Northland Baptist Bible College

It's been 20 year or so since I visited their campus. They were very balanced, and were one of the better colleges in my opinion. I have had acquaintances who have gone there in the past 20 years, and they say that Northland is still an exceptional college. On their word, I would still recommend it. I haven't checked their website in a while. Maybe I should in case some things have changed in the last two or three years. But, I don't know of any major doctrinal changes or changes in position/standards.

 

Northland's President, a strongly devout bju follower, will no doubt keep his school in the steps of bju.

 

Matt Olson, their new president, strikes me as a good speaker and a godly man. I've only heard him speak on two occasions, though. I did eat lunch with him once at a conference. Seemed friendly and cordial.

I've been very impressed with his old assistant, Dr. Chuck Phelps, now pastoring at Trinity Baptist in Concord, NH. He has been a real encouragement and blessing to those of us pastoring in the mission fields of northern New England.

 

Bob:

This is an open board, is it not? Furthermore, NOTHING negative was stated.

Matt and Cindy are friends of ours for many years. Matt will stand firmly with BJU.

 

NBBC has assembled a great leadership team and attract, for the most part, students with an above average committment to godliness, spirit-filled living, and the Northland philosophy/emphasis of servant leadership.

I think in the long run, the fact that they are literally in the middle of nowhere will prove to be a hinderance rather than a help. It's great to run a camp in the wilderness but it is not so practical to run a Bible college there.

I have heard that their academics still need work but my guess is that if it is still a problem it won't be for long.

My pastor goes to NBBC once a year for their Doctor of Ministry program. They bring in some great adjucnt faculty members for these classes, but I'm not sure that Northland is really in a position to be handing out doctorates at this point.

Andy

 

Paul, let's just say this, I believe that if a person reads their statement of faith, and their statement of purpose and positions, and they feel they should go there, they should not expect to live differently than what they agreed to when they became a student there. If they can't abide by what the college rules, regulations and standards are, then they should leave or not go there. It's a training ground, and it takes discipline to stay within the guidelines. I believe they probably take a stronger stand than most colleges, though.

 

My Son just graduated from NBBC in May. We lived up there for the 3 years prior to our Son's attendance.
I would highly recommend NBBC. The College in the Wilderness aspect of the place tends to keep students who are not commited away from the place. Of course there are always a few who are pressured into going there who don't belong.
There is a very strong BJ influence on campus. Dr. Sam Horn is a BJ grad and is unequivocally pushing NBBC in the direction of BJ in the area of academics and many of their faculty are BJ grads.
The training for service to Our Lord Jesus Christ is the best that I have ever been associated with. Not that the others have been bad, it's just that NBBC excels at the spiritual aspects of training while others are a little too wrapped up in their academic prowess or in gaining an academic reputation.
I have attended the following institutions which I hope at least partially authenticates my opinion.
MBBC, TTU, BJU, Faithway, NBBC and seminars at PCC.

 

This is no knock on Northland, but when it came time for me to choose schools, my short list was Northland and Faith (in Ankeny, Iowa). As a married student, I chose Faith because it offered more opportunity for me to support my family, and it had more opportunity for continuos, meaningful local church ministry. The location, I suppose, did turn out to be a negative for me, anyway.

I still recommend the school, and love hearing Dr. Horn, Dr. Olson, and Dr. Ollila.

 

Paul, I understand what your question was. Not having any REAL personal contact, just third party for the last few years, I would have to refer back to what I saw 20+ years ago. They had a strong stand on the Bible, and were pretty staunch on the versions debate, though they didn't stop students from using other versions in their own personal study. On CCM, they were in the position that it was unacceptable, but realized they couldn't enforce their standards while the student was away from the campus, such as when they were at home, etc. They just seemed to have an even handed way of handling difficult situations when students fell into gross sin, and I was impressed with the way they dealt with some of the issues of "local church". They were very much like MBBC in that respect.
The only drawback I saw when I considered transferring there was that they were so far out in the boonies! But, where God leads, He will provide. Hope this helps.

 

Well, I can tell you that I would still highly recommend it on the word of those I know. If I was still in a pastoral position, I would have NO PROBLEM with sending kids from my church there.

Wow...they seem to be growing. That's great!

 

Northland is doing a great job of training students for ministry. I have not attended there as a student, but I have spoken there several times and I have attended their annual winter Heart Conference 11 out of the past 18 or so years.

They have mantained a continuity through three presidents over the past 20 years and have continued to grow. Dr. Olson is a good match for their ministry and Dr. Olilla is always a blessing. I would highly recommend Northland, but anyone planning to attend should visit and get the feel for being out in the boondocks (as least the road is finally paved).