform to the proper terminology.
Dr. Forrester appointed Wayne Scott as Academic Dean in August 2010, and the position was confirmed by the Board of Director’s in their October 2010 meeting. Dr. Forrester appointed Sherry Forrester as Business Manager in January 2011. This appointment was confirmed by the Board of Directors in a February special meeting.
Dr. Forrester resigned his position as senior pastor of Faith Baptist Church as of February 28, 2011, in order to devote his full efforts to his work as president of Virginia Baptist College.
In the spring of 2010, Virginia Baptist College requested from TRACS a change in status from candidacy to a fully accredited institution. A self-study was completed in February 2011 in preparation for a team visit in April of 2011.
Facilities
Today the ministries of Faith Baptist Church are located on more than twelve acres of prime real estate on Virginia Route 3. The location offers high visibility and easy access to the major traffic arteries for the area. The campus, available to Virginia Baptist College, contains an over 100,000 square foot educational complex, preschool and elementary playgrounds, a soccer field, parking lots, a picnic area, and six residences used for staff housing.
In February 1975, the church moved to its present location on Plank Road, purchasing 2.2 acres in the Chancellor District of Spotsylvania County. The church met in a small house that already existed on the property. The first church building was completed in January 1976. The 2400 square foot building contained a small auditorium, office, and five classrooms.
After several years of steady growth, the church built a new 10,500 square foot auditorium and educational complex, which was dedicated on May 27, 1979. The ground floor of the new building was designed to house the church's expanding educational ministry, while the original building was redesigned for the preschool ministries and church and school offices.
In the summer of 1981, Faith Baptist Church purchased an additional 1.7 acres of adjacent property, giving the church access to Heatherstone Drive. The house purchased with property is used for staff housing. Construction of a 1400 square foot addition to the original building was completed in the summer of 1985. In April of 1985, FBC acquired another 2.1 acres, completed the construction of an activity field, reworked the church grounds, and relocated the staff housing to the present locations. The church purchased in August of 1986 another one-acre lot with a house on Heatherstone Drive that is also used for staff housing. In 1991, the one-acre lot fronting on Route 3 with a two-story brick home was purchased for much needed parking and playground space.
The Scott Center, a large 28,000 square foot three-phase building project, was begun in May of 1991. Phase one, the second floor classroom section, was occupied in the summer of 1992. Phase two, a gymnasium, stage, and kitchen complex, and phase three, an office and library complex, were occupied in the fall of 1993 and 1994 respectively. In the fall of 1997, the Scott Center was completed with the occupation of the locker rooms.
Leland Hall, the house at 4055 Plank Road, was remodeled in 1998 for use as VBC offices and meeting rooms. A new elementary playground was also installed in the fall of that year. The church auditorium was completely renovated in the spring of 1999, and a second parking lot was prepared. In the fall of 1999, a beautiful maple floor was installed in the gymnasium; the bleachers followed in the fall of 2000.
Faith Baptist Church, in an effort to expand its properties and available building sites, purchased property at 1130 Heatherstone, and negotiated the purchase of 1120 Heatherstone, finalized in March of 2003. The church acquired the property and building at 4045 Plank Road in the spring of 2002. In July, the VBC offices moved from Leland Hall to the 4045 Plank Road property which was designated as the VBC Administration Building.
In the spring 2004, Faith Baptist Church purchased the Buttram Photography Studio located at 4111 Plank Road. The new building will be used for VBC offices, library, classrooms, and bookstore. The Committee of Faith Baptist Church voted to name new facility the Courtney Building after Pastor Daniel Courtney from Bible Baptist Church in Culpeper, VA. Danny Courtney graduated from VBC after having attended over 10 years. He suddenly passed away on February 20, 2000. The Courtney Building was occupied in the spring of 2005.
In December 2005 and January 2006 the houses at 4035 and 4045 (the old VBC Administration Building and Leland Hall) were demolished to make room for the new building project. In the spring of 2006, Faith Baptist Church purchased the house and 1-acre lot located at 4035 Plank Road adjacent to the church property. During the summer and fall of 2006 the Scott Center office complex was reorganized and completely renovated.
A major building program began in the spring of 2006. In addition to extensive site work, improved parking lot and Heatherstone Drive access, the completed project includes an auditorium (occupied May 2008) and commons area, fellowship hall/student center, and a music suite with band, choir, and class rooms (occupied September 2009).
In 2010, the Grafton Library was expanded to include second floor areas. That summer, two classrooms were remodeled for VBC use. Three VBC classrooms received new furnishings and installa¬tion of video and audio equipment. The President’s office was relocated from the main church complex to the VBC Courtney building requiring renovation of the administrative office areas.