Bob Jones College (Opening, September 14, 1927)

On September 14, 1927, evangelist Bob Jones Sr. opened Bob Jones College with eighty-eight students registering for its first fall term. The school began in a decade of widening cultural change, when many institutions were loosening their grip on historic Christian convictions. Jones and the founders insisted that education must be governed by Christ and the authority of Scripture, not by fashionable theories or shifting public opinion. Their guiding conviction echoed, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Proverbs 9:10).

Founders, Faculty, and the Early Work

Bob Jones Sr. was known for plain preaching, personal evangelism, and confidence in God’s promises. That same spirit marked the campus from the outset. Faculty and students entered a demanding experiment: building a serious academic program while nurturing Christian character—often with limited resources and a constant awareness that God must supply what they lacked. In that sense, the early years required quiet heroism: choosing integrity over ease, discipline over drift, and conviction over applause. Scripture was not treated as an ornament but as the foundation, in keeping with: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).

Campus Life, Prayer, and Gospel Witness

The college emphasized ordered living—chapel worship, prayer, rigorous study, and practical ministry. Students were urged to carry the gospel beyond the classroom through local witness and church service. The aim was not merely to produce graduates with information, but believers with steadfast hearts and trained minds—prepared to serve at home and abroad. The school’s posture toward competing ideologies was summed up in a warning many took personally: “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception… rather than on Christ” (Colossians 2:8).

Growth and Continuing Legacy

In time, the institution developed into Bob Jones University and became established in Greenville, South Carolina. Through relocations, opposition, and changing times, its early commitments—prayer, disciplined learning, and gospel faithfulness—helped form generations to stand firm when pressures inevitably came.