Somerset Christian College, now known as Pillar College (changed in 2013), is a private evangelical Christian college, formerly owned and operated by Pillar of Fire International, a religious denomination. The college was located in the Zarephath section of Franklin Township in Somerset County, New Jersey. Due to the flood caused by Hurricane Irene in 2011, the Zarephath campus buildings have been condemned, and all classes met at Stonecrest Church in Warren, New Jersey. The decision was made to leave the condemned Zaraphath site and relocate the main campus and administrative offices to the Newark location. A new extension site was opened in Somerset near the original college in February 2013. Pillar College is the only accredited evangelical college in the state of New Jersey.
History
Somerset Christian College was established in 2001 in the buildings and property formerly used by Zarephath Bible Institute, founded in 1908 and Alma White College, founded in 1921. Like SCC, these institutions were established by The Pillar of Fire Church, now Pillar of Fire International, as training schools for missionaries, preachers, and teachers. While both ZBI and AWC were either completely or mostly dormant for approximately three decades, in 2001, under the sponsorship of Pillar of Fire International, the same parent organization of ZBI and AWC, the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education issued the newly created Somerset Christian College a charter to grant the two-year associate degree in Biblical Studies. In 2006 the college was approved to offer four-year Bachelor of Arts degrees. Somerset Christian College became Pillar College in April, 2013.
Religious ties
The Pillar of Fire International, founded in 1901 by Alma Bridwell White, was initially called the Penticostal Union and developed out of the Methodist Episcopal Church and the American Holiness Movement. The Pillar of Fire Church was noted for appointing the first woman as a bishop in the United States as its founder and was an early advocate for women's equality, especially within the structure of the church. It has also been noted for vigorously promoting anti-Catholicism, anti-Semitism, nativism, white supremacy and the Ku Klux Klan, although in 1996 the Pillar of Fire repudiated its former association with the Klan. The college is run in the Wesleyan-Arminian tradition.
Accreditation
Somerset Christian College is accredited through the following organizations:
- The Middle States Commission On Higher Education
- The Association for Biblical Higher Education
Mission statement
Somerset Christian College educates, inspires, and equips students for excellent scholarship, service, and leadership. Rooted in and committed to Christian faith and love, SCC fosters intellectual, spiritual, and social development among its diverse student population at various instructional sites.
Beliefs
The College holds that there is one Church universal according to the ancient Apostles' Creed. At the same time, it recognizes that the one Church in time and history is made up of many confessing traditions and denominations. The College is committed to an approach to Christian undergraduate education that is based upon the classical Christian faith with its apostolic view of the church as one body with many members. Therefore, the College seeks to educate students of various theological traditions for service within their own denominations and churches. In addition, the College strives to create a climate for study and fellowship which encourages, equips, and enhances spiritual development and ministry.
Standard of Conduct
"Actions such as stealing, the use of slanderous or profane language, occult practices, and sexual sins such as premarital sex, adultery, and homosexual behavior are unacceptable...The use of illegal drugs and other substances that are harmful to the temple of the indwelling Spirit are prohibited."
Extension sites
In February 2011 the college opened its first extension site in the city of Newark, New Jersey. The center known as “SCCN†(Somerset Christian College Newark) is located on the 7th floor of the Military Park Building in downtown Newark. The center is located one block south of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and four blocks north of the Prudential Center.
Academics
Areas of study offered at the college include:
- Biblical studies
- Business administration
- Counseling psychology
- Youth ministry
- Music
- Communication studies
- Family therapy
LEAD
Somerset Christian College offers adult students a non-traditional opportunity to complete a baccalaureate degree for the advancement of their professional careers and for personal achievement. The Life Enhancing Accelerated Degree (LEAD) program is an adult degree completion program that allows individuals to complete their bachelor's degree in as little as 20 months.
Ministry partners
The college's ministry partners include:
- Star 99.1, an award-winning Contemporary Christian music radio station which serves the New York metropolitan area and broadcasts from Zarephath.
- Urban Impact, a camp that helps inner city boys and girls with negative influences to grow academically and spiritually.
- Zarephath Christian Church, a congregation which formerly met on the Zarephath campus.
- Somerset Christian Academy, formerly Zarephath Academy, formerly Alma Preparatory School and Temple Christian Day School, this K-12 school opened in 1908 and closed in June 2009.
- Pillar of Fire International, a mission-based organization with outreach in various parts of the world.
- Victory Sports Camps, a summer sports camp.
- Autumn Blaze, a seasonal concert that once took place on the Zarephath campus but now has grown in size to require a move of venue.
See also
- Post-secondary education in New Jersey
References
External links
- Pillar College
- Star 99.1
- Urban Impact
- Zarephath Christian Church
- Autumn Blaze